For the Sheer Good Health Of It

One of the artifacts I "re-inherited" when my parents moved a couple of years ago was a piece of poster board with a hand drawn bracket from a ping pong tournament held one summer at church camp.  A dozen or so names were scribbled in for the opening round, progressively narrowed through the week as matches were played and challengers were eliminated.  The bracket eventually funneled down to a single name -- mine -- whose championship victory was no doubt announced to and feted by the entire camp community.  It was hardly the only ping pong tournament that was ever organized at camp, and, if you don't mind my saying so, it wasn't the only one I had won.  Long lost to the mists of time are the reasons why this particular bracket was saved.

The memory of that poster -- and the lifetime I've spent on one side of that net or the other -- made me smile last Friday as we arrived at L.T.'s farm.  L.T. tends to be pretty small on cardiovascular workouts -- the kind that, according to him, put the heart under dangerous stress.  But he is big on activity -- walking, moving, stirring about; chores the likes of which our forebears were constantly engaged.  They moved around -- tending crops, feeding animals, repairing fences, loading hay, fixing a tractor...  You get the idea.  People like me, on the other hand, pretty much sit -- in a car, behind a desk, in front of a computer or the TV.  We haven't cut back on eating, however, which goes a long way toward accounting for the way we look.

So it was that my countenance rose when, entering the meeting room, he introduced us to his ping pong table.  "Activity," he said with an eager smile -- "and mental stimulation" -- both of which, he hinted, we could use a little more of.  I could only smile.  This was very good news.  What I had grown up thinking of as mere recreation turns out to be a good way to stay mentally and physically alive.  He handed me a paddle and invited a few swings.  I neglected to mention that it wasn't the first time I had held such an instrument.  Lucky for him there was no tournament bracket to fill in.  I tried to go easy on him.  Pretty soon he handed his paddle to Harold, content to watch us play.  Recognizing that this could go on all night, he eventually intervened and suggested we get to the lecture.  Wisdom and expertise, after all, are more his playing field.

But I left at the end of the evening with a mandate.  While it has been years since I lived in a home with space to accommodate a ping pong table, through the wonders of technology, our Wii console -- sadly neglected, I'm afraid -- can fill the breach.  Turns out, it is outfitted with a ping pong program that is a pretty good substitute.  I couldn't wait to fire it up and start practicing.  All, of course, in the interest of good health.

I may have to find a frame and place to hang that poster board bracket -- for the inspiration.  And, of course, to intimidate prospective opponents.  Who knows, maybe ego boosts are good for your health, as well.