Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...

[gzhpcu]

bottle,
I am not an expat. I am Swiss Italian, and at the tender age of three immigrated to Los Angeles with my parents.


My Dad played tennis and taught me to play at the tender age of 10, from my Mom I learned to swim and excercise. My Mom also taught me to paint, which I still do to this age...

Always an avid reader and bookworm, as a kid I'd read up on dinosaurs, Roman history, cosmology, etc., not forgetting Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, however...

Was lucky enough to see the two Panchos train now and then as a kid, and my Dad lucky enough to play mixed doubles with Gorgeous Gussy Moran (my Mom didn't particularly like it...).

Came back to Zurich when I was 21 to study electrical engineering at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technogy).

Played interclub tennis in Zurich for close to 40 years.

Figured I had made enough money to retire at the age of 56, and returned to my home town Lugano, where I now work out a lot, play tennis daily, surf the internet, paint, read books (so much to learn, so little time...), enjoying life with my beautiful wife...

Here is a short video, showing a rainbow over Lugano, as seen from our balcony...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8quZaPZ1L0

[bottle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI-QiXbIw_I

I include the above video simply because I like it. I have no ulterior motive.

The freedom to kid around here is surely one of the great features of this forum, but I want to be serious now-- very, very serious.

Stepping back and viewing everything sub specie aeternitatis, as my Swedish girlfriend used to say, I am intrigued by the two seeming expats who contribute with such regularity.

I use the word "seeming" on purpose because these two fellows, the one living in Lugano, the other in the Swedish countryside, do not appear to suffer from the glibness and bitterness so apt to characterize expats everywhere. This makes me think they're not expats at all but rather simply Americans living well in another country.

The way that tennis fits into this equation, along with Steve's translation, has to appeal to me in a personal way (despite the contempt that the American publishing industry holds for all things personal) since about a decade ago or more I tried to move to Budapest hoping to teach English and maybe tennis and then to graduate into translation, which would be the way to actually succeed by earning money, according to my pro-active Hungarian friends.

Learning Magyarul, one of the most difficult languages in the world, however, proved beyond me, especially when I wasn't out in the street engaging in constant conversation but rather was sequestered in a bullet-riddled apartment building writing unpublishable American fiction.

Listen, surviving in this country is pretty damned difficult. Where I live now,
Grosse Pointe, Michigan, has one of the highest cancer rates in America, for instance. Living in another country, though-- making the tennis or whatever
work-- is a terrific accomplishment. I'm thinking of the Swedes, Swiss and Hungarians I've known who made it in the United States as well.

One of the many reasons tennis is so great is the way it contributes to multi-culturalism. There is nothing this country needs right now more than the ability to get outside of itself.

Just as I seem to go nowhere in my tennis invention until I start comparing two different players trying to achieve some shared, very specific and technical aim, one may not be able to think straight, ever, if one is a
landlocked American. One doesn't have to travel all the time, though that would be nice, but one does need to be more open to other cultures.

So as an Escher whose family comes from Zurich I'd like to say to Phil, please
do anything to make us more aware of where you live. (And your tennis videos and memorabilia are indeed very, very priceless.)

And to Steve, keep hanging out with those intelligent beasts and maybe add
two pinches of Thoreau. Your promise as a writer is considerable because you're willing to put yourself out there, with honesty, which means that your ego can take a hit.

I remember when I said something in one of William Golding's classes about self-indulgence, and suddenly he was taking me seriously. Self-indulgence is a big thing in writing. That subject certain comes up frequently in the posts here and yes, we can all easily become so personal that nobody knows what the hell we're talking about.

On the other hand there are a lot of scared people, too, deathly afraid that
they will embarrass themselves. Does that lead to good tennis or any other kind of good writing or even talk? I don't think so.

Best, when somebody reveals something of themselves we can see that they're having a good time, and without some kind of a good time there is nothing.

Take the greatest novel ever written, DON QUIXOTE. Is it self-indulgent? Of course. Except when it isn't.

As a former student of John Hawkes at Brown, I would have to say that everything is about finding the right voice-- for talking about tennis or anything else.

