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Tag: Qantas

  • Tennis Partners

    When I started playing tennis, MIB warned me I would find it a challenge to find suitable tennis partners. He was right. My plan, to engage in formal instruction rather than developing what I somewhat disparagingly have referred to as a park game was the right way to go—for me. The downside was that the social or networking aspect of tennis—the ability to get a game or a hit—had to be developed after I’d gotten fairly adept at hitting the ball. Connections are not always easily made. So, I want to write a bit about a few of the tennis partners I’ve shared a court with.

    Phil: I found Phil on the Tennis Players Looking for partners database at Calabasas. He was a commercial property manager. He emphasized that he only did commercial, no residential. When I asked him why he said it was because a commercial property manager didn’t have to listen to as many sob stories as a residential property manager. “You know, it’s not personal. You’re not paying. It’s time to move your business or go out of business.” It made sense. Phil was 45 I think, but his pattern of play has become well-known to me over the last year or so. Even though he was in decent shape, he didn’t move much. So, I either had to hit it right at him, preferably at his forehand, or my ball was going straight to the back fence. He did give two interesting bits of advice. First, was about two local guys who organized mixed-doubles meetups, one at CSUN and the other at Sherman Oaks Park. His other bit of advice was a good one. Phil said, “I’ll tell you what I’ve learned about doubles. Only play mixed. Taking out 50% of the testosterone out of tennis makes the game a lot more fun.”

    Stan / Johann: These guys were great fun. I started out with Stan, a mid-40s accountant. He’d been playing for years but wasn’t very good. He moved like a fit 40 year old, which I enjoyed. We were hitting once a week and chatted about the idea of playing doubles. As the birth of his daughter drew near, he was nice enough to pass me off to his buddy Johann. He was more fit but his tennis skills were a little shaky but he was such a pleasant guy. Then one day he just kind of vanished. When he surfaced again he said he’d been inundated by work and family life. I get it.

    Brisbane Stew: I was practicing my serve at The Rose Bowl, earbuds wedged into my ears, when I thought I heard someone talking to me from the court next to me. That someone was none other than Brisbane Stew. He was looking for a quick hit so we rallied for a while. Turns out he was a pilot for Qantas and found himself in Pasadena for a few days before flying back to Australia. A couple years younger, but a lot more fit, Stew gave me all I could handle. In fact, he was a big motivation in my (somewhat shaky) decision to convert to a two-handed backhand. We tried to meet up once a trip and I had gotten used to an occasional text from him saying when he would be in town. Stew has an excellent serve and likes to play angles you would expect to see in a good doubles match. Then one day Stew told me Qantas was changing planes for the BNE to LAX flight. I hope I’ve not seen the last of Brisbane Stew. He was great fun to play with.

    Pasadena Steve: The tennis gods take and then they give. Not long ago I was practicing my serve at Grant Park in Pasadena when Pasadena Steve strolled up, resplendent in his bucket hat, and asked me if I wanted to hit a few balls. Since then, we try to meet up every week or so. Steve’s a retired schoolteacher from LAUSD and is a relatively new Pasadena resident and a refugee from nearby Glendale. There’s a lot of talking during our sessions and that’s fine by me. It’s nice to blather on about politics, writing, baseball and Mexican food with someone who shares many of my same reference points. Steve plays in a long-established doubles group at the Rose Bowl that’s been going through some changes of late with one player going to the great tennis court in the sky and another threatening to move. Tennis is always about adjustment.

    MIB: I will always be able to brag that someone traveled 2,000 miles to play tennis with me, on my birthday no less. That was MIB. Sure, he was in Los Angeles on business but he still went out of his way to extend his trip by a day so he could get all the way to Calabasas on my birthday. We played during my lesson with Caesar and it was a great experience for me and one I detailed in Tennis thing the book.

    Then, last summer, following our family reunion in the QCs, we made the trip to SE Michigan to see the MIB in his own back yard. Yes, tennis was played. Yes, bourbon was sipped. Yes, LPs were played. Playing tennis with MIB was a hook. He honored me by playing full out and I really savored the challenge. It reminded me of the movie The Rookie, where high school players in a small town in Texas get better by trying to catch up with the major-league fastball of their coach, Jim Morris.

