As part of its community outreach efforts ATCO Electric is encouraging employees to participate in National Volunteer Week, so tonight I joined some co-workers in spending some time with the kids at the west end Boys and Girls Club. I helped make some garlic toast early in the evening, but my most demanding contribution came when we headed over to a nearby school gymnasium for a round of dodgeball.
Dodgeball was perhaps the only sport I was ever good at as a kid. Throughout elementary and junior high school, gym was by far my most humiliating class; I was terrible at floor hockey, basketball, flag football, track and field, everything. Keep in mind that at the time I was fit; I was small and skinny and even a little toned. (Those were the days!) But I was hopelessly uncoordinated. I briefly held a school record in situps and the flexed arm hang, but those activities required no real skill. Anything that did - including badminton - was completely beyond me.
That is, except dodgeball. I wasn't very good at hitting anyone with my throws, but I was mostly untouchable on the court, routinely the last man (or teen, I suppose) standing. With dodgeball, I was in the zone.
Tonight was another story, though not as calamitous as my current age and size might imply. I was taken out a few times, but I stayed alive for most of the game, and I even scored a hit on one opponent.
More importantly, the kids had fun. Not a bad night.
