Idol Time
One of the virtues of getting older is watching my idols get old too, decayed, and ultimately destroyed. Not by dynamite but by diminution. Idols are less tempting when one has a of long history with them. Time is usually one of the best tests. Relationships, goods, investments, education. The time test. An idol that I have really struggled until recently was competitive sports, specifically basketball--but also rugby to some degree. Basketball became the test of my value and worth. The scoreboard and scorebook dictating whether I was a winner or loser depending on my stats and the final score. The story is long of basketball losing its power over me. Like the untying a nasty shoelace knot and it has taken decades. Over 30 years. Bad knee, two surgeries, rehab, trying to become the man on whatever court I happened to be on. College, Rec League. So many young men succumb to this athletic idol...only to become TV sports watching middle-aged men with empty souls and big guts.