The Simple Things, the Strong, and the Weak

When uncle Dave visited a few weeks ago, he reminded me of the simple joys when he and Estin and I walked down to Tunnel Beach. We had the place to ourselves at first--shirts came off and boys started tearing around the place. It took me a minute to join in and remember the sheer fun of running around the beach barefoot. But for the occasional visitor, Estin's initial nudity gambit may well have been followed by his older relatives, resulting in 3 hollering running cases of stupiditynuditity.

Track and field is called athletics down under. Estin is quite excited about it, having joined an organized team under the influence of a girlfriend (hmm, well, okay that's a good influence. she hasn't offered him crack just yet). The other day, there was a big Dunedin meet with 4 different clubs. It lasted from 10 till 4, a long time for a 7-yr old, his dad, and his tiny brother. But we had a good time. It is great to see kids experiencing simple joys like running, jumping, throwing. In the running and jumping events a lot of kids were barefoot, which worked well on the spongy track. EJ claimed it was faster barefoot and it might be, but I think it is just a heckuva lot more fun to run that way and to jump into the sand that way. Estin competed in the 100m meter and 60 meter sprints, shot put, and 4x100 meter relay. Did real good in the running events, and won the shot put. Whunh? Shot put?? No offense meant to Estin's dad, but the guy has all the power of a wet noodle. Down under, they call him "Wee Brian". So where did this shot put thing come from? Good technique probly counts for a lot. Hmmm. A look at the other side of the family reveals some strong people, like maybe his mama and her entire clan, and a wee bit more distant on the Hicke tree sits great-uncle Bruce. Taken together, this is evidence that genetic traits can skip across entire generations. Either that, or strength is maternally inherited. Hopefully it doesn't mean that Estin will be kicking that sand in my face before he reaches age 10--I might have to run and ask Mary for help.