Week 42: Sports

To my knowledge, sports is not a huge part of my family’s life. We love to spectate as my cousin loves OSU football, and my mom and I were/are big fans of football and baseball, my mom being a huge fan of the Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Indians while I prefer the New York Football Giants and the New York Yankees. My mom liked the Ohio State University Buckeyes football as well. My husband is a devout follower of the Alabama Crimson Tide College football team. But if you haven’t guessed, we are watchers, not players.

As I mention in a previous post, my parents met in a bowling alley and they were on bowling leagues off and on throughout their married life. My mom’s siblings did as well. My maternal grandmother, Alberta Lou Fleming, was a bowler as well, belonging to bowling leagues for women with high averages.

The other sport my family was involved in is golf. My maternal grandfather, Harold Fairhurst, made part of his living as a golf pro (he was also a Mason). My uncles both play golf, my mom’s youngest brother just took his nephew (my cousin) to a golf outing that was a fundraiser for Huntington’s Disease. This same uncle’s daughter passed away last year from complications of Huntington’s.

My grandfather did achieve a hole in one at the now defunct Valley View Golf Course. My Aunt remembers that my grandfather won a years supply of free Pepsi for his achievement.

On my dad’s side hunting is the sport of choice. I remember going to my Uncle Don’s house where he had a huge deer and turkey on display. I recently learned from my dad that his dad, Leroy Blair, only shot animals for food. When he could afford to purchase food at the grocery store, he no longer hunted. That explained why I have never had eaten deer (granted when my dad went deer hunting with friends we threatened to call him a “Bambi killer” so he probably opted not too).

Fishing is another sport we do. My mom took a big interest in it before she passed away but I have fished off and on my entire life, as my Daddy taught me when I was little. It was always a fun activity when we went camping as where I fished all the nearby campers would come out and watch me and applaud me as I ran up the hill to our campsite so my dad could take the fish off my hook. He is who I still go to now when I catch a fish (well, assuming he has gone with us).

Lastly, I enjoy hiking. I am lucky to live in an area that has a park system in place that provides a wide variety of leisure activities for everyone. Hiking, archery, kayaking, ice skating (oh, my mom did this when she was little at the Gorge Metro Park), camping, mountain biking, sledding, you get the idea. Each year I participate in the Fall Hiking Spree. Between September 1 and November 30 you complete 8 different hikes and you earn a shield (though the first year you earn a shield and a hiking stick). It’s a great activity to get me exercising. Below are photos from the hike I did last week at the beforementioned Gorge Metro Park, I finally got started… 1 down, 7 to go, and this year I’ll be earning my 10th shield. I’m rather proud of myself.

There are all kinds of ways to enjoy sports – both in watching and taking part. It’s all about finding what you like and doing it (or watching if that is the case).

Sports was the prompt for this week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks by Amy Johnson Crow. If you would like to participate in this writing challenge click here.