I meet guys all the time surprised I'm not taller. You're Charmaine Cleary? You're the Charm? Man, I thought you'd be taller. I hear it all the time. From up in the stands, on TV, you can't really tell. We're not a tall team. Not that many women's teams are. The tall girls that can play go to the Tennessees and Dukes. That's the thing about the girl's teams that make them exciting. It's not about size. It's about skill. I'm only five-seven. I've met guys afraid to touch me. Oh, man, they go. You're famous. And take a step backward. One guy at a dance once comes up to me--he was good-looking, too; I thought he was going to ask me to dance--he comes up to me and goes, Charmaine Cleary! Wow. I bet you can kick my ass. I probably could have too. I bench press 250. But kicking his ass wasn't what I had in mind. At least, not before he opened his mouth.

It's a solemn mystery, this world. My father used to say that.

He must have had some kind of pre-existing condition, Professor Blat. I didn't hit him that damn hard.