A Sense of Where You Are

I have wandered all across the globe playing basketball, but as I prepared for the 22nd Maccabiah Games, my family and friends were terrified. Not because I was a fifty-two-year-old playing basketball. They worried about missiles, terrorism, and geopolitical fallout, not torn rotator cuffs, swollen knees and missed layups. It was too dangerous, they stated. 

They pressed me with the same anxious questions over and over: Is it safe? Are you sure you want to go? Will they cancel the games again? Aren’t you scared?

“I know you’ve trained really hard and sacrificed a lot,” my daughter countered. “But do you have to go to Israel to play?”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather play right now,” I replied unapologetically.

“Understood,” my daughter said softly. “I’m happy you are challenging yourself and testing your limits. But, Dad, don’t you know that basketball is the same everywhere?”

“Of course,” I said. “But I’m not.”