Well, let me tell you about this fella, Larry Bird, and his marriages. You know, like them stories you hear in the village, only this one’s about a basketball star.
Larry Bird’s First Marriage, Back in the Day
Larry, he first got hitched to a gal named Janet Condra. They was sweethearts way back when, in a small town called French Lick, Indiana. Just kids, really, when they tied the knot in 1975. But, you know how it goes sometimes, young love don’t always last. They wasn’t together for too long, things just didn’t work out, like a crop that didn’t take, no matter how much you water it. They went their separate ways, and that’s that.
- Married young, high school sweethearts
- Didn’t last, like a lot of them early marriages
- Happened way back in 1975, seems like a lifetime ago
Then Comes Dinah Mattingly, the Second Wife
Now, Larry, he’s a big shot basketball player, right? Famous and all. And then he meets this other gal, Dinah Mattingly. They say she’s the one he really stuck with. They got married, and seems like they’re still together, happy as can be, from what I hear. She’s his second wife, you see. And from what folks say, she’s a good woman, stands by him.
Larry’s Back Trouble and Saying Goodbye to Basketball
Larry, he played this game called basketball, real good, he was. But even the strongest folks get old and tired. Larry’s back, it started giving him trouble. A compressed nerve, they called it. Sounded painful, like when you pull a muscle haulin’ hay, only worse. He missed a bunch of games in the 1990-91 season, then more later on. Finally, in 1992, he had to quit playing altogether. Must’ve been hard, like havin’ to sell your best cow cause she can’t give milk no more. But that back, it just wouldn’t let him be. He had to retire, they said. End of an era, like when they closed down the old mill. Everything changes, you know.
Larry Bird, the Man
So, Larry, he was this basketball star, had two wives, and had to stop playing because his back went bad. Sounds like a whole lot of livin’ to me. Life throws you curveballs, just like tryin’ to catch a greased pig at the county fair. You just gotta roll with it, best you can. He found love again, that’s something. And even though he couldn’t play basketball no more, he’s still Larry Bird, the legend. People still talk about him, like they talk about that big storm back in ’85. Some things, you just don’t forget.
Marriage, Basketball, and Back Pain: A Simple Story
So that’s the story, simple as can be. A man, two marriages, a good run at basketball, and then a bad back that made him stop. Just like life, it ain’t always easy, but you make the best of it. Larry Bird, he did alright, seems to me. He found love, played his game, and then when it was time to stop, he stopped. Can’t ask for much more than that, can ya?
Larry Bird and Dinah Mattingly, Still Going Strong
And from what I hear, Larry and his second wife, Dinah, they’re still together. That’s good, real good. Shows that sometimes, you find the right person, even if it takes a while. Like findin’ a good patch of berries after searchin’ all day. Makes the wait worthwhile, you know?
Anyways, that’s the story of Larry Bird and his marriages, as best as I can tell it. Just a regular fella, who happened to be good at bouncing a ball, and who found love twice in his life. And that’s all there is to it.
Tags: Larry Bird, Dinah Mattingly, Janet Condra, marriage, basketball, retirement, Boston Celtics, French Lick, Indiana
