A lanky lefty with long pips locomoted into the land of the Lombattants and dealt some ‘L’s’ out to most everyone including the best players in the house. Dennis, the statuesque visitor did the reverse snowbird, not a table tennis move, but an escape from the heat and free Arizona paddle melts if you leave your equipment in your vehicle. In our house, Dennis’ paddle retained the heat of his home state, the pips radiating like the side of a a single serve waffle iron.
I, like the other victims, was the recipient of the ‘loco’ motion Dennis imparted on the ball as we battled in game one. I was on the cusp of being served a rare bagel as my fingers gripped the edge of the Grand Canyon ledge trailing 10-0. A courtesy point came my way and I climbed back to a 11-5 loss. Without the use of AI (or artificial joints), I chipped away in game two at this enigmatic arsenal of loops, deceptively delicate drop shots, and snappy punches coming at ya like a whirlybird sprinkler. Navigating this Pretzel Logic I contorted myself in all directions to manage an 11-8 victory. Reaching into the auxiliary drawer of his tool case for game three, Dennis delivered another round of flummoxing flips, flops, and fast balls en route to a solid win.
Dennis not only competes and partners up with Ron Cassidy in AZ, (aforementioned in a prior blog), but is a friend as well. Nice to know that these guys are having fun…and still have game!
