One way to get out and do things was to participate in church sponsored sports. The girls in our Singles Sunday School wanted to organize a softball team. I volunteered to help coach it. After all, I am very competitive, and I also like to be around girls, so it was a good fit for me. Our games were against other churches in the community, and we played at fields all over town. My main job was to boost the morale of our girls, while tearing down their opponents. I sat in the stands behind home plate, and I would yell out encouragements to our players. When the opposing side got up to bat, I would berate them or the umpire. My strategy was to get in their heads and make them second guess their reason for being there. It really worked, because our team would win, and the other team would go home crying. Things went well until one night in Olympia. I was doing my thing in the stands, and the umpire came up to me and told me that if I didn't stop that I would be thrown out of the game. I have never seen a spectator thrown out, but he did. I had to watch what I said after that, because I was getting a reputation around the league. I could support our girls, but not tear down the opposition. It just wasn't the same.
Another sport I participated in was Singles Volleyball. Every Monday night, we would play in the church's gym which was located on the Fifth Floor of the Ellis Building. That building was torn down in the early 90's to make way for the new sanctuary, although a portion of it kind of remained--the basement. In the Ellis Building, the basement was used as the social hall, and it also was designed as a bomb shelter, should we have a nuclear attack. I don't know whatever happened to the stored food and supplies in case we had to stay there for a year or more. Anyway, the children's ministry now occupies a portion of the old basement. But, back to volleyball. Before each game, a captain was chosen and players were picked. I was always picked last. It seemed to be a trend with me since the early days of school. I was picked last. I really don't know why, because I was an ace server. I could serve the ball better than almost anyone else. I once served an entire game without the other team scoring a point. I was also good at setting a spiker. I would put it just at the top of the net for someone to spike the ball. I also would encourage my fellow teammates if they did a good shot or console them if they missed one. And for all of that, I was picked last. I wasn't very good at spiking the ball, but I did it one time and caused the opponent to get a bloody nose. We played to win. On one occasion, the teams decided to pick the last player first. That was the only time I was ever picked first for anything. It felt good, but at the same time kind of condescending. I am sure their hearts were in the right place. Despite the cutthroat games, we would also have a Bible study after the games. I sometimes led that.
In the world of Sports, our church would honor the USC Gamecocks Football team before every school year. I was an Associate Deacon and Usher during this time. It was 1980. George Rogers was a member of the team. It was my job that Sunday to seat the team. I was standing right behind George, and he turned around quickly and knocked me to the floor. He was a mountain of a man and all muscle. It was like being knocked down by a brick wall. He saw me on the ground and apologized profusely. I was okay, but I did have the distinction of being somebody knocked down by a future Heisman Trophy winner and not be in a game.
On a side note, one of my duties as an Associate Deacon was to send out get well cards to our members in the hospital. Every week, I would get a list of those in the hospital and their room numbers. I sent a get well card to one woman. It turned out that she was in the hospital to have a baby. She did not appreciate the card and complained to the church. She called for my dismissal as an Associate Deacon. I told the church that they needed to put the reason why people were in the hospital to avoid confusion. I don't know if they ever did.
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