You Can’t Pickle All Day If You Don’t Start at 7 AM
Posted on February 3, 2023 by Ching under Pickleball.
Huyen invited me play pickleball at 7:30 AM on Saturday before I found out about Katie and Marva coming through Wichita on the way to Great Bend last weekend. I had accepted because I can’t pass up a chance to play pickleball, specially with a solid group. Huyen originally invited Fong, Karen, Greta, and me and just took the first people to reply. Fong, Karen, and I replied first but so that was the foursome but then Karen had an emergency and backed out so Huyen reached out to Greta who surprisingly accepted. Anyway, at 6 AM on Saturday morning, Huyen texted me that we were short a player because Greta backed out. I was like, “What happened to Karen?” That’s when she told me that Karen backed out due to a personal issue and she got Greta. I was told Huyen I was surprised that Greta even agreed to play because she doesn’t do early mornings. “Did she think you meant 7:30 PM? LOL.” Huyen was worried we would have to cancel because we wouldn’t be able to find anyone to fill in on such short notice.
I told Huyen Katie was in town and she’s a morning person so I was pretty sure she’s already awake. Anyway, I texted Katie who was downstairs and let her know that we were short a player for the morning game. Thankfully, Katie was down to play and so we were able to complete our group and get our game on.
I was originally worried about inviting Marva also but Katie told me she’s not a morning person. Katie and I agreed that we should let Marva sleep in and just leave her a note so that she wouldn’t freak out when she wakes up and no one is home. Brian had Saki’s vet appointment and then grandma that morning.
I found this note from Katie downstairs today, still on the bar in the basement. I guess Marva never saw it. LOL.
It worked out great having Katie in town. She is so much fun and fit in with us Asians perfectly. I had a blast and I think as did everyone.
As we were wrapping up, I asked Katie if she had heard from Marva and she told me that Marva was finally awake and texted that she was cold. I texted Brian to turn up the heat, which he can do from his phone.
I had said goodbye to both of them on Friday night because I had planned to go to Chicken N Pickle in the morning and then go to check out the pickleball at Towne West Mall straight from there but, since Katie filled in, we just carpooled and so I brought her back home before going to the mall.
When we got down to the basement, Marva was cuddled on the couch with a blanket. She hadn’t seen a note and had no idea that we’d even been gone. She thought this entire time Katie was still sleeping her in her. She was like, “I guess she was really tired from last night.” And she just let her sleep. Or so she thought.
After taking a quick shower, the three of us took off. I took off for the mall and the two of them went on their way to Great Bend to make the 1 PM open play. Their tournament was the following day.
I made a short video of some of the pics I took at the mall. I finally met Heather Harrison, the brilliant woman who came up with the idea to make use of the commons area. No one was coming to the mall anyway so might as well make use of the space, right? She had been inviting me to come check it out on Facebook but I’d been out of town for tournaments and other things and, honestly, I’d been hesitant to check it out because I wasn’t sure I would like playing on the tile floors. But, much to my surprise, it actually wasn’t that bad.
I played a couple of games — which, I have to say, I did not hate — and I met so me new people — which is always my jam. I had a great time.
Bottom line, pickleball at the mall is not just a great idea, it’s a win for everyone. Firstly, it’s getting people to actually go to the mall. I’m pretty sure I haven’t been in Towne West in over 10 years (maybe even 20) and it gave me a reason to go. And, while there, I realized there’s like a Dillard’s Clearance store, which I didn’t even know existed. You better believe, I’ll be back to check out that winter sale in a few weeks. Secondly, it’s making use of unused space. Instead of the commons area just sitting empty, now there’s at least some activity happening there. Thirdly, with the lack of court availability in the winter time, it’s giving players another option. Yes, the tile floors aren’t idea but they’re not that bad and it’s better than not playing at all. Finally, it’s introducing pickleball to a whole new group of people who may not be familiar with the sport. Mall walkers are seeing how much fun the picklers are having and they’re getting curious and taking it up.
Heather promotes the open plays on Facebook and posts the times on PlaytimeScheduler. The open play drop in rate is $5 per person and then when open plays are not in session and the courts are available for rent, you can rent them for $12 per court per hour. She currently has three courts set up.
The Saturday open play sessions typically start at 10:00 AM and go until 12:30 PM. Tomorrow looks like a good day to check it out. You can sign up here. If you do go, tell Heather that Ching sent you! Until next time, GNG.
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