What I Have Learned From A Simple Sport Called Basketball

THIS IS ALANA












THIS IS ALANA'S BASKETBALL TEAM

THIS IS ALANA PLAYING BASKETBALL WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT FROM ALANA'S BASKETBALL TEAM....

That's the Cat-In-The-Hat version of what I know about basketball -- when played by Alana (names can be changed as situation dictates).

I do not know basketball. I know that there is a ball and a basket involved. I know that there is running involved. I know that sometimes girls play it and sometimes boys play it.

I know Alana. I know Alana loves basketball. I know I am friends with Alana. I know Alana always is wanting me to come to her basketball games. I know sometimes Alana plays basketball games at the high school directly behind where I live and that it takes me 3 minutes to drive there. When Alana's request for my attendance at her basketball games intersects with her playing those basketball games at the high school 3 minutes away from me - I can only hop in my car and drive 3 minutes to see Alana play basketball.

This day was a bit of a learning experience for me as I discovered something else, that may not be surprisingly new, but was revolutionary to me. On this day, the men in those little black striped jail looking outfits were apparently making some very bad decisions regarding who was being good and who was being bad. All I know is that the parents of the so dubbed "bad team" were very very angry and were yelling things at the men in the striped outfits as they did not feel that their team was as bad as the striped men were saying they were. On the other hand, the other parents of the "good team" were very very happy and were laughing and saying nice things to the striped men.

What I learned on this day was that - I will not be quitting my job to become one of the men (or women in my case) in the striped outfits as it seems like the angry people can be a lot louder and more exhuberiant than the happy people.

And that is something new that I learned about basketball....

Oh - I also learned that Alana has a good attitude no matter what happens! She's almost done with high school basketball but she'll be heading off to Judson soon to play basketball there. She'll be a basketball playing, architecture studying wizard! Go Alana!