Tetherball Dreams

You ever have one of those moments where distant memories come unexpectedly rushing in, like a technicolor waterfall, to the forefront of your mind, full of sounds, sights, smells, and feelings?

I had one of those yesterday. We were at my son's school, signing him up for second grade, when I noticed a tetherball on the playground. I hadn't seen or touched one of these for thirty years. I told my son that it was a fun game and started teaching him how to play. First hit of the ball around the pole and that flood broke through. I actually had to take a step back and catch my breath for a moment.

You see, back in first and second grade tetherball was my game... It was my one best thing. I was out there playing tetherball before school, during recess and lunch, and sometimes after school. My mom even got me a tetherball pole set in concrete that I could wheel into the front yard to take on all the neighborhood kids. My brother and I would play all the time. Given our six-year age difference, it was one of the few things we played together.

The highlight of my early school years was a lunchtime challenge against a kid named Johnny Mann. The two of us were considered the best tetherball players in the second grade. Surrounded by dozens of cheering kids, we battled it out and I emerged victorious -- Undisputed Tetherball Champion of Santiago Elementary.

After second grade, we moved to a different town and nothing was the same. Two years later, my brother died and I never touched a tetherball again. Until yesterday. Here I am making new memories with my son, and out of nowhere comes that blast from the past. You just can't top a day like that!