Mike Stork’s Funeral

May 23, 2008

Yesterday I did something I have never done before.  I voluntarily attended a funeral.  I met this man a few years ago on a Wallyball court at the Gig Harbor Athletic Club.  I’ve been playing Wallyball with this group of people since 1996.  Most of them are current or retired teachers a general contractor and a few other miscellaneous trades mixed in.  But the predominate flavor of the group is teaching.
There is something about Wallyball (and Volleyball) that brings out the competitor in me.  It’s like a transformation happens when I stoop to enter the racquetball court and engage in setting, spiking and bumping.  Wallyball is a fast-paced game played in a racquetball court using a racquetball that is the size of a volleyball.  The walls and ceiling are in play for the most part and the rules are very similar to volleyball.
Here is where I first met Mike Stork.  Mike wasn’t the star of the group; in fact, Mike usually apologized if he was on my team.  His apology came with a smile and usually a handshake with his other hand on my shoulder.  As I observed Mike the first few games, it became apparent that although we may both be here to work up a sweat and have fun, Mike’s source of satisfaction stemmed from a different source.
My source of satisfaction comes after a good spike, or a great dig.  It feels good to sweat and feel the intensity of a good game.  When I make a great set or our team wins, these are all sources of gratification.
It took me a while to get a good read on Mike because I was constantly in my way.  Finally, my lenses focused and it was apparent that Mike was happier about my spike than I was.  He was the first with the ‘High Five’ and a pat on the back.  I didn’t like him being happier about my success than me at first.  Especially when he was happy for me even if he wasn’t on my team.  That really bothered me.
Before long, it dawned on me, Mike was happy for everyone else’s success not because we were good or had extraordinary skill; Mike was happy for us, for me, because Mike was good and extraordinary and all the arrows around Mike Stork were facing away from him and sadly too many of his arrows were aligned with mine.
Wallyball will never be the same because Mike’s body isn’t there, but I can see him now, without his physical body weighing him down, flying through the air and putting down the most atrocious spike the Gig Harbor Athletic Club has ever seen, and then giving me the biggest ‘High Five’ because my set was the best he’d ever seen.
God Bless you Mike Stork!å