LAST WEEK’S RECAP | October 14 – 20, 2013
WEDNESDAY
A newcomer from Tenafly was so happy that we started the Tenafly season and immediately signed up. A newcomer from Mahwah heard about the group through a player from Fort Lee attended for the first time tonight. He was so gracious to offer me a ride since we’re almost neighbors. The smooth ride made me feel like I was riding in a limo. A recent newcomer from Lyndhurst said he was “very excited to have found this group.” Young and energetic, he plays almost everyday, anywhere he can play. Kudos to him!
THURSDAY
Let’s just say, no news is good news….Only those who attended share my knowledge.
FRIDAY
A partygoer inadvertently left work early on Friday. A coworker saw her in the hallway and said – “Oh you’re leaving early today?” So she looked at her watch and realized that it was only 4pm and not 5pm. It was too late, she continued to leave the office building anyway and not give her boss a thought. Good for her! I think everyone should have a Friday watch, being an hour early and giving oneself an extra hour of fun.
SATURDAY
Newcomer friends from Bronxville and Yonkers attended the party for a girls’ night out. One even hired a babysitter just for the occasion. They certainly stood out, dressed better than I’ve ever done! They played just as superbly. I’m always flattered when people use our venue for a gathering. It’s always party time at Tennis Buffs! They had fun and one is returning this weekend, for another girls’ night out, of course.
SUNDAY
Each year there is always a last party for the season and today was it. So Dwight and I wanted to leave with a bang and a feast. There were best of friends, old and new friends – from Nyack, Yonkers, Clifton, Edgewater, Paramus, Waldwick, Wayne, West Milford, Westwood and Wyckoff. Missing were some Sunday regulars but we partied for them too.
One of our new friends who recently moved to VA came to town to continue packing the rest of her things and visit friends. As in the past couple of times, she put time aside before the end of her visit, to spend it with friends at the lake. She came, she played and she left…oh, she also feasted and took some great pictures on her phone, the much needed new pictures for our website.
A player from Yonkers is captain of about 20-30 USTA teams. A player from Wyckoff plays in many daytime leagues and a few USTA teams. You’d never know they had just met this spring/summer and are good friends. They played against players from VA, Clifton and Wyckoff and had great matches. Three of them either have gone or are going nationals (not the same 3 as last week’s Friday players), another has gone sectional – all at the 4.0, 8.0 and 9.0 levels. Yes, that’s not bad entertainment at the lake!
The fun times continued on the deck. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. You can tell when nobody got up for hours, even after the plates and cups were empty for a while. They talked and joked all evening. It was another great night I will add to my memories book.
Just to show how funny they were, the Captain from Yonkers was walking along the fence picking up balls on the court next to me. He looked and hollered my way – “Ey Penny, is there a blizzard?!” I was wearing a light but warm down jacket, just in case, and thinking “Ay Captain, this is a free country and one can never be too prepared for a blizzard!”
The player from Wyckoff nearly hit Dwight in the nuts. From the court, she looked towards me at the deck, smiled and said – “I wanted to give you the night off!” She and the Captain wanted to make sure I didn’t forget that they were there for the last party.
Another memory I will add is one of 3 German speakers, from Germany, Transylvania and Thailand/England/France (and a few other countries; her dad moved a lot for his job). They talked about old German vs. new German. The Transylvanian asked the blue-eyed blond born in Thailand if she could translate a document written in old German for him. When everyone was looking for him, they thought maybe he went home to get the document. He lives in Paramus, not at all near the lake. I told them that if he’s not on the court, he’s always driving – to find phone signal, a hardware store, a drugstore, etc. – very transient! About 10 minutes later, he pulled up in his car, of course, from always driving!
To my surprise, Hippie Kris, who’s been MIA for a few weeks, decided that he couldn’t miss the last, last Sunday party. It added a nice touch to the end of the season, as he spent every Sunday at the lake, except for times his wife “made” him do non-tennis things on Sundays. His good friends from Edgewater and Waldwick also attended. They all made sure to be at the last party, which I was glad they did!
I will miss Packanack and everyone who came to the Sunday parties throughout the season. It was a great Summer 2013!