Ray Conner
Sports Editor

When the clock struck 12 a.m. (midnight) this past Saturday morning this person turned one of the magical ages. I hit the half century mark.

The scary part is I have been involved with sports for close to 45 of those years in some capacity or another. I told myself when I hit the ripe old age of 40, I would play 10 more years of sports and then be done with it.

In those many years of sports, I have literally played many different sports around the world. When I was in the United States Navy, I played softball in the Philippines and Canada, bowled in Singapore, Japan and Korea, played basketball in Africa and boxed in the Indian Ocean.

My first memory, see it hasn’t left me yet. Ok so what was I talking about? Oh yeah, playing sports around the world. Wait, I already did that.

So, my first memory of sports is watching my dad and his brothers play softball when I was four years old. At another time, I can remember watching the N.Y. Mets on television when I was also four.

From there the years seem to blend together as it was playing Little League at night. Playing baseball, football, basketball and more with my friends during the day. Also in the summer, we would swim and ride bicycles. When I didn’t have a Little League game to play, I would help my dad prep the field for the men’s softball games and then sit around watching him umpire, while my mom kept score.

Then going to Junior High School, it was football, wrestling, bowling and baseball and of course the ritual of the men’ softball games. In high school it was more football, wrestling, bowling and baseball. Occassionally, I got out on the golf course and played a few rounds.

After graduating 32 years ago, I played softball, played baseball, played basketball, golf and continued to bowl. I was also active in the officiating side of sports over the years.

Along with playing my sports, my three kids were also athletic. Going to all their games from their early years until now is included in these sporting memories.

Which brings me to the present and turning 50 and still going strong with sports. I still am writing and laying out the sports pages for the Kern Valley Sun. Believe it or not, it was 13 years in February since I started for the Sun.

I hope to play softball this season somewhere and then call it quits. Maybe I’ll get back to the officiating side of the game of softball seeing as how the eyes still work despite my advanced age. I’ve heard it said, “Age is only a number.” In my case it is as being the sportsgod, notice the small ‘g’, is all about the numbers. The one thing I can say about getting up in years though is, “The mind might be willing, but the aches and pains sure do stay with you longer in the morning.”