Monday, January 18

Wide Open Spaces

I was never into sports for obvious reasons. I was frail and the boys would probably crush me if I dared dip my toes into basketball or whatever brute activity they were into.

But I like football. I love the wide open field. I love the smell of grass. I love how changing the earth was. One minute it's caking with dust but after a little drizzle, it would turn muddy.

I remember one scorching afternoon. A breeze picked up some dirt and a couple of leaves. It swirled up and in a split-second, towered like a mini-hurricane. A dust devil of sorts. I tried to chase it but I was too slow. After just a couple of strides, it vanished. Just some dried up leaves raining down to remember it.

And there was this one time during PE class when I tried to catch the ball with my chest. I jumped as high as I could but even my head couldn't touch the ball. It landed a couple of meters behind me... into some guy's foot that kicked it with such immense force. It hit my back. And I was sent down from my jump, reeling from a stabbing backpain.

One time, I trooped before the rest of the class as we made our way to the football field. I ran as fast as I could until my feet could no longer keep up with my pace. I tripped. The next thing I knew, my elbows were already bleeding. I rolled over several times just so they'd think I purposely dived into the field.

And there were countless times when everyone's gone home and I'd stare into the field. Just there, staring.

19 comments:

  1. stare. just continue to stare until your eyes can no longer see what they want to see.

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  2. hayaan mo na, kaya mo 'yan, practice, determined ka naman e

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  3. @doc: philosophical much? i sincerely hope you're doing ok!
    @boss: inuubo ka?
    @xtian: practice practice...

    but seriously, i'm probably stupid, hindi ko naintindihan comments niyo. hehe :D

    hugs to you three!

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  4. "And there were countless times when everyone's gone home and I'd stare into the field. Just there, staring."

    the last paragraph, it was biting; it sinks slowly and for some reason it will stay at the bottom only to rise again when you least thought it will..

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  5. things a sudden strike of sadness can make you write. thanks dabo!

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  6. there's something calming and peaceful with wide open spaces. i'd often just sit on the balcony and look at the field behind our house sometimes.

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  7. the wonder of open spaces is that it lets your mind and eyes wander.

    "things a sudden strike of sadness can make you write." - hmmmmmmm....

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  8. @engel: wow, may field sa likod ng bahay niyo? wow! :)
    @lee: just missing high school. that's all... i think :P

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  9. i loved soccer too. Pero isang beses after PE i strayed to the muddy part of the field and slipped, covering half my body with mud. Pati nung goalkeeper ako, imbis na bola ang nasalo ko, puro putik lang nasipa papunta sa mukha ko. But it was fun. Your post made me remember all that fun, back when mud was still a fun, innocuous plaything before we grew up and avoided muddy places entirely.

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  10. me too, i wasn't the sporty type. i was the kid who was into chess and solving crossword puzzles. i'm such a nerd. i guess it's because i was sickly then and the lampayatot type.

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  11. i was a disaster at pe myself but then when i got to enjoy table tennis, i got to dominate something other than scrabble and word factory. then again it is not a "contact" sport. =)

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  12. Stop staring! Laro lang nga laro. :))

    I followed you. Awesome blog. :D

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  13. it's not too late to catch up. try to play sometime. and conquer the open field. who knows, hindi ka pala pang football ... open field na ice skating rink pala! hahahaha. parang balerina on ice lang. hehehe

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  14. @johnny cursive: speaking of mud, may isa akong barkada. maarte. nag-white shorts and white knee-high socks. ginawa siyang fullback eh maputik dun sa area niya. nadulas. sayang ang outfit. hehe

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  15. @max: buti ka pa nga, ako until now, sickly and lampayatot. oh well... hehe

    @galen: hala, i got a nice from you. i could shut down this blog na :)

    @paci: i don't know how to play table tennis. natataranta ako! lol

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  16. @pau: i'm not worthyyyy! thanks for dropping by :)

    @beki: this is for serious consideration. hehe

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  17. maganda kasi sa mata ang green soothing...

    pero i like going to beach talagang sarap mag stay don, soaking ur feet sa shore.. basta iba pakiramdam.. hehehe

    have a great day ahead

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