With few exceptions, sports involve a ball of some shape or size.
Whether stitched, dimpled, leather-covered with a “pebble-grained” feel for easy gripping, or made of plain old rubber, the game can’t go on without a ball.
Parents of young children can attest to the fact the first thing their offspring head for in stores is the big bin filled with multi-colored balls.
That’s before they get brainwashed by media images of designer clothes and video games, and begin going online.
If a bunch of kids are on a playground, chances are one of them has a ball that is being tossed around.
Kids out here on the West Coast don’t play stickball, but that game is still a big part of summer back east.
All you need is a broom handle, a street with not too many parked cars and a rubber ball.
Some cities now have stickball tournaments that are highly competitive.
True stickball aficionados use pink “Spaldeens” that have been around since the 1940s as the ball of choice. I bought a couple for my dog from the Ebbets Field catalog and she loved playing with them.
In the past week, many newspapers as well as the Internet have featured articles on an incident involving a ball-shaped object.
Another incident, one that wasn’t published nationwide and involved yours truly, happened right here on Whidbey Island.
All you can say about the first incident that took place near the campus of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., is the planets weren’t lined up properly and the Fates reached out and grabbed some unfortunate people.
What happened was a wrecking ball, 1,500 pounds of solid steel, broke loose from the crane’s hook and went rolling down the street.
The ball reportedly damaged several vehicles along the way and wiped out the back end of a Ford Taurus before coming to a halt.
Three people were injured and taken to area hospitals.
When I read the story, the first thing I thought of was Wile E. Coyote going after the Road Runner and he’d really messed things up this time.
The second incident, my “ball” problem, began at Saar’s Market.
As sports editor I attend a lot of late afternoon games and it is a rare occasion when I’m home for dinner.
My lady gets left most of the time so the other day I thought I’d be a good guy and bring her one of those seedless watermelons.
Saar’s had them on sale and with the green sphere double bagged, I headed home feeling good about myself and thought I was in good shape.
Wrong!
I back my HHR into the driveway which is on a slant and completely forgot I’d put the melon in the back of the rig when I opened the trunk.
Out rolled the melon, down the driveway, over the embankment and through the weeds. The darn thing rolled half way to the beach before stopping.
My Fates were smiling and it didn’t crack open when it hit the driveway on the first bounce so I considered myself lucky: Luckier than being chased by a wrecking ball.
