A Little Wetter Than I Would Have Liked, But I Played Anyway

Sets 279-280:

Stuart v. P. at Anderson High. Winner: Stuart 6-4, 6-1.

My Mojo: Strong

We were going to play at Northwest Park, but on my way there, it started raining really hard about five minutes before I got there. Then I passed through an area that was completely dry. Then I got to another rainy area, and passed through more bone-dry stuff. When I got to Northwest Park, it was raining really hard, and the courts were completely slick. What weird weather it's been. It's done this a lot lately; there have been these tiny cells of clouds that come through and drench one area, while 500 feet away, there's not a drop.

My opponent showed up just a few minutes after I did. We both agreed there was no way we could play at Northwest Park, but I suggested that we try to find some dry courts. He suggested Anderson High, so we headed over there.

It was pretty dry when we got there, but it started drizzling almost immediately. It wasn't enough to soak the courts right away, but it didn't ever let up, and by the time we finished, it was definitely wetter than I will usually play. I know I've played "wetball" in the past, but I've gotten to where I really don't like it.

My back had been really bothering me, too. I hadn't played since I really messed it up a week ago, and it was healing very slowly. Usually when I mess up my back it heals pretty quickly, but this time, it has been really painful and prolonged. Since my attitude is, "Let's see if THIS kills me," I strapped on a back brace, took a handful of hydrocodone and muscle relaxants (I had taken prescription-strength naproxen earlier but it hadn't really made a dent), and headed out to play. Also, today I had run to work to see if that would help my back. It seemed to help a little.

I don't like being under the influence of codeine much when I have to do anything of consequence. But it was making my body relaxed enough that I was playing really loosely and freely, and I was hitting really well for some strange reason. I felt like my anticipation was great, even though I had been worried that my reaction time would be too slow. It didn't really seem that way at all. And I didn't feel like getting pissed off at all when I flubbed shots, which only happened rarely. But later in the match I was starting to feel like it was a slight hindrance, and if I had been playing a much stronger player that I had had to be more on the stick with, it could have been a major bummer.

Rainball is a different game. The balls were pretty much soaked after the first five games or so. I was up 5-2 in the first set, and then I think he figured out how to use some advantageous spin on the wet courts and I was having a terrible time trying to hit some of the hydroplaning balls that spun out in unexpected directions or dropped like a stone and increased their speed when they hit a water patch. He won the next two games to bring the score to 5-4. Then it was my serve, and I was able to get such an advantage out of my serve that I took the next game easily to win 6-4.

In the second set, I stayed ahead easily. I was at my peak, and hitting most of my shots right where I wanted them to go. I learned that I needed to hit serves that normally would be out, but I could put a lot of power into them and they would stay in because the balls were so wet. I would definitely not have started playing when it was this wet, but I figured I might as well finish. Also, I was worried about the lightning strikes that were falling all over the place, and was dreading getting zapped when I lifted my racquet high in the air to deliver a serve. But, hey, I didn't end up dead (obviously, otherwise my prose would have been much more stilted). Woo-hoo! I live to play yet another day. Who can ask for more than that?