Getting Even (Sports - Flash Fiction)

I inch up to the mid-line keeping their forward about five yards in front of me.  Three strides.  I need three strides in an open field for acceleration, adjustment and positioning.  Their keeper sets the ball down at the corner of his box and backs up to run into his goal kick. 

I glance up at the clock.  Eight-six minutes.  Four minutes left.  Four long minutes.  Most goals in a match come in the last ten minutes of the half.  We are up by one, but don't become complacent.  Tighten up.  I am an impassable barrier.  Impassable barrier.  I am impassable.

The keeper's kick sends the ball in a powerful parabolic curve dropping to their mid-fielder on the left side, my side.  Our midfielder challenges the player with the ball.  Their right wing, my primary responsibility, tenses and bobbles on his feet, waiting for a clue or inspiration about how to position himself for a pass.  I give him three strides and wait for his move. 

The ball handler starts an aggressive dribble out toward the side-line.  The forward, my man, anticipates a chip and sprints down-field.  I stay with him.  I stay goal-side.  I am close.  I am making him an unattractive target.  I am in control of my space.  I own the field. 

My midfielder, fifteen yards up field, overcommits when the ball handler feints to the outside.  The opposing ball handler comes away clean with the ball, gliding toward our goal.  I am the only defender capable of challenging the ball carrier, but I will have to give up my man and let him lag behind me.  I check for offside but my mates cross-field have sagged back and given the attackers too much maneuvering room. 

I can't let the ball handler continue unaccosted, I leave my man and strike out toward the ball hoping the center-back will pull the defensive line up and hobble the forward with the threat of an offside call.

The ball carrier has me at a disadvantage.  He has the center-field and I will have to come at him from the outside.  Our vectors converge and we start running shoulder to shoulder.  I hear a roar from the crowd and my opponent begins to pick up speed as though surfing the sound waves.  I dig, pull and stretch, lengthening my stride.  I will myself into flight.

He will be in range of a credible shot within five strides.  I can see the outline of the penalty box in my peripheral vision.  I don't want to foul unless absolutely necessary.  To make a clean tackle I cannot slide from behind.  I must be even with the ball handler.  I am a hair behind.  I must gain.  I must fly. 

He redirects the ball, but the move costs him a fraction of a second.  Our shoulders buffet one another back and forth in an attempt to unbalance the other.  My shoulder comes up in front of his.  I am more than even.  I am clear to slide.  One more touch and he will shoot with his left foot: the far side of my challenge.  I will have to cross in front of him.  I must deflect the ball. Time it. Time it. Now....

My right foot lands out far ahead and as I come over it I straighten my left knee and sling my body forward.  My left foots points forward and reaches for the ball.  My body hits the ground as gently as an airplane touching down on the runway and slides.  I feel the satisfying tap on the ball on the toe of my soft leather shoe, followed immediately by the slap of his boot under my ankle.

He goes down hard, sprawled out in front of me.  Still on the ground I push up on my elbows to see what has happened.  The ball rolls harmlessly to our keeper who pushes it forward as he surveys the field.  The crowd is booing.  I am inside the penalty area.  My opposing forward is curled up in a fetal position in a pathetic plea for sympathy.

I was even.  I was more than even.  It was clean.  I didn't tackle from behind.  Anxiously, I look around for the referee hoping he saw it my way.

1-15-13

A Menu for Gun Control

 

Gun Control is on the table of public opinion again.  There are design and regulatory options available to reduce the killing power of firearms available to the public.  Responsible gun control will, I believe, be crafted from the options below.  In my opinion, laws consistent with the 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution could be enacted which:

 

1.    Every firearm needs to be registered.  The registration process must involve, at a minimum, criminal, restraining orders, substance abuse and mental health records.  Gun safety and handling courses should be mandatory.  Every sale must involve registration or a registration transfer.  The Gun-Show and Private Sale loophole will have to be closed and all unregistered guns will have to be documented.  All firearm transfers (sales and gifts) should go through a licensed firearms dealer with background check.  (Similar to Transferring a Car) There must be a record of every change of ownership.

a) Every firearm must bear a legible serial number and be registered in federal database to someone.
b)  Owner must notify a dealer and report any lost or stolen firearms.

2. Limit magazine capacity and perhaps require design features with reduced reloading speed.   I like the Larry Simoneaux’s suggestion that weapons should be limited to fixed magazines with capacities under ten rounds.  http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20121231/OPINION04/712319995/-1/OPINION04

3. Limit speed of semi-automatic fire.

4. Limit types of rounds (e.g. no hollow-point or Teflon coating).  Loads designed to penetrate bullet-proof vests or glass should be illegal.

5. Impose an annual tax on possession of firearms.  Firearms have a social cost ranging from injuries and bullet-proof vests for law enforcement officers to registration and regulation expenses.  An annual tax on the possession of firearms will allow gun owners to contribute to the cost of their choices. The tax could be a graduated tax such as $5.00 per caliber per year.

