Last week, I got a text. And I laughed.
At some point, you’ve just got to laugh. Not with your gut—a quick exhale will do—and certainly not at the misfortune. You know this luck should befall none but the worst of us, none but the ultimate villains.
You offer a short shake of your head and a brief downward gaze, and then a resumption of your life. You close the cell phone, and you close the book.
Oden’s done. And you laugh.
You laugh at the memories of yourself, 19 again, hair at your shoulders, clasped in the arms of your friends jumping through their basement as David Stern pulls out the white placard with the Blazers’ logo.
Number one. We’ve got it. It’s ours.
You laugh as you leap around the basement, spinning into the new era as an entire city screams in delight.
You laugh at all of the drives down Burnside, past potholes and Powell’s, coming across the billboard on 10th. Emblazoned in red, white, and black, the instructions are easy: Honk once for Oden, honk twice for Durant. You lay it on.
The passersby jolt upright, then relax ...
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Article written by Casey Michel
All You Can Do Is Laugh: On Losing Greg Oden, and The Folly of Expectation
November 20th, 2010 by Casey Michel Leave a reply »
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