Bleacher Bits: Everyone has their moments
The year-end editions of the newspapers are tough, as Kirk Barron, Emily Saint-Evens and myself search our memory banks to come up with a list of the top sports moments from each county.
Remembering exciting or pivotal events is never a challenge because there are so many that take place over the course of a year, the real difficulty is making the decisions on which ones to choose.
Our choices are never meant to serve as a definitive list, in order, of what we've deemed important, but should be viewed as a recap of literally hundreds of games and just as many athletes.
The three of us in the sports department have had many "moments" of our own this year, as well as in years past, as humorous incidents are bound to occur with the schedules we attempt to keep and the miles we drive.
Speaking for myself, the moments may be humorous to you, but laughter was sometimes the last thing on my mind as they were taking place. Feel free to enjoy a few chortles or guffaws at my expense.
There was the time a couple years ago I drove from Corning down to Arbuckle for a soccer game on a seemingly nice day, only to reach the Pierce campus to find out the game had been rescheduled. It taught me the importance of always calling ahead to confirm schedules.
Another time, I got down to Willows for a girls basketball game and reached down to my floorboard to where I always keep my camera, only to come up with air. Yes, it was still at home on my kitchen table. Thankfully I had gone down to catch some of the junior varsity game, so had time to drive back to Corning for the camera and back down to Willows without missing much. I now have a series of steps I go through before going to any game, which keeps me from getting anywhere with a camera or flash without batteries, which has also happened.
There was the time I laughed when I saw a car get pulled over on Interstate 5 after it had blown past me minutes earlier, only to get my own speeding ticket four days later trying to make it from one game to another with little time in between. I learned that it actually is true what they say about karma.
I've also received very kind and complimentary letters and emails from people who really liked a story I wrote or a photo I took. On the flip side, I've also received correspondence from people who find it hard to believe I even call myself a sports reporter. Whether positive or negative, feedback is always important.
Everyone has their moments, and I am no exception. Whether we laugh at them or curse them, the important thing to do is to learn from them, and to become better as a result.
CONTACT Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.
