The Backhand

Meanwhile, back in the 70's...
Carol and her best friend, Sue, are preparing for their next semifinals match of the 1976 Bicentennial Women's Tennis Tournament at their neighborhood, Sunview Swim and Tennis Club. They are up against two of the best players in the league, and also their good friends, Tammy and Marge. Carol is only slightly concerned. She has been working on her backhand, which has always been her nemesis, since she and Sue decided to enter the tournament, back in May. If only Carol's backhand were as perfected as her Key Lime Pie, they'd have this thing in the bag. It's now Thursday, July 22nd, and tomorrow morning is their final semifinals match. If they win this, they head to the finals. Their longtime doubles rivals, Betty and Joann, are also in the semifinals. Of all the doubles teams they could potentially be matched up with, should they proceed to the finals, they're hoping it's not those two. Betty is a very nice lady, but Joann is known to be a sore loser and the club prima donna. None of the ladies in the league can figure out how Betty can continue to be Joann's doubles partner, though it's common knowledge why the league heads have not asked Joann to leave. It's a club reality, and every knows it. You see, Joann has been causing trouble since she joined in 1973, shortly after becoming real estate mogul, Sherman Goldberg's trophy wife. This happened only months after losing the love of his life and wife of 40 years, Alison, to a very suspicious poisoning at Joann's annual Christmas Eve open house, of which none of the the other guests were affected, though they all enjoyed the shrimp cocktail, which was the main suspect. Though the investigation ruled it an "accident", many Sunview members find the coincidence unsettling, to say the least. Interesting, as well, is the widely known fact that Sherman is single handedly funding the construction of the brand new Sunview clubhouse, to be named in honor of Alison Goldberg. Alison also happened to be a very dear friend of Carol and Sue and also a well loved member of the women's tennis league.

 It's now 7 o'clock on a warm, sunny, Friday morning and Carol has the Caprice wagon loaded up, and is on her way to pick up Sue for the semifinals. Sue just got her brand new Wilson racket and is hoping it lends itself to a win, today, and Carol is wearing her favorite light blue pom pom tennis socks. She's noticed that she always does well with pom poms, though she is not at all superstitious, just maybe a bit of a "traditionalist", let's say. Whatever the reason, Carol's game day accessory choices, which include her adidas court shoes, give her the confidence she needs to bring home a win.

They arrive at the club and begin to unload their gear and prepare for the match. Carol and Sue do a bit of warming up on the court with some light rallying, while Tammy and Marge are on the opposite court, doing the same. They greet and heckle each other in a very fun and friendly manner and ask each other how their husbands and kids are doing, all of whom are in the stands cheering on their favorite players. Then, during a rally, Carol begins to notice that the strings on her Spalding seem a bit loose. She thinks to herself, "I really should have had this restrung, last week, darn it". She becomes concerned, but fortunately she brought along her trusty Dunlop backup. It may not be her favorite racket, but it'll do in a pinch, and the semifinals would definitely qualify as a pinch. She's hoping the use of the Dunlop doesn't throw her game off.. especially her backhand! Though she's been practicing for a couple of months, she's still not fully confident in her swing. However, today is a big day; she has to focus on all of her other abilities. Her forehand is fantastic, as is her serve, which is powerful and fast, and she is quick on her feet. And Sue always seems to be adequately well versed in all areas of her game. Together, they make a great team!

It's Friday evening and Carol just got off the phone with Sue, discussing their close win in the semi finals match, today. They both also mentioned, several times, what terrific sportswomen Tammy and Marge are.. they are so much fun to compete against! They also found out, this afternoon, that Betty and Joann have made it to the finals, and they will be competing against them tomorrow morning. They discussed how they might try to intimidate Joann on the court, but since they are Christian ladies, decided that they are good enough players to win this thing, fair and square. And besides, they are actually quite fond of Betty. Carol ran all of this by Bob, and he is in full agreement that they can win this. Bob has played many a doubles match with Carol, Sue, and Sue's husband, Doug, and knows that these two ladies are perfectly capable of taking Joann and Betty to the cleaners! Of course, it's just a friendly tournament.. or so they think.You see, Joann is a tennis tyrant and known within the Sunview league to be quite unethical. Even surrounding leagues have a similar opinion. But the match must go on and a champion will be crowned.

