Bodies strewn about writhing in pain with blood splatter canvasing the ice like a Jackson Pollock painting, ladies and gentleman it’s broomball!
From Tokyo I Skype family members in Minneapolis, Minnesota weekly. The first topic of conversation is the weather. Lately, it has been about how much snow there is (a lot). After a recent call, I reminisced about Minnesota winters and how much I miss the easy access to winter sports such as cross-country skiing, hockey and my favorite – broomball.
If you haven't wintered in a place where snow can reach eye-level and higher, it's likely you have no clue about my favorite red-tinged sport.
To the uninitiated, broomball might look like a form of hockey played by participants too poor or unwilling to buy real gear. Instead of skates, hockey sticks and pucks, they opt for dumpster diving. “Hey, look what we found! Brooms, tired winter boots and volleyballs.“
Don’t let that fool ya, broomball is legitimate, with teams, leagues and tournaments. The sport has much in common with hockey, six players to a side, an ice rink and goals at each end. That's where the resemblance ends.
Rubber-soled boots do not mix well with ice, resulting in slippage and danger. Combine this with a lack of head protection and the chance of a crack on the noggin increases exponentially.
The broom is the key, used to bash a volleyball. Like hockey, the object of the game is to put the ball into the opposing team’s goal. Your opponents don't want this to happen. They want to put you on your ass. They want to check you into the boards. They want you to bleed.
The slick ice and the opposing team make successfully passing the ball to a teammate a near impossibility. The game is about timing. Watching team members overshoot their position and slide helplessly past an incoming pass is common. On knife-edged hockey skates, you can stop on a dime. On boots, you are lucky to stop at all. So it comes down to speed, balance and an understanding of physics.
I flunked physics in college; thus I rely on speed. Like Usain Bolt in the 100 meters, I crouch at one end of the rink hoping this time physics and gravity will work in my favor. Rather than a starter's pistol, I come out of my crouch when a teammate screams: “Unleash the fury!”
I am the fury! I start my dash, gathering speed as I go from one end of the rink to the other, praying to stay on my feet long enough to receive l the pass. Not always, maybe only rarely, but sometimes: Yes! I get the ball and just as I reach top speed, shoot! Gooooalllll!
Most of the time there is more sound than fury. The swish of the volleyball passing over the ice just behind me. Crashing into the boards, pride and body parts dented. Or, and I take some solace in this, running headlong into the opposing team, knocking them down like bowling pins. When this happens, spectators shout in unison: “Strike!”
COIL’ers read on!
New to COIL? Why not think about making it a resolution to become part of the revolution? That’s right monetization and micro-payments are the future. Subscribe for the price of a latte (five bucks!) per month, access the rest of this blog and all the content on the COIL site. Or be a content creator yourself and get paid.
We are never alone. We never do anything by ourselves. We are all connected. If you think about how much we are all inter-connected we would be much kinder to one another. Take something as simple as a one single food group from a meal and trace the lineage of how it got to your table. It puts things into perspective. We have never ever done anything alone without someone’s help.
Let’s trace the path of the broccoli that I ate last night. First, there is the person who brought the seed to the farm. Next there is the person who planted the broccoli seed. How about the family who raised the person who brought the seed and planted the seed? If it were not for them these two people would not be doing what they are doing. Then there is the person who picked the broccoli and someone had to box it. Who made the boxes where did they come from? Then there is the shipping, whether local or from overseas, either by truck of plane. Who drove the truck or flew the plane? Then there are the people who made the truck or plane. Finally it arrives at the supermarket. Somebody unloaded and placed the broccoli on the shelves of your local supermarket. Oh and don’t forget the check out person. Think about all these people involved in broccoli!
I’ve tracked one food group on the plate that I had for dinner. Think about tall the food groups on the plate and every single meal you have eaten up to this moment of your life. That’s food. What about things? Try tracking the lineage of one thing. You begin to realize that nobody in the grand scheme of things is any more important than anyone else. And we are all in it together helping one another along. Most people do not think in these terms. I would say it is one of many reasons why there are so many narcissists and ego driven people in the world. As a result end up exploiting others for their gain knowing that they can get away with it. A person picking the broccoli to bring to the supermarket is as important as a CEO of a company. The only difference, the CEOs wrote the narrative in their favor.
Now I do not go around tracking the lineage of every item I come across. It is humbling knowing the truth that I have never done anything on my own and I am not important.
I have rewritten this introduction with the Coil community in mind. The blog site has been in existence for nearly two years. When the opportunity arose to monetize the site thanks to Coil, I jumped at the chance.
Originally meant as a tool to promote my book of the same name, still in progress, it is now more about my voice. I am in a unique position having come from the US and now living in Japan more than fifteen years. Influenced by both sides of these worlds as well as Zen practioner for more than twenty five it felt once hitting fifty to begin being of service to others in the form of words.
The postings are very similar to the Coil site. While Coil members can view the site and I get paid, it has been mainly for those who are not members of this great community. They get a chance to read my postings.
My hope is that what I have to say resonates with people and they spread the word. It is not necessarily about money, although that would be nice. It is truly more about letting as many people know about the thoughts and ideas and maybe get folks to reflect on their life.
Let there be more blood
