Week 4 - "Ace of the Courts"

On Monday morning, Dan and Jay were at their usual spot near the company coffee machine dissecting Sunday's football game. Like most men in their mid thirties they loved sports. Hockey, basketball, baseball and football - especially football. They didn't actually play any sports but they sure liked to watch them on TV from the comfort of their soft couches and recliners.


Like most adults, their playing days were over. Ace understood this and was sympathetic. He played football and crew in high school and intramural sports in college. Once he graduated, his active lifestyle ended and his primary entertainment became bar hopping. 

Ace didn't really get serious about his own health until he was over forty. He tried to stay active after college but it wasn't easy. Ace would grab his basketball or tennis racquet and drive around to the local courts looking for a pickup game. But this was spotty exercise at best and would often result in several days of aches and pains due to his infrequent activity. 

These games were fun but they never really satisfied Ace. He wanted to win, of course, but there was something lacking in the competition. He did not know any of these men and probably would never see most of them again. There was no real sense of being on a team or any kind of group dynamic. That's what Ace was really looking for, what he craved. 

Nate joined the conversation and now the three of them were breaking down the offense and defense. Ace did not begrudge them their fun. Besides, it beat working, which is what they were supposed to be doing.  Nate and Dan were both smokers and Ace could never quite understand the contradiction between their unhealthy lifestyle and their devotion to their professional teams. Like many New England's, they had a vast collection Patriot's and Red Sox hats, Boston Bruin's jersey's and Celtic jackets which they wore with pride. Ace thought they looked ridiculous standing in front of the building smoking away in their authentic, pro outfits. Ace knew he was a bit of a snob. He liked his co-workers well enough but couldn't help but think of them as fat and lazy slobs who ordered greasy, takeout lunches and were forever taking cigarette breaks. 

Ace was not always a health nut. He smoked too much pot and drank way too much beer when he was younger. By the time he and his wife had their third child he had a nice little pot belly. He would rub his stomach lovingly and proclaim that it was "all paid for" whenever he finished a large meal. His kids thought this was funny. His wife thought it was disgusting. It was not until he saw a picture of himself holding his daughter that forced him to face reality. His little girl's legs were straddled around his waist and his shirt was stretched tight across his torso 

"Goddamn. I'm a fat, lazy slob," Ace said to himself when he saw the picture. 

So Ace joined a health club that had a dozen, run down tennis courts and went to work.