I went to a writers/storytellers workshop tonight with Pandora. It was a great exercise. We were asked to write a story about a personal glory, gift or grace. We were given 15 minutes, in which time I wrote this episode. (It is rough, raw and totally unpolished…but what do you expect in 15 minutes.)

I present it to you with only a minor spell-check edit.
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Huck walked onto the tennis courts with her beat up second hand racket. She had never before played tennis, but she had been told her University didn’t have enough players for their own tournament. So when they approached the basketball team to provide warm bodies she gladly accepted. She liked being out in the sun and active, so it was the perfect Saturday opportunity. After a brief run-down of the rules and principles she took her place beside her doubles partner.

The truth was she still didn’t understand the scoring and most of the game was still a mystery. She danced about the court hopelessly flailing at the speeding green bullets. As they passed by her, Huck found herself swinging too late, too hard or not at all. But she was determined to do her best. Luckily her partner picked up the slack and Huck quickly learned how to stay out of the way. They lost two matches, but not too badly and were beginning their third and final before disqualification. Half way through the match Huck lurched for yet another passing missile and suddenly felt the familiar twist and agony as her ankle curled in upon itself. The pain was excruciating and took her breath away. Her partner was there in an instant to provide the much needed support to reach the bench. After a few moments of stretching and deep breaths she found her strength, rose off the bench and continued despite the pain. Huck could feel the tennis shoe tighten around her now swollen purple ankle. She hobbled her way through the rest of the match knowing the final outcome would most likely prove to be failure and disqualification.

Later as Huck lay in her dorm room with her leg elevated and iced she heard an unexpected knock on her door. Without rising she called to her guest to enter. As the door swung open Huck was astonished to see most of the tennis club standing before her presenting a large trophy. Had they won the meet? She was surprised as they handed the award to her, with the proud inscription “Sportsmanship Award.” They applauded her efforts and later Huck learned that all teams present had voted and she had won it.

There was no failure, only recognition in the face of her efforts. Huck had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat through her courage and tenacity.
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I guess after re-reading it myself, I found some life lessons in it:

1. You don’t have to know what you are doing; just showing up is effort enough
2. You will occassionally swing too late, too hard or not at all, throughout your life
3. Sometimes it’s best to just stay out of the way
4. Pain and injury are unavoidable, but don’t let that stop you
5. It’s nice to know you have a partner you can rely on to help you reach the bench when you can’t get there by yourself
6. Stretching yourself and breathing deeply are integral to finding your strength
7. Even when all things seem dire, continue to do your best
8. Don’t be afraid to invite the unexpected into your room
9. People will recognize your efforts and accomplishments in times when even you don’t
10. Failure is usually in your own mind; sometimes it looks like victory to those who are paying attention