The Nemesis Triangle

Living in a Body

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The Nemesis Triangle

Episode 22 -- Hal, Mark and Chester Living it Up in 2019

Hal Walker

Jun 25, 2022

Hi. I’m Hal and this is “Living in a Body.” Welcome! To hear me narrate the story, please click the “Listen Now” button above. (5 minute listen) Also, please help this community grow by sharing this episode with one friend. Thank you! Hal

The Nemesis Triangle

I know. The past is history, the future is a mystery and the present is a gift. If you know anything about my story, you know that the present has been pretty rough on me lately. Lying here in bed with my ears ringing loud into my head, I often think about wanting to go back. 2019 is the year I choose. It was the year of table tennis, the Kent Go Club, the garden and the benches. It was the year of Summer Institute, Boulder Story Slam and trips to Ithaca and Pittsburgh with Kim. Finally, it was the year I downloaded TikTok. I’m sure there were all kinds of challenges along the way that year, but from where I sit now, 2019 was a bit of a glory year.

I was spending 2-3 nights a week at the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy. It was starting to become a home away from home for me. With table tennis shoes and a semi-pro paddle in my backpack, I’d walk in through that front door with a great sense of excitement and anticipation. Regularly, I could count on shouted welcomes from the floor, “Hal!” This was my dream come true. I was part of an athletic community. Of course, living with a mild version of ME/CFS, I had to be careful not to over-exert too much; but night after night, I was getting a real good workout. I could even say that I was getting in shape a little bit. I loved getting home and climbing into my float tank to ease my hard-worked muscles.

The greatest thing about the SDTTA is that it’s an all ages/all levels community of players. People of all backgrounds come together for the friendly and vibrant competition of open play, league nights and tournament weekends. Even though I’d been playing “Ping Pong” my whole life, I was a beginner when it came to the sport of Table Tennis. I often found myself in matches with “children.” Mind you— these are children under the coaching guise of one of the greatest Olympic level table tennis coaches in the world — Samson Dubina. I’ll never forgert how nervous I was the first time I played Samson’s 6 year old daughter, Kenzie. She was so serious and so good. I recall that we had a pretty close match though.

With about 30 tables on the floor, there is a friendly culture of invitation at the Academy. One day, I noticed “Mark” in a training session with his very stern father (who is an old Table Tennis pro from Russia, I believe). I mustered up the courage to ask Mark to play a game. I had a feeling we’d be a good match and I hoped that some of his skills might rub off on me.

Early on, Mark introduced himself as the second best nine year old player in Ohio. Mark and I had good matches and amazing rallies, but in the end, Mark would always win. Mark became a bit of a nemesis for me on the table tennis court. I really wanted to beat him, but I just couldn't figure out a way to do it.

Later on that summer, I met another young guy on the court. After I got the courage to ask him to play, I found out his name was Chester. We were warming up and having a nice time and I asked, “So Chester, how old are you?” And he said “I’m Nine… as a matter of fact, I’m the best nine year old player in Ohio.”

I said, “You’re nine? Do you know Mark?” And he said, “Yeah, Mark’s my nemesis.” Then I exclaimed, “Wait. Mark’s your nemesis?! Mark’s my nemesis!” I laughed out loud and cherished for a moment the fact that I was part of a nemesis triangle with two nine year olds.

Of course, the young guys progress much faster than the old guys so Mark and Chester quickly flew right past me into the higher levels of play, but for a minute there, I was in 9 year old heaven. If I were actually 9 years old, I’d want Chester, Mark and I to be best friends hanging out at the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy training under Samson himself. It doesn't get much better that that.

Thank you for listening and thanks for reading. I hope you have a great Saturday. Go play some ping-pong! Go check out the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy in Akron, Ohio. It’s a amazing place. I miss it so bad. Don’t forget to love that body of yours. Peace.