LAST WEEK’S RECAP | June 5 – June 10, 2012
Parties from the whole week were fun. Here are some highlights from weekend parties.
SATURDAY
What a nice surprise to see 2 friends from Yonkers that I rarely see during the winter season. One is captain of about 20 teams and the other is another fierce competitor on court with a smile, kind of like FDR “Speak softly but carry a big stick.” It was so much fun on their court that a regular from Fort Lee, aka Ice Cream Man (owns an Italian ice cream factory in NJ) didn’t want to get off their court the entire evening, opting for semi mixed doubles over men’s. The Yonkers friends entertained us all night long on and off the court and into the wee hours, sharing great food and conversations at the end of the party and after the party at a 24-hour restaurant. They deserved double the fun and double the servings after the workout they had.
Other players gathered at various tables sharing nice conversations at the end of the party after the fun on court. The regular from Englewood Cliffs bode farewell with a sad smile, it was too much fun to leave. The regular from NYC said he had all great matches. I caught him wearing his cool golf checkered shorts on the way out, another glimpse into one’s personality outside of one’s tennis clothes.
It was nice to see a special moment on court. One of the tennis greats from Croton-on-Hudson take the regular from Parsipanny under his wings, as a father would with a son, showing him the classic volley grip and volley stroke and motion. It was the first time I have seen him do that for anyone on court for he’s a modest but excellent player. They must have really gelled quite well based on the exchanges of smiles. He dominated tennis in the late 70’s and early 80’s, one to beat. Now he simply enjoys tennis for the fun and social aspect of it, while sharing his tennis knowledge with those interested, especially the curious me.
SUNDAY
It was a nice turnout this Sunday. As the summer is nearing, players are enjoying the beautiful outdoor weather and playing tennis at the lake. They came from all over NY and NJ.
A regular from Tenafly who’s currently on assignment in Atlanta got a call to come in and oversee the NY office for a week. She gladly obliged, hopped on the Sunday morning flight, arriving in Newark and arriving in her rental car just in time for the 3 o’clock session! Wow, that’s testimony of how much she loves Packanack, playing there all last summer before her work assignment in Atlanta.
A player from Fort Lee ran into his neighbor in their residential building. Through talking he learned that the neighbor has become a Tennis Buffs regular so that brought him out of the woodwork to start playing at the parties again. He arrived for the 3pm start, leaving at 5pm to drive his wife off to the hospital where she works and returning to resume tennis at 7pm. Dedication to family and tennis is all possible. We continued tennis at an off-site location from 7-9:30pm due to lack of extreme hot summer heat of 80 degrees or more to dry up the clay courts after a 10-minute rain shower. We ended the evening with a tailgate party.
A recent retiree from West Milford called last minute several times but decided to just show up. Two other players also called and just showed up. Cell phone providers can be a bit peculiar. Many times my cell phone doesn’t ring, particularly at Packanack Lake, (or I just don’t hear it while I am busy with running the party) or I don’t get voicemail until the next day or so. So please feel free to drop in unannounced. Although if too many do that, there may not be enough buns for your burgers 🙂
The retiree decided to get in a little tennis before traveling again back to the West Coast for a good friend’s birthday celebration. (He had just returned a month ago from a month-or-two-long bi-coastal road trip.) Retirement is working out great for him!