saturday october 30

today i was walking down my street when i heard a kid calling "excuse me!" off to my left. from across the road, he was imploring me to toss back the tennis ball that had escaped from the fenced-in schoolyard he was standing in. eager to help, i picked up the ball and heaved it from the opposite sidewalk -- immediately, i realized two things. first, that this was my first full-fledged throw since that fatal january toss. second, i'd need to build up my arm strengh. my throw came up short, bouncing off the fence and back toward the street. "don't worry, i'll get it!" the kid said, hopping out of the schoolyard and onto the sidewalk. real nice, luke. real big help.