    I think you have to see a high-level athletic performance to get some Idea of how close you can get to it yourself. Better than seeing, is actually experiencing. I imagine some people would shrink from such experience, worried about proof beyond doubt that they could never deal whatever athletic prowess they admire. Me? I think the experience itself can exalting, so long as one is serious, like I was when I played with MIB. Playing with MIB even more so than Stew, gave me the sense of what I could do and what I could not. It clarified the size of the court and what it meant to actually cover it. One thing is certain, if I were lucky enough to play with MIB on a regular basis I would be a far better tennis player.

    Federer said that in tennis you could feel your opponent through contact with the ball. As soon as I heard this I nodded. The same is true in baseball. I can still remember the sense of hitting a heavy slider off some guys. My hands remember the feeling and in my brain that fragment of a memory connects me with the guys, even after all these years. It’s only been a few months since I played tennis with MIB but I still remember how it looked and felt.

    Lord willing, MIB and I will find ourselves on another tennis court someday soon. Tt

  • Big news out of Brisbane: My buddy Stew is club champ at Kawana Tennis Club!

    Let me back up.

    Yeah, I know. Stew looks a little intense here. But stay with me while I fill in the blanks. A year or so ago I was hitting serves at The Rose Bowl Tennis courts right here in Pasadena. Suddenly I hear a voice over the ANC of my Apple AirPod Pro.

    “Hey mate, you wanna have a little hit?”

    Now remember I was beginner at the time (I still am, when you get right down to it). That was the first time anyone had ever asked to hit with me. Truth be told, I didn’t want to. Of course, I said, “You Bet!” In my ears rang the words of the MIB. “Paulie, you’re going to have to put yourself out there to meet people to play tennis with!”

    First time and last time, hitting balls with Stew was an adventure. He hit the ball great and moved lots better than me being a couple years younger and much fitter. But, there weren’t untold miles between us and I never felt like Stew was bored by hitting with me, at least that’s how I want to remember it. After our hit, I asked Stew what his deal was and he told me he flew the Qantas route from Brisbane to LAX. That put him in Pasadena from time to time, usually for three or four days.

    So, every now and then I’d get a text or email from Stew and we’d meet up at the Rose Bowl and give the ball the old what for, or what Stew called, the full treatment. We rallied a lot and played some. I was overjoyed to have held my first serve but over time Stew would grind me into dust. But, the grinding process was fun and educational. Stew plays a lot of doubles so whenever the opportunity arose, he’d come in. After this happened a few times I noticed he was waiting to play a forehand volley at a sharp angle. Once I grasped this pattern I tried to make sure never to give him a shot he could hit with his forehand when he was approaching the net. So was born my earliest awareness of tennis tactics en situ.

    We had some good chats. I liked to ask him about where he lived and how he came to be a pilot. He told me about his club and how he liked to work on his diesel Jeep. Stew was like me. For us, it was never too hot or windy or cold to play. When it was time for me to go, Stew would scan the courts looking for someone else to hit with. Looking back, I wish I had freed up more time to play when Stew was in town. I was especially sorry to have missed Stew when he wandered his way to the San Marino Tennis Club looking for a hit. The guy was ready to hit anywhere and with anyone.

    The end came, as it always does. A few weeks ago I reached out to Stew, asking when he’d be in Pasadena. He sent a message that said his route had changed planes to the Boeing 787 and absent a very unlikely development, he wouldn’t be flying the Brisbane to LAX route anytime soon. Sigh.

    Then, a few days ago, I got this photo from Stew. He had won his club’s, The Kawana Tennis Club, Over-50 Men’s Singles Championship (I told you he was good!). Of course, I’m happy for Stew and he told me he was chuffed. Still, I miss Stew and miss playing with him (in that order). I don’t know how it could happen but I hope our paths cross again. Stew’s a great guy to play tennis with and he taught me a lot without even trying.