Monday, February 12, 2007
A Day in the Sun
On Saturday Jonathan (front row, second from left) got to participate in an all-day soccer tournament. The high school guys and dads who coach the younger kids' soccer teams were invited to bring their teams to play some Senegalese clubs and a Brazilian group. They somehow managed to arrange to use the French military base field. Grass!Jonathan had pity on us and spent Friday night with a buddy whose parents run one of the dorms at Dakar Academy. The thing started bright and early and he knows what a pain it is to get up early on a Saturday to get over to school. We promised to come part way through the day.
"Part way" turned out to be more like midway through the day. We missed two games that morning and got there as they were on lunch break. Jonathan was all full of a story of getting his back hurt. A kid had tugged at the back of his shirt at a vulnerable moment after a pass, it seemed, and dropped him onto his tail bone. I didn't take it too seriously, but then my adult friends talked about it, too. The referee apparently got defensive when challenged about not calling a penalty on that one.
Ah well. Sports. I'm just glad that Jonathan got to play some challenging matches and even scored a goal. I'm even glad he got roughed up. His life is so wonderfully safe, if he weren't playing sports, I'm not sure he'd ever find out that pain doesn't have to stop you.
Jonathan had somehow not gotten an order in with his coach for lunch, so I walked back off the base, through security again, and found a small FastFood. They were in in a flurry preparing many dozens of hamburgers and sandwiches. For the teams, it turned out. I think that one little kitchen prepared lunch for all four teams. During a lull in preparations, I procured a couple burgers and a charwama.
As it turned out, there were no more games. The organization of the day kind of broke down. Lunch dragged on and finally a couple teams left. The rugby guys who were scheduled for 4 wanted the field earlier. But, hey! A day in the sun playing soccer and hanging with your friends. What 11-year-old boy could ask for more?
Oh, and this is me with a pair of sunglasses that a team left with us recently. As you may know, I never where sunglasses. I just don't like the way they make me feel isolated from the world. But it was such a very bright day, I just had the urge. And it felt nice. Don't know why, but there you go.
"Part way" turned out to be more like midway through the day. We missed two games that morning and got there as they were on lunch break. Jonathan was all full of a story of getting his back hurt. A kid had tugged at the back of his shirt at a vulnerable moment after a pass, it seemed, and dropped him onto his tail bone. I didn't take it too seriously, but then my adult friends talked about it, too. The referee apparently got defensive when challenged about not calling a penalty on that one.
Ah well. Sports. I'm just glad that Jonathan got to play some challenging matches and even scored a goal. I'm even glad he got roughed up. His life is so wonderfully safe, if he weren't playing sports, I'm not sure he'd ever find out that pain doesn't have to stop you.
Jonathan had somehow not gotten an order in with his coach for lunch, so I walked back off the base, through security again, and found a small FastFood. They were in in a flurry preparing many dozens of hamburgers and sandwiches. For the teams, it turned out. I think that one little kitchen prepared lunch for all four teams. During a lull in preparations, I procured a couple burgers and a charwama.
As it turned out, there were no more games. The organization of the day kind of broke down. Lunch dragged on and finally a couple teams left. The rugby guys who were scheduled for 4 wanted the field earlier. But, hey! A day in the sun playing soccer and hanging with your friends. What 11-year-old boy could ask for more?Oh, and this is me with a pair of sunglasses that a team left with us recently. As you may know, I never where sunglasses. I just don't like the way they make me feel isolated from the world. But it was such a very bright day, I just had the urge. And it felt nice. Don't know why, but there you go.
