Walking into the Kaua’i Athletic Club in Nawiliwili Friday afternoon was like venturing into a snapshot of the world we used to live in.
Was that 40 years or six months ago that not a single patron was worried about social distancing and global death tolls?
Also, coming soon to a social-media site near you — murder hornets.
Sure, the KAC had a whole sheet of regulations the gym members have to follow, but it was nice to see people returning to normalcy, even if the return is brief.
People were exercising, focusing on themselves and once again living in their world.
It was a refreshing return to the past of six months ago, as since then we have seemed to be more separated from with each passing day.
What’s next, as the sports world attempts to reboot to normalcy, no one knows.
We do know this: the Kaua‘i Senior Softball league teams are practicing again, with the intent of resuming their season beginning Saturday, June 20, and eventually completing the season.
The seniors are focusing on returning to game condition.
The Kaua‘i Pop Warner Football League is slated for an Aug. 1 start, and we continue to golf, play tennis and compete on the pickleball courts.
The NBA plans to return in late July, and Major League Baseball is still involved with extensive negotiations with its players’ union over — you guessed it — money.
Though a different era and financial landscape than in 1994, MLB’s lost season, the result might be the same: no completed season.
The unnecessary and untimely passing of George Floyd has brought to light long-standing political issues, and we’ve taken a breather from the pandemic to review socially-relevant questions about oppression.
What is next for the sports world on local, national and international levels of competition, no one knows.
What is inevitable in life is change. We must adapt to the more-accelerated pace in which this happens.
What happened last week is gone, so remember to celebrate today.
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
