Team JJJ and The Core

Last night Team JJJ, 2 of the funnest people in the Land of Lovers and me, hit up the racquetball courts. I haven't seen J.L. for probably 2 months or more. It was good to laugh with her again.

I should explain the fervor for racquetball that has been burning in this area. About one year ago a small group of friends and I (The Core) started playing racquetball at the local community courts. We have played nearly every Thursday night. The courts have no heat or AC, so we freeze in the winter and sweat in the summer. The humidity often makes the court as slippery as the ice rink in the National Sculpture Garden. Yet we faithfully gather every Thursday for a friendly battle. After the matches we often watch The Office together while munching on some delicious treat. For a while, Thursday night was the only thing worth living for. Now I just really like it. The day is full of trash-talking emails, and the night is full of destroying everyone on the courts.

Sometime during all this we noticed that our racquets had names. They became our identities. Much like American Gladiators. I am Ripper. There is also Torment, Raptor, Hot Shot, Havoc, and Laser. My favorite parts include yelling "DESTROY!" every time your partner in doubles has a high shot, or Torment calling short serves "eshort."

There is much more to tell, like the few weeks the courts were closed because I complained to the park service about the urine in the courts, or the time I broke up a drug deal, but some other time. For right now I'm just glad I was able to play last night with Laser and J.L.