First Blog

Trust is the currency between peoples.    Destroy trust and you destroy the world. Currently, trust is eroding everywhere, interpersonal, interparty, intercountry, across the world. In the congress, in the press, in the workplace. Trust and love have one common quality.  Once lost, they are near impossible to recover. ---------------------------- Summing up the Reps and Dems.  Problem at hand: Deciding the color of the toilet paper in congressional restrooms.  Solution Reps: Unable to compromise, adjourn for vacation.  Solution Dems: Unable to consider or process request, await decision from leadership. -------------------------- If you watch tennis these days, you will see that every player seems to hit the ball harder than ever, with more spin, and with more skill than ever before. Many come with an entourage of personal coaches.  But the dress is what you first notice, particularly if you’re not a player.  Many of the men dress as though they came to mow the lawn, wor

Politics today. Selling sin is easy.  Selling hate is easier. Our leaders should be more circumspect about what they wish to sell.  They may actually be successful - or bury themselves in irrelevancy. The Press Today Venus Williams won her match at the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament.  So what was the headline?  She broke into tears when questioned about her involvement in a fatal car crash*.  This was minor compared to discussions about her wearing a pink bra** while playing – in some sort of exception to the Wimbledon white-garb-only tradition.  This is the news today.  The distraction becomes more important than the event. * http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/tennis/venus-williams-breaks-down-crying-10731083 **http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/03/venus-williams-shocking-pink-bra-courts-controversy-wimbledon/

Tennis in 2017.  I am well into a study of tennis professionals, looking over their careers.  Here are some preliminary conclusions.  They may apply to your very own world – particularly if you vie for a top spot at whatever you do.  Looking at top-100 ranked pros over the last twenty years, we note there are only four hovering at the top.  They are Andy Murray (now #1), Novac Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal.  Also we include Stan Warinka, currently ranked #3. Here are a couple of observations about the top players.  All entered the top 100 in the lower half.  (Many were ranked below number 100 for a year or so after turning pro.)  These four have been at the top for years now. All rankings are based strictly on tournament performance and how they performed.  Sports writers notwithstanding, did not play a role. After a season or two with low rankings they emerged to the very top echelon right away.  They stayed there year-after-year. For example, from 2005 to pre

April 1, 2017.  Modern tennis.  I’ve been watching professional tennis for decades.  Oh, the days of Rosewall, Laver, Ashe and others.  Those were the days! One thing I always noted was that pro tennis players were the models of decorum.  Until, that is, the time of Jimmy Conners, a rather emotional player, and John McEnroe, a player given to temper.  They were the exceptions at the very top. On the whole, emotional reservation of players was the rule.  But lately, we see younger players expressing extreme emotions on the court.  Case in point: Federer (age 35, and old with established talent) vs Grygio (age 21, and young with great talent) at the Miami Open, 2017.   Loud swearing is common.   Breaking tennis rackets is everyday.   It is something like the frustrated player, bothered by poor playing or bad luck, can deflect the blame onto his racket by smashing it.   I think we see this in our younger generation, using violence to express frustration if their situation is not as d