Alright, so today ended up being a bit of a throwback session, all because the name Rick Leach popped into my head. You know, the tennis player? Great doubles specialist back in the day. It wasn’t totally out of the blue, though. I was actually doing something productive, or trying to.
I decided it was finally time to tackle the mountain of old boxes stacked up in the spare room. Been meaning to do it for ages. Started pulling things out, mostly junk, old papers, you know how it is. Then I stumbled upon an old shoebox filled with photos and clippings I’d saved. Dug through that for a bit.
Lo and behold, there was this faded newspaper clipping. Must’ve been from the local paper way back when. It had a small piece about tennis, and I’m pretty sure Leach’s name was in there, probably winning some doubles title with Jim Pugh, I think it was? Seeing that name just sparked something. Sent me right down memory lane.
The Search Begins
So, I put the box aside. My next thought was, “Didn’t I record some of those matches?” Back then, VCRs were the thing, right? I definitely remember taping a bunch of sports. I had this vague memory of a specific doubles final I’d recorded, thinking Leach was playing.
This meant heading into the storage closet. Man, that place is a black hole. Started pulling out old video tapes. Stacks of them. Most weren’t labeled, which is just typical me. Found tapes marked things like:
- Family Vacation 92
- Random TV Shows
- SPORTS MIX
Aha! Progress. I grabbed the ‘SPORTS MIX’ tapes and a few others that looked promising, like one just labeled ‘Tennis’. Felt like I was on a real treasure hunt. There was dust everywhere, sneezing like crazy.
The Tech Challenge
Okay, found the tapes. Next problem: finding a working VCR. I knew I had one somewhere. Found it buried under some old blankets. Looked okay on the outside. Hauled the VCR and the tapes back to the living room. Then realized I needed the specific cables to hook it up to the TV. Another search mission ensued. Dug through the ‘cable chaos’ box – everyone has one of those, right? Found something that looked right.
Got everything plugged in. Honestly felt like a bit of an achievement just getting the connections right. Powered on the TV, then the VCR. Lights came on! Good sign. Picked a tape that seemed most likely, slid it in carefully.
The VCR whirred, made some clicking sounds. I waited. And waited. Then… nothing. Just a blank blue screen. Tried another tape. Same deal. One tape even made a horrible grinding noise, so I ejected that one fast. Disaster.
So, my big plan to rewatch some classic Rick Leach doubles action? Total bust. Spent a good hour digging through old stuff, wrestling with ancient technology, all for nothing. The VCR is probably dead. The tapes might be too degraded anyway. Oh well. Guess I’ll just have to rely on my memory. At least I shifted some boxes around, suppose that counts as practice for cleaning up, right?
