Unlikely competition....

This is a screamer here. Well part laughing and part ctying. the other Sunday, we had a game. Our ranks were pretty thin as Sergie went on a skiing trip, sebastian is recovering from knee surgery, Oscar had a motocross competition and I have no idea where Caletrio was. Luckily we had both keepers, David and Coris, as well as a player from Morocco, Naseem.

Naseem is the youger brother of Kader. I am not sure how it all works out but Naseem spends most of the year in Morocco attending school. I think Kader is out of school or either goes to a private school or works for his family. I only see Kader at practices or afterwards in the night riding his moped around the town. I never see him during the day or walking to school like I see most of my school age players during in the morning. Still stranger, Naseem started the season a little late, around when I started coaching, in September. It was not until later in the season when I found out that he wa sin fact Kader´s little brother. then naseem disappeared. At the time I did not know how to say it but I later found out that Naseem had returned to Morocco to finish school. Then around the Christmas, I started seeing Naseem aroufn town. I asked him about school and he talked a bit, with me understand every 3rd word, of course. Then he disappeared again for a few weeks. Here we are back in the Spring...and who do i see coming to practice: Naseem.

Naseem, for some reason has taken to me. He speaks to me in as much English as he knows and asks me questions all the time. I am not one who wonders why people are nice to me since I think I am a pretty interesting person to begin with. I have had a few of the younger kids take to me so it seemed all fine and dandy until around halftime. This was an away game despite being only two towns down, as usual we took a chartered bus and our usual driver drove us there. Our game was early in the morning and also the day we "leaped forward" to Daylight saving Time, and Carme was not losing an hor sleep. Her plan was to come to the game and pick me up from there and go have breakfast, mind you more like a brunch. When she arrived, Naseem went into overdrive. Since it was around 1130am and now halftime, I had enough time to get my brain working so I could speak Spanish and with ease, Naseem turned to me to tell me I had a very pretty wife.

Now my first reaction was embarrasment. I don´t care what culture you are in, no one is prepared to feild cat calls and comments from any one on the attractiveness of your spouse. I mean I don´t want to brag but my wife is pretty hot for a white girl.

the other boys choked on their water as they were waiting to see if first if I understood his rapid fire Spanish and then second to see how I would react. No one looked at me as they all tried to play it off like they were not paying attention in case I did knock his block off. But he is just this 16 year old kid, how could i be threatened or offended?

But the fun doesn´t stop there...After I told Carme over brunch, she blushed and turned rosy red. We laughed about it and made a few more comments and laughed all the way back to Tossa. As we drove down the main street of Tossa, i ran into a few of my players just making it back from the bus ride. Naseem was there and yelled out for me to stop. when he reached my window, he repeated again that my wife was very beatiful, but this time with my wife as a wtness. Of course she ate it up. she even joked about being old enough to be his mother but I think secretly it boosted her ego a bit. Despite my insistent adoration for her attributes and then some, it took a person with a frehly painted sign around his neck stating "almost done with puberty" to raise her stock within her own mind. sigh.

Now I have a string around her ankle in case her head gets too big and she floats away.

I am keeping my eyes on him and his pimples and crackling voice.