THE HUSBAND AND THE CLAY COURT – REVISITED (AGAIN!)

It’s like deja vu all over again.  John and I are out on the tennis court taking a lesson and some how his feet got tangled up and the next thing I know he is tucking and rolling into the side wall.  Luckily nothing was broken this time.  The blood was even minimal -  just two or three scrapes.  But it made me think of my Modern Fable from a few years ago and I thought I’d post it once again.
THE HUSBAND AND THE CLAY COURT – A MODERN FABLE

Once upon a time there was a husband who was named John. John was tall and athletic. He liked to compete. By chance, two people asked John if he and his wife would like to play mixed doubles at the tennis courts at the YMCA.

“Oh no,” his wife said. “I have a terrible serve and do not play well.”

“Nonsense,” he said.

So they went to play. Back and forth they hit the ball, John taking most of the shots because of his superior ability. They lost the first set even though he tried hard. They switched partners. This time John won because he was not playing with his wife. But there was unhappiness. Finally they played together again.

“We will do better this time, now that we are warmed up,” John declared.

All over the court he sprinted taking as many shots as possible. Finally a ball came flying over and he went to retrieve it with his very showy running forehand. But his feet slipped.

“Uh oh”, he said to himself, “I am falling. I must execute my famous tuck and roll which I learned as a young lad.”

But alas, the tuck did not quite happen. What did happen was much blood and a broken bone.

THE MORALS OF THIS STORY

1) Soft human tissues and bone are no match for hard things .
2) It is better not to try too hard to do something than suffer the consequences.
3) Even though your brain still thinks you are young, sometimes your body just doesn’t believe it.