Summer days started way too early for some, but never early enough for me. I didn’t wake up to the chirping of birds. No, it was the sound of Mr. Howser’s sprinklers cascading across his front lawn. The morning dew was a reminder of how the day should look when you open your front door. The grass took the wetness it needed but always left enough for our eyes to enjoy and for the sun to know; it had to work harder for us not to take water for granted.

We didn’t have the oceans, the lakes, and ponds, but we still had water. We found water shooting out of a spigot during afternoon basketball games when the shots from the sun ricochet off the blacktop. It flowed from the garden hose when our parents locked us out of the house. Even when the sun thought it had won, we would take turns sitting in front of our kitchen air conditioning unit and feel relieved when the cool mist touched our faces. Those were the days.

We abandoned the MTV music videos playing on my grandparents’ Zenith floor model on this heated afternoon, peeled our bodies from their plastic-covered furniture, and headed to Bernard Park. I spent the last two days alone dribbling around the courts, but now Jeremi and Ryan were with me, and a competitive game of 21 piqued our interests.

The latest Air Jordans were too expensive, but I didn’t step onto the blacktop unarmed. Sporting the latest AND 1 gear and a semi-fresh pair of Reggie Miller’s, I showed up ready to play.

Jeremi and Ryan had speed, handles, and a legit jumper. My skill set lacked in comparison to theirs. However, my coordination and fundamentals were catching up to my growth spurt. I knew that 5’9 was only 5’9, but taller was taller, and height counted.

Our typical games of 21 ended with me pulling down my fair share of rebounds and blocking some shots but winning wasn’t my forte.

We played for hours while the humidity of an Ohio summer attempted to sweat us into submission. The sun was about to win, but we had one more game to finish.

I stood at the top of the key, knowing that Jeremi and Ryan were too tired to press me on defense. The opportunity presented itself for me to show them my new superpower. The sun backed off enough to allow me one more burst of energy. I drove the lane, secured the ball, and before I knew it, I took flight. My hand said goodbye to the rim as the ball swooshed through the net.

Jeremi and Ryan didn’t know I had taken my first flight only days before. They had speed, handles, and a legit jumper, but only I could dunk. As with all milestones, they celebrated my success as great friends should.