A Shy Man's Tale. Viewpoints: 8. D. Recreation
A Shy Man's Tale. Viewpoints: 8. D. Recreation
“The sportsman knows that a sport is a recreation, a game, an amusement and a pastime, but his eyes are fixed on a higher goal, on the most important thing in his life, which is his education or his vocation.” - Avery Brundage
As a child my recreations were quiet ones: butterfly collecting, rock collecting, fossil collecting, etc., which were often related to the sciences. Probably the most favorite Christmas gift I ever received was a microscope, which actually worked better than most of the kids' microscopes I see today. I was always looking at the world around me. I once shocked my parents by asking for a globe for a Christmas present. They managed to find an inexpensive one, and I learned every country and capital on that globe. Too bad many countries of Africa and Asia are now known under different names. Even my past times were mainly involved in education. I really didn't get involved in sports until junior high school, when I tried out for the basketball team (didn't make it), and the track team as a high jumper. I made it onto the track team. In high school I tried out for the basketball team, but again didn't make it. I made the track team all four years of high school though. My senior year there were exactly three people in the entire school who could dunk a basketball: the star 6'8" forward, the 6'6" center and a 6'1 1/2" high jumper on the track team, me. I found it funny. I played city league basketball for my church team to quell my desire to play, both in high school and in college. During my undergraduate studies, I was on the track team at Cal State Fullerton, where I did mainly high jump, but also a little bit of long jumping triple jumping and a fair bit of decathlon. I managed to juggle a part-time job, at least 30 hours of track practice a week, and my studies by a very simple expedient. I only slept four hours a night. Just don't ask me to do that now, I wouldn't survive. In graduate school I played some intramural and pick-up basketball, and intramural and pick-up volleyball. Spontaneous volleyball games outside the chemistry building were a fairly regular affair.
After I married and we had moved to Midland, Michigan, I kept playing in city league basketball and volleyball, got more serious about tennis (which I played as an undergraduate to pass a couple of PE courses), played softball, and rediscovered and old favorite past time from my youth. That was fishing. I hadn't done much fishing living in southern California, except for a few half day fishing saltwater trips on party boats out of San Pedro. In Michigan, however, we lived on a quarter mile from the Tittabawassee River, famous for its runs of walleye. I started fishing again. I got interested in fly fishing, and bought a fly rod, and started tying a few flies. I'm still very interested in both fly fishing and fly tying. (I may be better known for that, than for being a chemist).
That didn't mean I abandoned other sports completely. I didn't, but my roll changed. Instead I started coaching as a certified Special Olympics softball, track and field, volleyball and basketball. These days I'm down to just softball and track and field, which is fine with me. Even the coaching can get fairly physical, since you need to show the athletes how to do it. Just talking about it often isn't enough. I do enjoy coaching, though.
Both Valerie and I are dog people. We've had at least one dog in our household for at least 26 of the 27 years we've been married. We both enjoy the companionship of such devoted friends. Our children are the same. As a child our family had one dog, Duchess, the runt of a Weimaraner litter. Unfortunately on the trip from Paramus, New Jersey to our new home in Green Hills, Ohio she somehow consumed some strychnine and died on the trip. The only other dogs were my brothers, Fritz, a dachshund of my younger brother Scott's who showed up my senior year of high school and Schmaltz, a dachsund mix, belonging to my older brother who moved back in for a while after his first marriage ended in divorce. My mother always also seemed to have a cat around as well. At the moment there are two dogs in our household in Louisiana. One is a chihuahua/dachsund mix belonging to my wife (and there is no doubt that he is her dog) and my older daughter's dog, a beagle/labrador mix who may be nearing the end of his life. The only thing both dogs do with me is look for me to stop the noise when there is thunder. I don't know why they think I should be able to do that, but they do. Our family really isn't complete without them, however.
We will occasionally watch DVD of a movie (still don't take Valerie to the movies, it seems silly to pay for a nap for Valerie). My wife and daughters often ask me what movies we should put in for with our DVD service. My daughters were impressed with "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Little Big Man,"two of my favorites. I tend to like comedies more than dramas, but appreciate both if they are well made. Valerie and I both have a few shows on television we like to watch, many of them the same. We both tend to read a large amount as a major part of our recreation.
Why is recreation important? I believe simply because you can't keep your nose to the grindstone constantly and be productive. Without taking a break, you won't look at a problem with new eyes and see a new and different solution. Recreation should be a break for the mind, the soul and the body. A release from work that refreshes everything. That's one of the things I love about fishing. When I go fishing, I don't think about anything else but fishing. When I return from fishing I'll pick up those problems again with a fresh, clear mind, hopefully seeing solutions where I saw nothing before. Without some form of recreation I would do my job poorly.
“We may say of angling, as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries, ''Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did''; and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling.” - Izaak Walton
“People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness.” - John Wanamaker
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