Today at lunch I played racquetball for the first time. I did not have high hopes. (Anyone ever seen me play tennis? Or ping-pong, even.) As much as it pains me to admit it, I do not have the quickest reflexes. Still, I was hopeful. I really liked the idea that it was impossible to lose the ball. You're trapped in this square box of a room with it. No hitting it into the street, or onto the neighboring court. No constantly running after the ball. I liked the idea of that.

So, how did it go?..... I liked it! I liked the way it sounded, too. I liked the way my tennis shoes (NO BLACK SOLED SHOES ALLOWED!) squeaked on the (wooden? is it really wood?) floor - it reminded me of basketball days gone by. I liked the way the ball made a popping sound as it smacked the wall. And I liked the cartoon-like whirring sounds that were made either by the ball zipping by, or by the air through the racquet.

All in all, considering that neither I nor my partner had ever played, and the only instruction I had was, "First there is a dotted line. You stand behind that while the other person serves. The person serving stands behind the next line, and the ball must hit the front wall and land behind the third line" (at least I think that's what he said), I think we did pretty good. We laughed alot, so I figure that worked our ab muscles, at least.

So, stay tuned. There may be amusing racquetball stories ahead. The most amusing thing today was the imprint the goggle strap made on my hair......(GOGGLES MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES!)