sporting news

Last weekend I almost got taken out by both a car and a boat. And I am proud to say that my slow, calculated reaction is what saved me from sustaining serious injury. [Especially proud because my slow, calculated nature has caused me much criticism throughout my life from both family and acquaintances.]

Recently, I�ve been lucky enough to row on the Nagara River in the town of Kawabe, eastern Gifu Prefecture. There is a middle-aged couple there that generously allows me to practice with their shells. Both husband and wife have been avid rowers since they were high school students.

Three weeks ago was my first time in a single. Not wanting to tip into the cold deep waters, it was probably one of the most stressful hours of my life�my moment of birth was probably my most stressful hour, but thankfully I don�t remember it.

Last weekend was my second time out in the single, and I had another thankfully uneventful day on the water. After the row was when things got exciting.

The Yokoyama�s house is located directly across a single-lane road from the boat dock. Going out for a row and returning from the row is usually a simple matter of looking both ways then crossing the street.

Last weekend things weren�t so simple. Mrs. Yokoyama [who is not even close to breaching the 5� mark] was leading the way with one end of the shell on her shoulder while I was bringing up the rear, also with the boat resting on my shoulder. Mrs. Yokoyama looked both ways then began to cross. She just had a couple more steps to go when she noticed a car coming. She started to run. Meanwhile I was at the far edge of the street, and had I--following Mrs. Yokoyama�s lead�taken the choice made obvious to me and ran, I would have been hit by the car.

The boat was between myself and the car, so even if I avoided being hit directly by the car, the car was going to hit the boat. The boat, resting on my shoulder, would have injured me quite a bit.

Luckily, I thought of something other than running, and every so calmly, quickly, and gracefully extended my arms above my head, raising the boat as high as possible.

The car just grazed one of the riggers as it passed underneath at a remarkable speed. I can�t possibly understand why, but the driver had noticeably and audibly accelerated considerably as he�or she�advanced upon the boat.

Why would anyone want to hit a boat?

.. .. ..

Today, I went to an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. It was a blood-type based, mixed, �hat� tournament.

What does that all mean?

�Hat� indicates that the teams were determined randomly by drawing lots from a hat. �Mixed� indicates that teams were comprised of both men and women. �Blood-type based� indicates that we were also grouped by blood-type.

For better or worse, many Japanese put a fair amount of weight on a person�s blood type. They find that it explains many aspects of that person�s character.

So, today there were 13 teams in all: 5 type A teams [reserved, mild-mannered, full of worry, indecisive, cautious, deeply moved by things, non-combative and self-sacrificing], 4 type O teams [calm, patient, in control of their emotions, strong-willed, unyielding and full of self-confidence despite a quiet appearance], 3 type B teams [cheerful, independent, light-hearted, talkative, sensitive, sociable, caring and flamboyant], and 1 type AB team [B on the outside, but A on the inside].

The placings were as follows: 8th - A, 7th - O, 6th - O, 5th - B, 4th - A, 3rd - A, 2nd - O, 1st - O.

I honestly couldn�t be happier with today�s results for these reasons: 1) I have type O blood and the type O teams had the best showing, 2) My type O team placed first, and 3) us winners got free t-shirts.

There�s not too many things that make me happier than getting a free t-shirt.