21-5

  I was watching the Famous Toastery Bowl on December 18th.  One of the teams playing was the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.  That reminded me of this story.

Let's go back to 2010.  One of the families in our church has a video production company.  They have just moved into a new space in what I think is called the Disney building.  They invite me to come out and see their office and production space.  It is south of downtown KC off of SW boulevard in the Broadway area.

I arrive and am met in the lobby by one of the owners, Lori Baerg.  The main floor of the building is very cool.  It has a diner in it, several seating areas, and two ping pong tables.  I was impressed.  I was also inquisitive about the ping pong tables being in a work space.  Lori said it was a good way to relax.  She asked if I wanted to play a game.

I stopped.  I thought, "what?"  I am 50 and you are 40, but you are a girl and I used to be pretty good at this game.  Are you sure?

Caution:  ping pong shark

Sure.  Let's play.  Well it did not take long for me to see that I had been taken in by a hustler.  Lori beat me.  21-5.  I didn't just lose the game, my self esteem was set back 5 years.

I wanted to leave but she made me stay for the tour.  That is why I had come to see them after all.  I asked her how she got so good.  She told me that she had played her entire life and actually took first place in their college ping pong tournament.

You see, Lori won the Western Kentucky Hilltopper's men's ping pong tournament.  Mens.  They didn't have a tournament for girls so she played in the men's tourney and she beat them all.

It was a long, sad walk home and I haven't played ping pong since.

And now you know the rest of the story.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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