nite.lights

Dragon, Lakeside Amusement Park While driving to Lakeside, I was reminded of one of those defining moments you have as a child - a moment that either scars or sculpts you into the human that you are. This moment did both. Right across the street from the Park, there is another park and another lake. Running parallel to the street, and just inside the other park, used to be a soccer field. A small, small soccer field. One weekday night in my adolescent days, I played a soccer game at this field. At this game was the usual group of parents and younger siblings with no other choice but to come (any sibling above the legal driving age was not there. Why would the be? They were driving. Probably. I wasn’t of legal driving age at the time, so I don’t know where the older kids would go. Maybe to Sonic or some bowling alley.) Also in attendance was a group of boys my age, or just above, from our family’s church who had decided to come watch me play. A gesture of support, I suppose. The game itself isn’t memorable; what happened after the game, is. My coach, an adult by age, decided that he didn’t like the way that the game had been refereed and was going to let the referee know about it. And he let the referee know about it by throwing his fold up chair at him and repeatedly screaming “asinine” and progressively getting less coherent or PG. The referee just stood there and took the abuse. My coach was not a small man either. Now, he was not in shape by any means, but if he got going, it would be like one of those bad guys wearing football gear in Super Mario running at you.  The only thing I remember the referee saying is, “Calm down, sir. You’re going to have a heart attack.” To which my coach cunningly replied, “I hope I do!” Bangarang, coach. Mostly, I remember seeing a the faces of those kids who came to watch me play as they watched my coach break every lesson McGee had ever taught us. Years later we found out that my coach had been molesting some of kids on the team and is currently serving time in the state penitentiary. The wrath of the Dragon.

Dragon, Lakeside Amusement Park

While driving to Lakeside, I was reminded of one of those defining moments you have as a child - a moment that either scars or sculpts you into the human that you are. This moment did both. Right across the street from the Park, there is another park and another lake. Running parallel to the street, and just inside the other park, used to be a soccer field. A small, small soccer field. One weekday night in my adolescent days, I played a soccer game at this field. At this game was the usual group of parents and younger siblings with no other choice but to come (any sibling above the legal driving age was not there. Why would the be? They were driving. Probably. I wasn’t of legal driving age at the time, so I don’t know where the older kids would go. Maybe to Sonic or some bowling alley.) Also in attendance was a group of boys my age, or just above, from our family’s church who had decided to come watch me play. A gesture of support, I suppose.

The game itself isn’t memorable; what happened after the game, is.

My coach, an adult by age, decided that he didn’t like the way that the game had been refereed and was going to let the referee know about it. And he let the referee know about it by throwing his fold up chair at him and repeatedly screaming “asinine” and progressively getting less coherent or PG.

The referee just stood there and took the abuse.

My coach was not a small man either. Now, he was not in shape by any means, but if he got going, it would be like one of those bad guys wearing football gear in Super Mario running at you.  The only thing I remember the referee saying is, “Calm down, sir. You’re going to have a heart attack.” To which my coach cunningly replied, “I hope I do!”

Bangarang, coach.

Mostly, I remember seeing a the faces of those kids who came to watch me play as they watched my coach break every lesson McGee had ever taught us.

Years later we found out that my coach had been molesting some of kids on the team and is currently serving time in the state penitentiary.

The wrath of the Dragon.

25 July 2009