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On the way back I cut across the park and some young adults were playing an impromptu game of jumpers for goalposts football. I envied them their youth and their friendship and it reminded me of my own post University days when my friends would still gather in a park to play rounders or football and drink and then go home and make love (whilst I tidied away the picnic stuff- they never let me come to the post sports bit).
I wrote about it here. I still think of that Hammies guy at least once a month. I hope he's doing OK.
I wanted to join in today's game of football and then drink wine with the players and then tidy up whilst they went home to make love, but I realised there was no way to make that happen. I am 57 years old and not only would I not be able to keep up with the physicality of these younger people, but also it would be weird and inappropriate for a random old man to start playing football with a load of cool looking hipsters (that's the right word to use right?). If I'd been 21 too then I might have just been able to walk up and say - hey can I join in? And they'd probably have been cool with it. Maybe if I had had the audacity to ask now they would have felt too embarrassed to say no, but there's no doubt that it would change the atmosphere of the game, especially when I collapsed from a heart attack after 5 minutes. Some things are not meant to be. I did not notice or mark the last day that it would have been OK for me to play football in the park with strangers or with friends and I mourned those lost days. They passed without me noticing and I didn't realise how lucky I was at the time.
Yet as I passed the match, a misplaced pass went across the front of the goal and rocketed towards me. All the players were metres away and it was going fast enough to go a good distance, so I moved my aching body towards it, expertly trapped it and then kicked it back towards the players. It landed at the feet of a ridiculously beautiful woman and she took the pass and smashed it into the goal. It was a friendly and non-competitive enough game for everyone to cheer this fine bit of play and I turned and acknowledged my part. I had thought I couldn't take part, but then the Universe had said, "No Rich, your time is not over," sent me the ball and I had ended up with a valuable assist after just two expert touches. Somehow the goal stood. I think these players were all here for the post match wine and sex and didn't care about the football at all.
I could have ruined this perfect moment by then jogging over and asking to play and when the drinking and sex was scheduled to start. Instead I accepted this gift from the Universe and walked on. My wish to be transported back in time had been fulfilled for two golden seconds and that was long enough for me. I wouldn't want to be trapped in the past for any longer, I'd never get back to the life I have now.
I didn't stretch my hammies though. I just hope there was someone making sure all those beautiful young people had stretched theirs.
