The icy roads prompted the cancellation of school yesterday, but wouldn't you know.......the evening's basketball games were held as scheduled. The boys' game was terrible---for our team, anyway---thankfully, at half-time we were treated to some smiles and colorful comic relief by the dance team.
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In the basketball game we played a team from two classes higher than us---we are 1A, they are 3A---and whether that made the difference, I don't know, but they soundly defeated us......by 30 points. Their guys were bigger and taller, executed well, and sizzled in the shooting department; one guy drained several 3-pointers from way past the 3-point line. Our team played like they were half-asleep, still dozing in holiday naps, I guess. *
Here's my son, #20, battling for a rebound:
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*At home, after the game, I tossed pizzas in the oven and we waited for Son to arrive. His mood, of course, was not at all cheery when he got home; he and I nearly ended up in an argument, which is VERY uncharacteristic for us. He was griping about the benchwarmers not taking the game seriously, and affecting the focus of the regular players. Probably, he was echoing whatever was said in the locker room after the game. I don't like to hear such excuses, and I said so, and Son didn't take it well. Too bad. He needed to hear it.
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Our whole community is one-dimensionally obsessed with sports. Sports is pretty much the only game in town. The school's music program is small and ignored, for the most part; parents don't encourage their kids to get involved in music and drama. I spent several years in futile involvement with the Music Boosters, trying to help spur enthusiasm for the fine arts. Peoples' faces just go blank when you bring up the subject of band and chorus, like they have no comprehension of why such groups should exist. Oh, they applaud the dance team, which is what constitutes fine arts these days. Sports is king---almost sacred---and dominates conversations wherever people happen to meet......in the local businesses, in the churches, on the sidewalks. Maybe that's quite normal in this day and age, when sports reigns supreme on the TV screen, heavily influencing our group consciousness.......every kid thinks they can grow up to be a professional athlete.
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For the most part, I have given up caring about local fine arts; occasionally thoughts will flare up briefly in my mind, but then quickly die down. Anymore, I have no energy or interest in fighting for it in the community, proving I'm as one-dimensional as the next person.
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Its a good community, don't get me wrong........just really lacking in appreciation and support of the arts.
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Gosh......winter is making me cranky! Due to treacherous ice all over the ground, taking walks outdoors is out of the question. Shuffling along slowly on the ice is the best one can do right now. Yesterday morning I did some laps IN the barn, up and down the alleyway between the two rows of cows. Fun, fun, and refreshing......breathing cow breath and dodging steaming cowpies. In addition, walking on cement is jarring, and I feel the effects of that today. Ah, winter.......
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Please don't let my grumpiness cast a cloud over the joy of your day. I'm grinning a big fake smile as I type this, so you SMILE, too!
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14 comments:
The thought of you running laps in the barn, dodging cowpies, is enough to make anybody smile. And I'll bet you weren't wearing your Nikes.
I tried to join the Friends of the Library in a small town once, but discovered the library had no friends. Keep smiling.
I'm with you on the question of sports vs. fine arts. There shouldn't have to be a "versus." Certainly the body needs exercise, but so do the soul and spirit. I have seen those blank faces in many locales. And when funding from on high dries up, usually the first things to go are "frills" like music, art, drama, and foreign languages. Yet everywhere faces and fingers hog the cameras screaming, "WE'RE NUMBER ONE!!!"
I could go into a full-blown rant, but I won't. I'll just smile through my tears as I remember you dodging steaming cowpies in the barn! (Is it the cows or the pies that are steaming, or both? Inquiring minds want to know!)
I think it's wonderful that you did barn laps. My laps are in the grocery store these days. Wait a minute! I just realized why I should never shop with a list. Being organized and going down each aisle only one time will only serve to cheat me of much needed exercise. There is something to be said for going back and forth and back and forth between aisles afterall.
We are a 1-A school and have played 5-A schools before so I know the feeling.
Small communities are very different, we have been in ours for about two years now.
Hope you don't mind I added you to my blog roll.
Amy
It's been a long time, but I well remember the emphasis placed on sports (to the detriment of just about everything else -- except home ec and shop) at the high school I attended. I understand your gripes!
I'm smiling, too, at the idea of your dodging cow patties in the barn.
Stay warm!
Sempringham,
Oh, funny.....no friends for the library.....life for the arts is tough all over.
