Squash

"You know who his favorite writer was?" Todd asked walking into the room as I was lying down reading Franklin's autobiography. "Locke?" I asked. "How'd you know?" A nifty little chat began at that point about a past class of his and studying Mr. Franklin. I'm not completely sure if Locke is correct; however, I'm reasonably certain it (he) is. It's refreshing to note that Franklin in the initial pages of his work indicates his reason for writing was to provide some account of his life for his son. Todd also pointed out that William was not in the end a fan of Ben's. An ironic lesson. Locke made the early pages as well. Now, where was I going? Ah, yes.

"I hear you're dusting off the old racquet?" Came a question from a friend. I still have not located the racquet which is buried somewhere in a closet with second one that had year's ago been a gift to my oldest by another player. I had dropped the sport cold turkey following a knee injury skiing and a local facility with courts closing. The mountain bike happily filled the gap - and still does.

Squash is an amazing sport. Excellent for fitness as one has to "go to" the ball, which is soft and dies with proper drops or lobs. The sport involves technique as well with court boundaries and an annoying lower tin on the front wall. At higher levels, rallies can be quite long and fatiguing.

The sport, as rowing, still may be viewed today by folks as somewhat highbrow, where courts were once mainly found only at the nation's top schools. However, many of the best players in the world and at all levels for that matter come from all walks. Perhaps this was also the appeal of Saint Sing's rowing work. I have fond memories of whacking the ball around with my father year's ago in CharlieWest. I picked the sport back up in the late '80s playing at a court facility in Allston while at Huskyville as a student, where I met a CJ major and the head of the outing club, who was to eventually become my wife.

Squash is about fitness and fun. It is humbling to get severely beaten by a large former rugby player from England who simply knows the game - court knowledge and shot placement equal less running around. Perhaps we can squeeze in a few matches. There are new courts in town.