6. Require that firearms be stored or transported only with a locking trigger guard or in a locked gun cabinet.

7. Implement an automatic firearm alert system through electronic identification.  All Firearms would be required to have a permanent Tracking Chip.  The Firearm Tracking Chip (FATC) would be designed to be detected by FATC Detectors (FATCD).  FATCDs could be installed in schools, stores and private homes for that matter. The FATCs would have to be built into a sensitive part of the firearm so they could not be disabled without disabling the firearm: a problematic but not impossible engineering issue.

 

8.  All firearms must be registered with annual renewals.  Registration and renewals will trigger a review of appropriate databases to confirm eligibility.

 

 

As long as the 2^nd Amendment is interpreted as granting a right to citizens to possess firearms, there will be gun fatalities.  But there are ways to keep guns out of the hands of children, people with a history of crime or domestic violence and those with a mental and/or emotional disease or disability.  There are also technological avenues to limit the amount of damage done by someone intent on mass murder.

 

The death rate for gun related deaths in US was 1 in 10,000.  In the UK it was only 4 in 10,000,000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

The text of the 2^nd Amendment allows for regulation of firearms.  We tightly regulate motor vehicles, drugs and natural gas distribution in the name of public safety.  Social vulnerability to assault weapons justifies a more thorough regulatory system for firearms.

Mike Mallory

1-13-13

 

I have changed the name of my blog and broadened its scope. The blog was originally called the "Everett Sketcher" and was devoted to art reviews and plein air paintings in and around Snohomish County. The scope was so narrow that I wasn't able to produce enough suitable material. It is time for a change.

I have been considering new names. I was thinking about Mycopedia, but it was taken. "Mike's Copedia" seemed cumbersome.

I plan to provide a space for the wide range of my interests. I hope to post images of my art, examples of my creative writing, opinion pieces, social criticism and more.

My personal mission is to enliven the world by responding to life with insight and delight. I have decided to move forward with the blog name, "The Grand Reveal." The name is still on probation.

If you are currently a follower, I hope you will stay with me as I develop this more expansive theme.

Mike

I joined the Seattle Plein Air group for a paint-out at Lake Forest Park. The weather kept us indoors so I took a stab at the escalator.

Boston's Pizza

I painted this while sitting in the Coffee Shop at the Mill Creek UW Bookstore. It is 7 x 10" watercolor, ink and watercolor pencil.

Bev Jozwiak at The Cole Gallery

The Cole Gallery in Edmonds represents forty artists and hosts a rotating feature exhibition of each artist. The current artist featured by the gallery is Bev Jozwiak. Jozwiak is a signature member of the Norwest Watercolor Society. Curator, Denise Cole, claims that of the workshops offered to artists, Jozwiak’s are the most popular.

Jozwiak’s featured watercolor paintings depict figurative and avian subjects. Her figurative work in this exhibition is split between young women and children. One of her avian subjects is a rooster; the rest are crows. Whether she is painting birds, a bride’s maid or women waiting for the No. 9 bus, Jozwiak’s approach is both energetic and memorable.

Her colors are intense and her contrasts lively, but the source of her “Wow” factor, and she does have the “Wow” factor is her expressive and deliberate brush strokes. Jozwiak’s painting style is intensely personal. Her work appears to be driven by a kinetic relationship with her world.

The edge of a shape is a critical transition in artwork. Edges are said to come in three flavors: hard, soft and rough. Jozwiak’s edges move beyond the standard. Her edges can be jagged, gestural, bleeding, spattered and at times the pigment simply fades out into a solitary pencil contour line defining the shape.

Jozwiak paints with bold brushstrokes. Paint is often thick and opaque. She characteristically mixes pigment on the paper rather than the palette, which results in surprising color juxtapositions.

Her compositions are engaging. Most of her children are active. In Budding Artist a child is painting. In Life’s Little Treasures children are curiously searching the ground for that perfect little object to take home and put in a jar on the shelf. The young women in Jozwiak’s show are waiting. In Bus Stop Conversation and Waiting on #9, they are waiting for the bus. In “All Dressed Up...” the subject appears to be waiting for a date to show up. All of Jozwiak’s figures appear to be embedded in their own reality. The gaze of the figures is always behind the frame rather than out of the frame toward the viewer. Directing the gaze of the subject behind the frame, the artist contains the energy in the image she has created. We are allowed to peer in, but the subjects do not notice us. The effect enlarges the virtual world of the subject.

Jozwiak is playful as well as expressive. When she paints crows, she represents a bird that is familiar with the human world. In Traffic Cop II a crow is shown perched on a traffic signal light. In Crow Bar II a crow has found its way into a traditional still life of grapes, wine glasses and bottles. The crow has a grape in its beak. These scenes may sound cute, and while Jozwiak works with humor, her images go beyond cute. Even in these tame situations, her crows have a mischievous wildness and about them.

The Cole Gallery is located in downtown Edmonds at 107 5th Avenue. They are open seven days a week. The Bev Jozwiak feature exhibition continues through June 11, 2010. A selection of her work is on permanent display at the gallery.

Jozkwiak's website is at - http://bevjozwiak.com/html/
The Cole Gallery's website is at - http://www.colegallery.net/

This is an 11 x 15" watercolor I painted in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle as part of the 27th WorldWide Sketchcrawl.

5/14/10
Mike