A Little Story

                             Just a Little Story

In the middle of a pandemic; international upset; conspiracy theory; propaganda and the big lie ---just a little story….

I have been trying to regain my tennis game.  Not that it was all that noteworthy, but a reasonable game to be regained.  My father played tennis for USC and squash at Harvard.  I was JV all the way and never was able to beat my father.  However, I love the game and it has become a focus for me since I returned to the Bay Area.  I have a regular game with my oldest son and have been hitting with a pro at a local tennis club.  Notably, my granddaughter Grace and I won a championship over Labor Day at my daughter’s tennis club where all of her children are excellent players.  Her husband has been influential as the number one player at Tufts University in Boston. 

 Two days ago, I went out to hit with the pro at their club.  To my surprise, my 12-year-old grandson was on the court with Sebastian the pro.  Hey Fred, Sebbe said,  Owen is going to take the lesson with you.  Are you ok with that?  Of course, I said.

We played a game of 2 v. 1 to 9 points a game.  Owen was not allowed to drop shot me since I can’t run that fast.  Other than that, it was everyone playing hard.  My forehand is my best stroke and Owen figured that out quickly and pounded my backhand all afternoon.  Just to emphasize the level of play here – Owen is crushing the ball and I am hitting as hard as I can.  The pro? He is trying pretty hard.  The three of us played for over an hour and one-half.  Since he was winning, Owen would have played longer but the pro and I were done.  The best part of the entire experience you might ask? As Owen is getting on his scooter to go home, he turns to me and says “GP ( my nickname) You are getting better!!”

Coming from a 12-year-old it was high praise.

It is all about being present and available.

C’mon man – “ you’re getting better”. high praise indeed.