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rhymsie,
Thanks so much for your inquiry. Hmm.....let's see if I can explain the steaming cowpie concept: The air in the barn, though not as cold as outdoors, is rather chilly, maybe around 40 or so. Chilly enough that the cows' exhaled breath is visible.
Then there is the continually-deposited matter emanating from the other end of the cows to consider; it drops---gooey and warm---in some instances into the gutter behind the cows, but often onto the alleyway where humans must work and walk.
If a cow happens to simultaneously cough and poop.....well, you can probably visualize the results. Because that particular scenario can happen at any time, one must be ever aware of bovine movements in one's vicinity.....if a cow tail goes up and the cow's back arches......GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Have a nice day. :)
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Caution,
A hearty WELCOME BACK TO THE BLOGWORLD to you! The end of the holiday rush can work wonders in our lives.
Hey.....grocery store laps will work, too, and you point out a very good reason to avoid list-making. My memory is so poor, though, and I live far from the grocery store, meaning a list is almost a necessity on grocery-shopping day, though, sometimes I do forget to make a list, or I make a list and forget to take it along. GRR.
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Welcome, My Wonderful Men,
Do you really have wonderful men in your life?! Just kidding, of course. Ahem.
My goodness.....your 1A school has 5A opponents....wow. I thought last night's 1A/3A matchup was bad enough.
Thank you for visiting here and its an honor to be added to your bloglist.
Hi, Pat....er, Pattie,
That's perfect, you coming up with the more delicate name of "cow patties".....cute!
I hope your ice is gone by now down there in Arkansas.
Don't worry about being cranky...
No, we don't have snow blowers out here. Just big tractors. It's the first time since 1964 that we have 2 feet of snow accumulated....
But speaking of BB, I'm one of those fans that watches the local game every weekend.
An updated post will be arriving shortly. I understand your son's feelings.
I think that's a common problem. It's one reason why people interested in the arts traditionally flee to cities.
Don't run on cement. That's really bad for your joints!
I suspect here in Troy, sports are also king, though we don't partake of the games ourselves. We have no arts whatsoever, lol. It's strange that the school would cancel classes and yet still have a game at night! That is a degree of sports obsession that is beyond what I'm used to. I'm sure for the most part its tons of fun though. I think wrestling is a bit bigger here than football or basketball, but I'm not really sure.
I'm getting so tired of winter too, tired of being cold all of the time. We are fortunate to have quite a good band and orchestra program in our school and even have a special high school for the arts. Sports however overshadows it all and by the time kids get to high school they have to be really good at their sport to even make the team. It's hard to see your kid get cut from a sport they love playing because they haven't had the privileges of all the traveling teams, special camps, etc. I do my part by occasionally calling the local tv station to ask that music programs get featured once in a while.
Hi, Marg,
That is simply amazing about all the snow you have received this winter. I understand now why you don't have snowblowers. Wow....what a hassle this winter is for you.
Thanks for your thoughts, too, on the sports issue....I'll check your post.
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Hi, Ruth,
Yes, you're probably correct about that, and its too bad it has to be that way.
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Hi, Sherry,
Oh, yes....the sports provide much fun and entertainment for the community. I just wish there was more of a balance. The same people who think nothing of sitting at basketball games twice a week will balk at attending a concert once every few months. Its just ridiculous, in my opinion.
I was in Troy Mills for a cross-country meet one time several years ago.
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Hi, Nancy,
Good for you.....to keep the TV station updated on music events. That's a good idea.
Yes, and that's too bad when many kids are prevented from participating in sports in high school.....probably more of a problem in bigger schools, I would guess. Our high school is very small....less than 150 kids.
I just wish parents would encourage balanced extra-curricular activities around here. Kids get to high school age and want to drop out of band and vocal music, and parents let them. I didn't let my first 3 kids quit....except now with this 4th child, I've given up, because there's hardly anything left of the music programs at our school anyway. Doesn't say much for me, I guess, to have given up like that.
And, yes.....I'm tired of being cold all the time, too! And, the slippery ice all over the place is ridiculous. I hope you don't have ice up there where you are.
Our school used to be basketball only. If you didn't play, you did not count.
Now, they have added football, golf, track and baseball. So even though it's still sports, at least it varies.
Well I'm grinning a big real smile thinking of you grinning your fake one! And here we're all hoping for just a little snow rather than all this rain and dreariness.
It's sad about the sports being king, isn't it, when it's the arts that keep my soul alive and singing.
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