It's now Saturday morning, and Carol and Sue are on the court, warmed up and ready to go. Carol figures she did well with the Dunlop, yesterday, so she is confident in her racket, and is wearing her same accessories, including her socks, which she of course, washed last night. Today, however, she also added her yellow (her favorite color) Puma polo blouse. Both ladies slept well last night, and prayed together this morning, asking for wisdom and guidance in the match. They are ready to win!

It's 9am and the match is beginning. The racket has been spun and Joann will serve first. Joann has a powerful serve, but not powerful enough to phase Carol and Sue. Carol returns and the rally begins...

Joann and Betty have narrowly won the first set. The girls take a break. As Carol drinks some league provided Gatorade, Sue sips on a nice, refreshing, Fresca, her court beverage of choice. They can't believe Joann and Betty have taken the first set, and they realize that they must win the next two in order to win the match. Carol also knows that one of the main reason they lost was due to her unperfected backhand. It's a problem that she has been well aware of for a long time. They have to stay focused, however, which may be difficult to do because at this point, Joann has become quite obnoxious. She has succumb to calling the girls loser, hasbeens, and is boasting about knowing a great coach she can send them to for lessons. What Joann doesn't realize, is that all of her heckling is making Carol and Sue that much more determined.

The second set has just ended and Carol and Sue are declared the winners. Just one more set to go. They have to do this. The club championship is in their sights. They realize that if they lose to Joann, not only will they never hear the end of it, but the disappointment of this loss will be a dark cloud that hovers over the Sunview Swim and Tennis Club for generations to come. Victory is their only option.

It's been a hard fought battle throughout the morning. In each loss for Carol and Sue, it's come down to Carol's backhand being not only a disappointment, but the weak link in their pursuit of the club championship. It's down to the final set. The first game goes to Joann and Betty. Joann begins to amp up her heckling, though betty seems a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. As the second game commences, Betty smiles at her opponents, as sort of way to let them know that she is not in agreement with Joann's unsportsmanlike, behavior. They smile back. However, Betty is still giving her all on the court with her punishing, overhead kill shots from the net. However, despite Betty's aggressive game plan, the second game goes to Carol and Sue.

Both sides continue to win their serve, and so we sit. Joann and Betty 4, Carol and Sue, 5.

Service, Carol. 40-30. Carol bounces her Penn twice, throws it in the air, raises her racket, and serves the ball at lightening speed. Joann returns and the four rally for what seems like quite a long time. Then, suddenly, Joann hits a driving shot down the middle of the court, straight to Carol, knowing that her backhand could very well lose the match. As Carol see the ball coming straight for her, knowing it can only be a backhand shot, she thinks to herself, "no, not my backhand! I can't lose on my backhand!" As she races towards the ball, the moment becomes as in slow motion, and in that split second, she thinks of how she might avoid the backhand, but realizes she can't. There is no other option. She knows she must win this point. She cannot allow a tie to happen. She begins to have flashbacks of her old coach, club pro, Bill Thompson, telling her to set her feet and extend through the ball.. extend through the ball! With two hands, she sets her foot, extends through and hits the ball with a topspin that she has never experienced before!  While Joann is celebrating in her head, believing Carol will never return her line drive, the ball rockets towards Joann like a meteor, as Betty secretly cheers Carol on, and hits the unsuspecting egomaniac right, smack in the nose! Joann's racket goes flying through the air, as she stumbles backward, not able to maintain her balance, right into the court fencing, as Carol and Sue jump for joy on the court! We won, we won!! As Joann sits silently on the ground, blood dripping on her brand new pro shop tennis outfit, they jog to the net to congratulate Betty on a great match. And as they ask Joann if is she is ok, Joann's only response is a scowl on her face, as the entire club rushes the court, cheering for Carol and Sue! Joann, left alone, again, this time a loser and a permanent member of the hall of shame.


1 Thessalonians 5:18 ..in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The USO, Hawaii, and Fate... A Love Story

The Year was 1952, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It's where Barbara and Russ met, began their courtship, and subsequently, their life together. You see, Barbara worked with the USO on the Big Island, as a singer, and Russ was an unsuspecting American soldier looking for a little leisure time. On this particular February night, Barb, (that's what her friends called her), was performing some numbers for the G.I.'s, trying to improve moral, you might say. This was Russ' first time in the Oahu USO club, and he noticed Barb, right away. Well, I suppose you could say, all of the soldiers noticed Barb. She was beautiful, brunette, and had a figure that would make any young man want to join the service. She also had a captivating voice. It was around 9:00pm when Russ walked in and she was singing a rousing rendition of Mockingbird Hill. Russ thought to himself, "wow, what a looker!" He was immediately taken by her beauty, but didn't think for one minute that it could be mutual. He didn't give it a second thought. He was just happy to be there and enjoy the show.