It's easy to find great voice in a forum as lively as this one-- happens all the time for a significant number of people. There's a lesson in this. This forum
happens to be a special place right now (but please, nobody, don't take it for granted, and believe me when I say it hasn't always been so good).

Readers, let us have our fun-- we won't hurt you, I promise.

P.S. When I first came to Stockholm, I stayed in the Superior Judge's apartment on Odengatan. In his daughter's bedroom I read my first novel,
WINDWAY, out loud. But the judge kept bursting through the door. Well,
we weren't just listening to my fiction. We talked, too, and stuff. One time when the judge burst in one or the other of our four legs was still up on the bed, and I was banished from that bedroom forever. So we rented an apartment one block away.

[bottle]

Celine, ha-ha. That's where those...three dots come from. Samuel Putnam translation of DON QUIXOTE in Phil's bookcase...the best.

[don_budge]

Wrist bands...

No vanity sofa for the boys to take a bit of a rest between changeovers. Laver retrieves a couple of dry wristbands from his racquet cover. No suitcases or accessory bags.

God bless Mr.Budge...see how his chest is out over his front knee giving him the leverage for a powerful swing on the backhand. Look at those white pants with the shirt still tucked without a single wrinkle at the conclusion of his match. He never changed. Not a wrinkle.

Gave me a chance to brush up on my French....Merci Phil!

[gzhpcu]

How about Laver - Rosewall Roland Garros?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCsIEx7ykDY

or History of Roland Garros...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezUDv...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwcrH...eature=related

[don_budge]

ahem...

Ahem...

Re # 6,
what happened to Olof?
He was studying for a physics exam but he chickened out of calling me...I got the message from Gustav.

Or is it simply that, because of all the socialism, the standard of living has dropped so low in Sweden that nobody can afford new shoes?
The standard of living remains largely status quo but I see signs...struggling auto companies, inflated real estate prices, families living beyond their means on credit. Sound familiar? Some say it is the 51st state. The most obvious thing identified with socialism is the healthcare system...which all have access to. It isn't free...but nearly so. The people do tend to think that it is better to be part of the middle class with few sticking their neck out to become outlandishly rich. The object of the game is to not stand out...to become to obvious. Blend in with the crowd.

Now, Steve, you say you want to write, but your writing is too personal.
Wanting to write and having talent to write are two separate things. You, sir, are a creative writer and I am but a timid translator of Swedish research papers. I wish that I would have taken your lit classes when I was younger. I am just a hermit who lives in the woods with the other dumb beasts, trying to stay in touch with civilization by participating on this blog.

About Olof-- by using that name you mean to imply that he is "a stupid Swede," right?
Olof is anything but stupid. I believe that he could do anything he set his mind to. He could be the next "Olof Palme" if he chose to. He is one of the most handsome, smartest, talented young men you could ever hope to meet. My neighbor's wife met him at the Davis Cup match against Italy and she said, "He looks like one of those perfect boys that a older Italian gentlemen would keep for his amusement." That comment had her husband looking a bit perplexed. Olof could be "Larry" from Maughm's "On the Razor's Edge".

I'm glad you won his match for him, and I'd say, don't feel bad about beating up on a 15-year-old.
The kid actually took it quite well. He seemed to get a kick out of the "blast from the past". He mumbled something about "having to practice more" after our match as we shook hands. I sort of avoided his parents.

I'm 71 and recently, in a board game, beat a 7-year-old of Czech extraction who regularly beats his father. Pinned his queen, I did.
I wish that I could have seen the look on your face.

Afterwards, I started to feel guilty, too, especially since, when I wasn't looking, he went to his father, our host, and cried.
I wish I could of have seen the look on your face when the tears started to flow. You are killing me!

It's hard though when you haven't played chess in 18 years to throw the game.
Really?

If you don't mind me saying so...bottle, you are a real classic. Please continue.

[don_budge]

Amazing...

A white t-shirt, two racquets and a towel, spectacles and a wood racquet. Probably were drinking out of the can for the tennis balls. Savages. This is even before my time, but I can appreciate the tradition...anthropologically speaking. Look at that Parisian skyline...one lone tower. Maybe Ferdinand Celine was in the stands.

