The Villages Daily Sun

In the midst of all the award-winning athletic feats we have been enjoying at The Olympics from Beijing, there was a new and very unusual athletic feat accomplished right here in our own community.

The sport involved is not yet one that is included in The Olympics, but here in The Villages, it is extremely popular. No, I am not talking about golf. The sport is pickleball.

When we first arrived here nine years ago, we never had heard of the game. And, in fact, until last week, I never had seen it played. I knew it was on a court something like a tennis court, but just hadn’t gotten around to checking it out, since my eye-hand coordination is so bad that I never considered trying to learn to play.

Sterling, on the other hand, is the athletic type and takes to new sports quite easily. When friends offered to introduce him to the game, he was delighted. I decided to go along just to satisfy my curiosity about what makes it so popular.

We arrived at the courts at about 6:10 p.m. one evening. Our friends already were there, so the play began almost immediately. By 6:25 p.m., Sterling and I were parking at The Villages Regional Hospital and heading for the emergency room. You know you need medical attention when the end of your thumb forms a right angle to the rest of it.

Sterling had fallen trying to hit the ball. It was a long, rather artful excursion from the court to the out-of-bounds area on one side. When he sat up, he held up the battered thumb, and it was all over — pickleball, that is — at least for Sterling!

So the award he won states: “Awarded to the athlete who has distinguished himself by having the shortest pickleball career in history.”

This could be considered a sad or unfortunate experience, but looking “on the bright side,” there were some distinctly positive aspects of it all.

I realized the first positive thing as I heard him describing the accident to an attendant in the ER. He said, “I tripped over my untied shoelaces while playing pickleball.” The attendant told him he always should double tie his laces.

Now here is the positive thing. He said, “I know. My wife always tells me that.”

That same conversation was repeated with each person who worked on him. You can’t imagine how gratifying it is for my 20 years of advice to be verified by medical personnel — and I didn’t even have to say, “I told you so!”

The next good thing was that as the ER experience unfolded, we became more and more impressed by and grateful for the competent, caring people who work there. Jill, the registered nurse, and Gregg, the physician’s assistant, were exceptional, as were all of the staff we met.

What a blessing! We are so fortunate to have quality care at our fingertips — or should I say, our thumbtips!

It is always wise to try to find your innate sense of humor when dealing with a challenge. The hospital staffers were good at fostering that. Sterling mostly was concerned about returning to the golf course as soon as possible. We had a good laugh when I suggested forming the thumb cast to fit his golf clubs.

The other positive thing is a product of my quirky sense of humor — fortunately, Sterling hasn’t taken offense. As he walks around with his cast-laden thumb pointing skyward, he reminds me of a perpetual hitchhiker. I laugh every time I see it!

Well, now you know about the new local award. I hope none of you tries to beat his record — not a good idea. Trust me on that! All in all, it was an interesting experience, and we are thankful it wasn’t any worse.

So, from my award-winning athlete, and me — here’s wishing you a wonderful week. I’ll meet you here again next Friday, On the Bright Side!

Nancy Wood is a freelance writer living in The Villages with her husband, Sterling. She can be reached at Villagewriter@aol.com.