Barb sang a few more numbers, then exited the stage and joined some of her co workers, as they took a break in between sets. Russ didn't pay too much attention, but as he made his way to the bar to order a ginger ale, (Russ wasn't a drinker), Barb noticed him. He appeared to be alone, and had a clean cut, "good boy", sort air about him. Barb was immediately intrigued because most of the G.I.'s in the hall were constantly coming on to her, which got very old, very quickly. Because she was a performer, the fellas tended to have a certain idea of the type of girl she must be, which wasn't true, at all. She actually grew up in the Midwest in a very conservative home, and has stayed true to her roots. It just so happened that Barb had a powerful set of pipes, as they say, and desired to make some type of contribution to her country. She was a very patriotic gal, as were her parents and two brothers, who were also in the service.

Barb and her co-workers took the stage once again for the last set of the evening. Russ was truly enjoying the show and was thinking that he might return the following weekend if possible. The set ended and Barb, being a bit of an out going type of girl, approached Russ, asking if he enjoyed the show. Russ assured her that he did and complimented her on her beautiful voice. Barb thanked him and sensed a sincerity in his kind words. They began a nice conversation and by the time Russ had to get back to base, he had gotten up the courage to ask Barb out on a date. She wasn't working the following Saturday, so they decided to meet then, and make a day of it.

Barb and Russ began seeing each other on a regular basis and made plans to head one weekend to the island of Hakalau. Hakalau boasted a bustling sugarcane town, but also had wonderful areas of serene beauty. They arrived in the morning and spent the day exploring the city. By twilight time, as they walked hand in hand, Barb felt that her heart had quite a few things to say, so, she turned to Russ and asked, "Russ, can I tell you something?" Russ replied, "of course, anything". And in a soft, coy voice, she said, "you're my boy, oh boy". Russ' heart and eyes lit up, as they continued their walk.

Now, it happened that two years later, the two were married. They had a small, simple ceremony and afterward returned to Barbs hometown to celebrate with her parents. Russ had no family to really speak of, but now had a big wonderful family to call his own. They all loved him. He fit right in.

In 1955, they returned to Hakalau, both just having ended their service to the country. They wanted to return to the place where they began their life together. This time they had rented a car and decided to take a drive along the coast and as the light from that big, magnificent moon led the way, they found themselves driving all night, both remarking on how nice it was to just be together, roaming the coast of their beautiful Hakalau. The two of them, being very sentimental people, relished the the moon, the night, the moment.

As time went by and they lived their day to day life, they decided in 1961, that it was time to return to their beloved Hakalau. Six years seemed far too long to stay away. They heard of a luau that was to take place on Saturday night and they decided it would be great fun. As much time as they had spent in Hawaii, they had never been to a luau. As the pig was roasted, and the food prepared, the men played drums, the fire raged, and the beautiful hula girls danced the night away. Barb commented on how gorgeous and flawless they looked. It was then that Russ turned to her and in a loving and sincere voice whispered, "may I kiss the most beautiful of all?". Well, Barb's heart melted and the night couldn't get any better. Though they had been married for several years now, they still adored each other and were surely, the best of friends. The following afternoon, as they sat on the beach, Barb holding Russ' arm and reminiscing on the night before, a storm began to roll through, but they didn't move. As the rain poured down, they laughed right through it, enjoying the wind, the waves, the rain, and most of all, each other's company. It seemed nothing could be more perfect. They were content with the the simple but most important things.

The next morning they headed back to Wisconsin and lived their lives for the next 9 years. It was then that they decided it was time for one more trip to Hakalau. The year was 1970 and when they arrived to Hakalau they found the bustling town to be no more. The sugar factories had moved and the townspeople went, as well. Russ and Barb were surprised and dismayed but soon felt as though they had the entire island to themselves. As they spent their last day on the beach of their first love, Hakalau, they walked hand in hand over that beautiful Polynesian sand. And as the big Hawaiian sun began to sink, Russ turned to Barb, gently kissed her on the cheek and said, "you're still my baby". Barb's heart melted, once again. A Hawaiian love story for the record books.


1 Thessalonians 5:18 ..in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.