216: “Kanday” by LL Cool J
August 19, 2011 Leave a comment
Here’s an example of a very effective hook, circa 1987, from LL Cool J.
Me and my tennis homies rocked this one at tennis camp in Murray, KY in 1987…
A MEMORY: Dave S. got in trouble for hitting a car with a tennis ball from an insane distance. Dave pointed to the red sports car he was aiming for, down the road, anticipating where it would be when it was in range. He was living in a fairy tale. We were quite a distance from the road, over a hundred yards. He swung at the ball like a ninja, apparently calculating for wind, the speed of the car, and the rotation of the Earth. We watched the ball sailing. We watched the car driving. It must have taken 10 seconds to reach its target. The ball tagged the car hard enough to dent the driver-side door. The sound hit our ears delayed it was so far away, but we were already running.
It was so awesome. An unbelievable act of adolescent impulse, athletic skill, and blind chance.
We tried to act innocent, but the authorities rooted Dave out with ruthless tactics. He couldn’t stand the coaches holding all the campers hostage from practicing. The driver had seen kids running toward the dorms. So Dave did the noble thing, impressive for a 14-year-old, and confessed the crime so we could get back to hitting tennis balls, inside the protection of the fence.
I think it is ironic (I’m not certain) that the coaches had no idea what an amazing athletic feat Dave had performed that day by nailing that car from that distance. Andre Agassi could have tried 100 times and failed to hit the car once.
It was a miracle.
Dave’s dad had to pay for the car repairs, but other than that, I’m totally glad this miracle happened and that I was a witness.
Enjoy.
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