Striker in the Shallows

Your message about going pro in soccer reached me just as I rolled back under the front door. Naturally, an aspiring striker needs a pitch. Down on the low-pile living room rug, I lined up a smooth white plastic bottle cap to serve as goalposts against a chunky wooden coaster. The ball? A lost bright yellow wooden bead sitting near the sofa skirt. I ditched the skateboard, jogged up to line up my shot, and swung my rigid plastic leg with full momentum. The bead ricocheted cleanly off the coaster edge, buzzed past my makeshift defender—a heavy metal binder clip—and nestled right into the cap. Golden goal, stadium going wild.