So I read 1984 the other day. I think I remember writing an essay about it in high school without ever reading it, but I finally checked it out from the library the other day and read it.
My thoughts on the book: 1. 1984 was the year I was born. 2. It was one of those books that was written not to tell a good story, but to send a message. I like books that do more of the first, though I suppose that every good story actually tells a message. No, this one has no uprising proletariat coming back to restore freedom to the world, it has no Brotherhood actually existing and overcoming, but rather has Big Brother and the Thought Police and the rulers continuing to rule and exert power over everybody else. I understand Orwell’s point. I appreciate it. I don’t think any of us what any of that to happen. That doesn’t mean that I liked reading the book. I’m not going to want to read it again. 3. Freedom is too important and too natural for something like this to ever happen. All men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights is an idea and a thought so ingrained in the world now that a revolution like the one mentioned wouldn’t take hold. 4. I wanted to give a thought on how government isn’t always horrible like the Party in 1984, and that when we read something like this, our knee-jerk reaction is to go all the way back. However, since that reaction is already happening in our society, and I think it’s wrong. I’m okay with government, but I think that, generally, the less we have it, the better. 5. I’m grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ which teaches true, correct principles and then lets us govern ourselves.
I would just like to mention that Torrie has enjoyed our basketball night as well. She's made some friends by talking to the other wives, and she gets the chance to make fun of me sweating. That, my friends, is a win-win for Torrie.
So a few of you may know of my love for playing basketball. However, ever since the glory days of the back-to-back-to-back stake young men’s basketball championships of the Livonia Ward, I have found it hard to find my niche on the few teams I’ve been on. I’m not a consistent enough shooter, and it’s harder to find quality opportunities to impress people with my speed because I’m not a good enough finisher and big people always seem to be able to block my layups. Add the fact that I never play consistently enough to get over that first game where you can’t make even a single layup, and I find myself not contributing very much to any team that I play on (though, usually, I have a pretty good plus-minus, even though I’m not directly contributing to the score. I’m just saying.)
So, after having moved to Shoreline, I finally decided that I needed to start playing ball again, now with the old men in the ward. The fact that I currently weigh more than I ever have may have influenced this decision.
I showed up last Tuesday and shot a little. One guy from the ward came to shoot as well so we had a little 21 action, where I destroyed him. I was fast and was making layups, and he wasn’t using his body well enough.
So my confidence was a little better for last Thursday’s game. That was a mistake. I turned the ball over like no other, missed a couple of easy layups, and we got killed by the best team in the league. I got bruised up and, being out of shape yet running around, was pretty wiped out after the game.
So it was with a little trepidation that Torrie and I showed up for basketball last night (she watches, I play). Mostly different people showed up for our team, so perhaps I didn’t have the stigma of the game before. We started and I played the second quarter. I played fairly well, including getting fouled on a breakaway and nailing my two free throws, but I did get a little tired at the end of the half and we were still down by about 5.
The 3rd quarter was played with our “A” team out there, and at the end of the quarter we were still down by about 5. They were playing well, but I knew that the other team was getting tired. I went back in the game about halfway through the 4th quarter, down by 3.
It was a little frustrating because there were a couple guys who weren’t passing and kept losing the ball on their drives. Luckily we played some good defense, got a couple to go in, and we were down by 1 with about two minutes left.
We brought the ball down and I guess the guy was tired cause he passed me the ball near the 3 point line on the left side. I saw an opening and drove with my left, switching to my right as I went to lay it in. To my dismay, it ringed in and out. However, my momentum allowed me to get the rebound. I passed it away, and a couple of passes later I found myself with the ball in the same situation. I drove again, knowing that I could beat the guy guarding me. This time the layup went in, and we were up by one. They brought the ball down and tried to pass it around. I doubled up on the guy with the ball and he put up an ugly shot, no good. I grabbed the rebound and we brought it up the court, taking our time. I passed it to one of the big guys and set a pick for him. Beautiful pick, and then I went for the roll straight towards the basket, nobody in my way. To my surprise, my teammate saw the opportunity and sent me a beautiful pass, which I gathered in and put in the basket. Up by 3!
The other team would drive down, get fouled, and make a couple of free throws, but we were able to hold the ball long enough for time to run out. A comeback victory!
I felt much better afterwards, and while I still have plenty of room to improve…maybe I won’t give up on basketball after all. At least until I’ve started losing some weight.