It's amazing how we have evolved from the savage to the civilized. Even in tennis. Beautiful. Keep 'em coming. How about a couple of Aussies at Roland Garros? You are a classic, my friend. Thanks Phil.

[gzhpcu]

For don_budge: parker versus drobny, Roland Garros.... 1947?

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=58331

[don_budge]

The French Open...one of tennis' great traditions.

There has been talk of moving from this "outdated" Roland Garros site...to accommodate the modern demands placed on tournaments.

Offensive in the "traditional sense":

Monfil's sleeveless purple outfit. In a word, garish.

Curtain calls to the victor...obvious grandstanding. Screaming women. This behavior is of course acceptable today, no questions asked, but to me it is...unnecessary and offensive to my taste.

The spin on the ball is unbelievable. The recent discussions on string are shedding some illumination on my dull, tradition oriented mind. A shame that equipment is playing such a large role in the play.

On the other hand...Roger's clothes matching the rusty red clay at Roland Garros is a nice touch. The guy is a class act, but who is going to deal him the knockout blow?

Nice to see some serve and volley from Isner, albeit a traditionally hopeless tactic on the clay...leave it to an American to try. It was a great try. Entertaining too. If only he could of disappeared Nadal. How many Americans are left in the draw now? Two? Traditionally not one of our best venues.

Possible interesting matchup...Djokovic and Del Potro. Is the Argentinean ready for this?

Twenty years ago there were 22 Swedes in the draw...now there is just one.

[gzhpcu]

I can see the title of just one book, "Galaxies". Is there no end to you enquiring mind, Phil?

Just started Brian Greene's latest, "The Hidden Reality"....

[gzhpcu]

Next to my Walter Scott and Alexander Dumas novels....

[don_budge]

Don Quixote...

Please indicate where "Don Quixote" resides in your library. Is that a naked woman in the upper right hand corner? Hmmm...I will bet you that bottle is a great reader too. I would love to see his library.

Jag är bara nyfiken, gul. I am just curious, yellow.

[stotty]

I can see the title of just one book, "Galaxies". Is there no end to you enquiring mind, Phil?

[gzhpcu]

I just happen to read too Steve....a part of my library...

[don_budge]

Traditional thoughts...

tradi’tion n. body of beliefs, facts, etc., handed down to generation to generation without being reduced to writing; process of handing down.

There is a book...I don’t suppose any of you have read it. There wouldn’t be any reason for you to. Nobody reads books anymore. We read blogs. We play video games. We watch television. We try to amuse ourselves. But anyways...the book’s title is “The Golden Bough” by Sir James George Frazer. Time magazine wrote that ““The Golden Bough” describes our ancestors’ primitive methods of worship, sex practices, strange rituals. Disproving the popular thought that primitive life was simple. Revealed is the evolution of man from savagery to civilization. From the modification of the weird and often bloodthirsty to the entry of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.”

I came across this book while watching the movie “Apocalypse Now”. Remember the old Vietnam war movie starring, among others, Marlon Brando...it was one of his most memorable roles in the twilight of his career. The movie itself is an adaption of an old novel by Joseph Conrad called “Heart of Darkness”. Brando, in the movie, plays a character whose name is Col. Kurtz and he is targeted to be assassinated by his own army, by a character who is played by Martin Sheen. In one of the epic moments in this film the Brando character is deathly ill, with perhaps a combination of malaria and his own delusional, paranoid thoughts and not least of all, the wounds that Martin Sheen has inflicted upon him...he is laying in his crude and filthy room dying, bleeding to death, whispering over and over, “the horror, the horror, the horror...” During the scene the camera shoots a shot of his bedside nightstand with a stack of book on it. It was here that I found this book.

Col. Kurtz is an epic character, both in the book and in the movie. This type of man exists in many of our own hearts when we begin to evolve and perceive the darkness that surrounds us. Watching the movie and reading the novel...I was curious as to where a man such as this acquired his thoughts, his perspective on life, and that is why I froze the screen of the movie and made a list of the books and attempted to glean from them what it was that compelled this man to behave the way he did. I wanted to understand Col. Kurtz. Men say strange things on their death beds...Kurtz was repeating “the horror” over and over. What will I say on my own death bed...”the Prince, the Prince...”? I don’t know, but I doubt it.