Basketball Jones

 The other day, the Sume Family experienced a reunion of epic proportions—we were reunited with a long-lost basketball.

And not just any old basketball— but a Baden Perfection Elite Game Ball. A ball with a pedigree and a lot of happy memories attached. Way back in the day, when Baden joined our happy band, my son’s girlfriend wrote his name on the ball, with his initials and “W.P.” on the top. Today, the girlfriend is now his wife of six years and they have been promoted to the role of parent. Twice.  

The ball traveled a mysterious route on its way back to us...a friend, who works at the local school (shout out to White Pass!) and shall remain nameless (Hi Eileen!) delivered Baden at the request of the Athletic Director (Thank you, Brian Delong!) who inherited Baden from Toledo High Schools athletic program (Go India—er. Uh, I’m not sure what their nickname is now, but at the time Baden was lost they went by—and I say this as respectfully as possible—“Indians.” Go Toledo Representational Mascot!) The point is—Baden went thru a lot of hands to find his way back to our loving embrace. 

When I posted his picture in our family group chat the boys immediately recognized him, wrangled blame assignment over his loss, and filled me in on his back story—when and where he was acquired and for how much. In an interesting side note, the Baden Elite is the same price in Joe Biden’s America that it was in Barack Obama’s America, so invest in sporting goods, they are inflation proof I guess? Either that or Athletes’ Corner (RIP) really saw us coming... I feel like this would be a good time to make a joke about inflation-- and basketball are inflated already-- but I can’t seem to launch one into “She shoots! She Scores!” territory. Clearly, I need to step up my game.