Climate Change

No I am not trying to raise your BP, this is about tennis

Today, I decided to choose a title that might get people fired up. However, I decided to back off in the subtitle. I cannot afford to lose any readers. We are into the second week of October in Minnesota and of course, the “climate” is changing. This seasonal change I accept with mixed emotions. The change of seasons is something I embrace but there are things that I lose grudgingly when the weather shifts.

There is, of course, no universal favorite season or most everyone would live at the same latitude. For me, the seasons provide a seasonal test of my ability to adapt to change. It is clear that there are people who genuinely enjoy cross-country skiing with the same fervor that I favor tennis. Fall for me is difficult because soon the local municipalities will see fit to remove the tennis nets from the posts. Luckily, I have an avid group of friends who are not dissuaded so easily. Amongst this group of men, we have those who have their own spare nets. It is in this season that our commitment can be measured as greater than the everyday crowd. Each of the members of my tennis crowd brings different things to our playdates. Yes, men can have playdates long after childhood.

The success of our group starts with a man I will call the commissioner. The commish does so much including:

• A weekly “get out the players” invitation. There are now over 30 of us on his email distribution. This is not just a when do you want to play. Rather, the commish analyzes the long-term forecast and selects two weekday afternoon/evenings and our standard Saturday morning schedules. He chooses the days and starting times with obvious attention to a weather application of some kind. His forecast is consistently better than watching the evening news and certified meteorologists.

• When the commish is not feeling well, that does not necessarily inhibit him from showing up. Especially on Saturdays, he ALWAYS arrives before all the rest. He tidies the courts, might take care of debris, adjust the net straps, and with the help of his handy measuring tape in his bag, ensures that everyone must contend with a proper 36” height at the center. Tennis is another one of those activities that have not bent to the metric system just yet. By the way, the net is 6” higher at the edges which is why “going down the line” can be more difficult than it looks.

• The commish collects responses from ALL of the 30+ folks who respond and constructs who is playing on a given date. He sends out the invites to the individual dates usually with a comment or two interspersed.

• The commish, most of all, is RELIABLE and I think the rest of us at times just take it for granted. His effort is one of the reasons most of us get to play consistently.

Well, it is now time to stop inflating the Commish’s head lest he begins expecting us to pay for this current volunteer service. There are a bunch of other things that also happen with this group. Although this year has been a veritable drought in Minnesota, there have been many times, especially in past years, on a Saturday morning when it rained overnight. The group simply shows up early with leaf blowers, brooms, squeegees, towels and transforms the 2-3 courts we plan to use. I notice that sometimes another group might arrive 1-2 hours into our play and just must scratch their heads to try and understand why only 2-3 courts of the 8 seem to have not been affected by the overnight conditions.

This group, although the faces vary, is just an excellent group of guys all the way around. Sometimes afterward we retire to a local watering hole or just solve the world’s problems as we load our bags of gear. While there are leaves to pick up, gutters to clean, snowblowers to prep, hoses to drain, and garages to reorient for the seasonal change, none of those things really are the reason that the arrival of fall is not my favorite. I enjoy fall for myriad reasons and the transition is great in so many ways. However, when the surfaces get slippery not because of a little water that a leaf blower can manage but rather is slick because that water has finally overcome the heat of fusion and presents as ice, that is sad for a different reason. It means that the outdoor tennis season is over. While there is an indoor solution and even a snowbird solution in warmer climates, what is missed most of all is the group of guys that have decided this is a great way to spend a portion of their spring, summer, and fall in our little slice of paradise in Dakota County, Minnesota.

For those of you who take the time to read my newsletter, I thank you. For those that do it often, you know I like to include a video or a song. I have always been intrigued by how things are made. This one is pretty good but on the long side (it is actually three different videos in one so give it a chance). It’s amazing how complex something that costs 75¢ can be. We live in an amazing world and life is good!

24+

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