Dr. Crisp gave me a present today. He said it was a housewarming gift, or a shedwarming gift--or is that not really a word? Anyway, it's a basketball hoop of my very own!!! Hooray!!!
I wanted to set it up inside the shed so I'd be able to play at night or during the winter, but Mrs. Appleton said no. "We're going to make this space look like a normal girl's room, and normal girls don't have regulation-sized basketball hoops in them." I don't know how Mrs. Appleton knows what normal girls have in their rooms these days, since all she has is a son, but I have to do what Mrs. Appleton says since she's my only source of romance novels and fashion magazines!!!
There's a paved area on the left side of my shed, and that's where we hung the hoop. It's exactly ten feet off the ground, at about the level of my hips. Dr. Crisp says he'll help me paint lines for a court, but for now we measured off the distances with chalk. The free-throw line is fifteen feet from the basket, which seems pointless because I can keep my toes behind and lean forward to drop the ball into the net--I can't ever miss!!! The three-point line is over twenty feet from the basket, so I have to throw the ball like players on TV, except that I don't need to jump or use both hands to take a shot. If I run and jump toward the basket from behind the line and drop the ball in, Dr. Crisp says that would still be worth three points!!! I can slam-dunk too, of course, but I have to do it gently to keep from breaking the backboard or rim.
I spent the afternoon shooting baskets from beyond the half-court line, about forty feet out. I keep hitting the side of the shed instead of the basket. It's going to take a lot of practice to get good from that far!!!
Illustrator Challenge
Artists can create illustrations of me or the events in my life, as long as they are appropriate for my young readers. Any previous post on this blog can be illustrated. If I like an image that goes well with a post on the blog, I may add a small thumbnail version along with credit to the artist and a link to the full-sized image. Images of me posted elsewhere should link back to the "Giant Girl Rampages" blog.
If you want to draw a picture of me, here's what you need to know:
I'm 15 years old and almost (but not quite) 18 feet tall. Mrs. Appleton says I'm very pretty and well proportioned, which I guess is a complement. I'm not super thin or anything but I think I'm in pretty good shape.
I have dirty blonde hair that's kind of wild because I trim it with Pa's old hedge trimmers. My eyes are green as the ocean, as Ma always said, but I wouldn't know because I've never seen an ocean. My skin is tanned from being out in the sun a lot but not too dark and (usually) not burned.
I wear a blouse and skirt-shorts that my mother quilted for me three years ago. They look like a big patchwork cuz she used many squares of fabric and cowhide. I've grown since then, so the skirt-shorts no longer come down to my knees, my blouse is way tight, and there's a bit of skin showing in between. I don't have any shoes (and that makes me sad to think about so I usually don't).
If you do draw my picture, send the link in a comment so I can post it to my blog. Thanks!!!
If you want to draw a picture of me, here's what you need to know:
I'm 15 years old and almost (but not quite) 18 feet tall. Mrs. Appleton says I'm very pretty and well proportioned, which I guess is a complement. I'm not super thin or anything but I think I'm in pretty good shape.
I have dirty blonde hair that's kind of wild because I trim it with Pa's old hedge trimmers. My eyes are green as the ocean, as Ma always said, but I wouldn't know because I've never seen an ocean. My skin is tanned from being out in the sun a lot but not too dark and (usually) not burned.
I wear a blouse and skirt-shorts that my mother quilted for me three years ago. They look like a big patchwork cuz she used many squares of fabric and cowhide. I've grown since then, so the skirt-shorts no longer come down to my knees, my blouse is way tight, and there's a bit of skin showing in between. I don't have any shoes (and that makes me sad to think about so I usually don't).
If you do draw my picture, send the link in a comment so I can post it to my blog. Thanks!!!
Posts
Well, keep it up, it's not everyday you get to practice shooting from 40 feet (that's insane, which remonds me, they're doing construction in the basketball court near my home). By the way, What made you decide to start this blog?
ReplyDeleteDr. Crisp said a blog would help me with my writing skills, but also cuz I wanted to give my side of the story after the newspaper printed all that stuff about me. So far, I'm having a lot of fun too!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've thought about it and I think that you're right about having Jay having to come to you to apologize. Maybe having to approach you will be good for him. Just promise to go easy on him once he does, 'kay?
ReplyDeleteAnd come to think of it, don't you think it's a little unfair that you have such an advantage over anyone else you can play basketball with? I didn't realize how tall you really are until you said that the hoop just comes up to your hips! Frightening.
ReplyDeleteBut wouldn't it be unfair to me if I couldn't do something because I'm too good at it? Or just because of my height???
ReplyDeleteI'll have to ask Dr. Crisp what he thinks.
Well... that's a slippery slope. What I'm saying is that you can strive in something where your physical form doesn't completely dwarf the competition, preferably in something where it doesn't matter at all. Do you play chess?
ReplyDeleteNo, I've never played chess.
ReplyDeleteNever played chess!? I need to find a way to teach you. Better yet, ask Dr. Crisp if he has a board.
ReplyDeleteHuh, talk about tough. I agree with Tai, the Appleton kid should apologize. Maybe you should try something to help him break his fear, like a friendly prank or somethin'. I dunno, try. And how can you have never played chess?
ReplyDeleteI've never played much of anything. Ma made a big deck of cards for me once, and we used to play knock-rummy until one of the cows chewed up the three of clubs and the jack of diamonds. That's about it.
ReplyDeleteHungry, eat a playing card. Go figure. I'm guessing you're a vegetarian, or you would've eaten a steak by now (just kidding, I never would eat cows that I raised, of course I don't live on a farm, so I have no idea how to raise one). Seriously, get Dr. Crisp (is that really his name, haha) to get you a chess set. Then ask him to teach you monopoly.
ReplyDeleteI like video games. It will probably be far in the future, but you could probably play some computer games if they're not beyond your computer's capabilities!
ReplyDeleteJust don't let the other valuable areas of your life suffer, and you should be fine. ^_^
I don't know what to tell you about basketball. I think you should practice and have fun playing, but playing with other people is always a bigger deal, for everyone.
I didn't play sports because I was so bad at them. People who are better at sports to start out with naturally are more likely to practice. Playing with people who are a lot more skilled makes beginners like me feel like playing is pointless. See, and that would still be true for you, only instead of having to admit that you were more skilled, people might be afraid and focus on your physical characteristics as unfair advantages. The only positive thing about that is seeing your height as an advantage for once.
Ideally, people shouldn't be so uptight and easily threatened and just figure out a way for different kinds of people to play together. Who knows? If we actually tried, maybe there would still be a way to play a new version of basketball with you fairly for everyone!
Who would play against you, Milly? Your size kinda makes you better at this game than anybody else out there. It will probably be hard for you to find opponents, because they wouldn't have much fun.
ReplyDeleteBeing real tall doesn't make people super good at chess, though, so you might want to learn that game. It's a lot of fun, and you could probably find people to play with you. But only if you can be a good sport when you lose! I know I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a seventeen-feet ten-inch temper tantrum.