Friday
After graduating college, I had no real direction. Teaching was a simple option, so I worked nights as a janitor and took the necessary courses for a teaching certificate during the day. I did my supervised "practice" teaching and found I liked it and was reasonably effective for a beginner.
I did a lot of substitute teaching, and I soon was offered a position as a math teacher and assistant football coach at a nearby high school. The first year was a challenge, learning to teach the subject as well as the long hours needed to be a coach. But I was young, hardly older than the students, so it was exciting and new.
In the spring I was asked to coach the girls track team because they had no other coach available. I did not know much about track but I did it anyway. The girls were fun to work with and we developed a rapport. We put together a mile relay team that finished second in the state so we had some success too.
I found that the girls were easier to coach. They were a lot more interested in learning the sport than posturing among their friends, unlike the boys who created a pecking order unrelated to their skill on the field. Girls worked harder too.
That summer I bought a canoe to use on the local river and occasionally a student would join me for a leisurely paddle along the river enjoying the trees and birds. Somehow a canoe trip with me became some sort of badge of honor for some of the students so I always had a volunteer when the weather was nice.
The next year after football season some of the same girls wanted to form a basketball team so I again volunteered to coach them. I knew a little about basketball, having played a lot of pickup games in college. I was a football player in college but I had learned a bit about basketball fundamentals to understand the key offensive and defensive skills required I knew that good conditioning and a hounding defense can keep a poor offensive team in the game.
The girls basketball team had to scramble for a place to practice and since we were not an official team all we could do is scrimmage other schools, but that was fine to start to learn the team game. None of the girls were great basketball players but they were all athletic and felt comfortable pushing their physical limits. They worked hard and really came together and we were regularly beating more established teams in the scrimmages.
The tallest girl was Janey, about 5'9" or so, from the other side of the tracks so she was tough and strong, a real anchor for the team. She was unflappable, and took defense to heart, raising her intensity to match the skill of the opponent she was guarding. Taller girls became frustrated with her tenacity and sometimes retaliated which heightened her effectiveness even more.
Lisa was my favorite, a lanky 5'6" natural athlete who could do just about everything well. She was the most aggressive taking the ball to the basket, mostly because she did not have much of an outside shot. She was a multi-sport athlete like all of her three older sisters and good at every one.
Abbie was barely 5' tall but a fine ball handler and tireless defender. She was as close to a point guard as we had, bringing the ball up court and running the offense. Her parents were very restrictive and did not allow her to date or participate in any unchaperoned events, so her only outlet was sports. She played on every team she could during the year, and played hard on every one of them. She also seemed to be looking for approval, some sort of validation from her coaches of her worth.
For me, the coaching was fun, but the teaching got repetitive, so by the third year I was applying to graduate schools in computer science. Eventually I was accepted and started work on a master's in computer science. I graduated and took a job several states away from where I had been teaching.
A couple of years later while talking to my parents on the phone, my mother mentioned that Abbie had called and wanted to go canoeing. She must have just graduated from college and was out on her own. I got her phone number and gave her a call.
Abbie had just graduated from college with a degree in biology, and was headed to medical school on a full scholarship, a very rare commodity that showed how hard she had worked. She had already moved to the city where she was to spend the next four years and had a small apartment.
She explained that this was to be her summer of fun before the long medical school grind. I had nothing better to do so I agreed to look her up the next time was visiting my parents.
A few weeks later, a business trip brought me close to the area, so I took some vacation days to visit my parents.
Abbie had grown up- not any taller, but less tomboyish and more womanly. Still cute, but now mature in looks and temperament. Short blond curly hair, attractive petite athletic figure, and energetic personality complete the package. She was pleasant to talk with and still enthusiastic about everything she talked about.
Though our ages were seven years different, the maturity gulf was much less than that. We agreed to figure out a way to go on a canoe trip that summer since I had sold the canoe years ago.
What we finally agreed on was a rustic camp on a mountain lake that offered canoeing, fishing and hiking. It was about midway from our respective homes. The rooms were basic, but comfortable, with a store and cafΓ© nearby. It was right for two people on a tight budget. We agreed to meet for a four-day weekend.
Friday
I had to leave early to get to the cabin on Friday at noon. I arrived at the resort and checked in, went to the cabin and put my gear in my room. I was just about done when I saw Abbie drive up, her round face beaming under the blond curls. Her car was barely stopped when she jumped out and threw herself at me, catching me by surprise and nearly knocking me down.
We unloaded her luggage and got her installed in her room which adjoined mine. She was chattering away, but I managed to get a word in and suggest we change into swimming gear and take the canoe out and practice a bit, then take a swim before dinner.
Abbie was wearing a modest two piece suit under her t-shirt and shorts as she came almost skipping down the path to the dock. I gave her some basic instructions on paddling techniques and emergency instructions. Fortunately she said she was a good swimmer which is always a good skill to have when canoeing.
We paddled around a while and began to establish the syncopation two people need to comfortably paddle a canoe for hours at a time- once again Abbie's athletic intensity allowed her to learn quickly.