Back in high school, (gulp) 25 plus years ago, there were a couple guys who had basement rec rooms that the gang could hang out in.
Sid's house, which was the main place to be, or at least he tried to make it the main place to be, had a pool table. It took up most of the room; it seems like there was a couch down there as well, where the guys hanging out could watch the players.
That basement is probably where I played most of the pool that I've played in my life. It's also where I listened to the most Steve Miller Band music, which is strange considering it was the '90s and Steve Miller Band was, like, 20-year-old music at that point.
Seth Meyers had the ping-pong table. We went there a couple times, as part of the senior football players' weekly gathering. I remember wearing my jersey, which was always too big for me.
Can you imagine? A dozen or so high school guys hanging out wearing their football jerseys while they played ping-pong?
We were cool. So cool.
Oh, and Seth's mom. She epitomized that song "Stacy's Mom," which wouldn't come out for another ten years or so, but reminded me of her when I heard it.
She seemed oblivious to all those teenage boys lusting after her.
It's so strange, as we get older, being able to look back at all the diverse world's we've inhabited in our time. There's probably some lesson to be learned from it.
Perhaps it can be a source of hope, when we feel stuck and miserable, to remember that it's only temporary.
Like the Good Book says, "This too shall pass."
