Erin and I have been

Sep 5, 2001

Erin and I have been watching a lot of tennis this past week. The US Open has been an exciting tournament so far, and John McEnroe has been offering some enlightening commentary. All this reminds me of summers in DeKalb during high school, when I’d watch the major tennis tournaments with my cousins Jackie, Tom and Tyler Allen in the basement of the house that my grandparents Sisco built and that my Aunt Ginger and Uncle Stoddard raised their family in. Often on those hot summer days, after watching Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova and McEnroe and the others, Tom or Tyler and I would walk down to the tennis courts at Northern Illinois University to play a match; sometimes we were joined by their girlfriends for doubles matches. Just like my golf playing in those days, and a lot else in my life, I got frustrated quite easily. Still, looking back, I know I enjoyed being with my cousins, outside in the Midwest air, free from responsibility and worry. Service …

Anton Zuiker ☄