The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail…a trip of 24 hours by  Pope Francis to the Big Apple and the United Nations, the Man from La Mancha, the Sheik of Araby, an elderly knothole kid from the foregone EbbetField bleachers……the  respectful soul searching denizens along the corridor of Champions, praying for a Holy blessing, a sanctuary of a quiet mindedness, and deliverance from agonizing stress here and abroad.

                                       II

How could a divinity of the Vatican, know that the Man from La Mancha, the Sheik of Araby, the senior citizen from the EbbetsField bleachers, a former knot hole kid, were subdued, waiting for the Pope’s open roof  Pope mobile 

to pass….catch a vaunted glimpse and a immortal memorable image. 

                                      III

A metamorphosis beyond Darwin’s voyage to the Galapagos Islands, wouldn’t you say.

A raising of consciousness. A cyber space aura of connectivity to the Big Apple’s own evolution.…..

”The homeless, the weary” dynamics comprising part of the masses, over the past century’s three wars and  Middle East Vietnam invasions.  .

But in this instance, the spiritual reality transcends the confetti blitz                                       upon Pope Francis and his caravan.

                                     IV

The Statute of Liberty held her torch high, revelers in Times Square played out dignified personas as they were in awe, at themiracle occurring in their midst.

The Sheik of Araby’s swagger was liberated from his once 5thgrade charismatic persona to become himself. 

The Man from La Mancha , his musical heritage andimagination brought down to Earth by the Papal pilgrimage ….two  lifetimes in the making.

                                   V

The hand of the smart phone and its apps, was quieted. Quality human beings were asserting themselves by recognizing a higher power, sanctifying their destinies.

With promise, optimism, good health  and humor. Seeing themselves in the mirror of a higher power, orchestrating his own Saint Peter’s Basilica, to bestow a lasting presence among millions of Big Apple denizens…. launching life preservers to stay afloat and grow.

”Praise the Lord ”

                                   VI
Remembering that moment in “Lost Horizon” Robert Riskin’s,(Bay Ridge, Brooklyn) dialogue by Shangri-la’s 125 year oldHigh Llama.   “We have been waiting a long time for you, Mister Conway.”

September 19, 2015   The City that never sleeps.

“AGONIZING AGANIZING “

“AGONIZING AGANIZING “  whispered Midwood High School’s Murray Eisenstadt, the school’s first tennis coach(Social Studies, Civics)  his wife Kappoe, as they watched the most celebrated Swiss player of all time, Roger Federer, lose to the Serbia Novak Jokavitz, under the lights, in ae rain delay … his 6-4, 5--, 6-4, 6-4… four set loss, where he squandered four game changing points.

                                   II

Of all trhe celebrioties in attendance, the 90ish old Vic Seixas, the oldest living grand slam champion, of our own  spectator complimentary tickets at the Forest Hills, West tennis club,Queens.N.Y.

Here the agile Philadelphian in singles and doubles wth is alter ego Tony Trabert, rose to the top ten every season before World War2, the sneqk attack b the Japanese Zeros, vat Pearl Harbor., while a delegation vwas at the White House speaking the Dragon Lady’s“ peace be with you.”

                                       III

The likes of Vic Seixas brought back vmem ories of his honed movements and finesse as his all court game was a versatileballet to see. In his all whites, relaxed state of minfd, he dismissed most of his opponents in the game ws still an am ateursport…no money ,trophies being the incentives for triumphing., his very anticipation in the chess play strokes,down the line,cross court, lobs, overheads, drop shots…

Plays like billy Talbert werein their personsa stock brokersGardnar Malloy of Coral Gables, from Florida’s Miami University (Doris Hart’s ) were aristocrats, self employed in what career no one ever knew….  Frank Shields in his impeccable long white trousers, Boby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Ted Olewine, Ted Schroeder, Pancho Gonzales, Pancho Segura, Wayne Sabi n ,Bitsy Grfant,. Long after Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Baron Gottfried von Gram, Bunny Austin, Don Budge., the Aussies Harry Hopkins, John Bromwich and his partner Adrian Quist.

                                         IV

So before these legendary heroes akin Vic Seisas came back, returned to those yesterdays at Forest Hills, where he gained fame without an y notoriety for his sportsman like leadership persona, mnned court persona, his will to win motivating his all court tactics and image, moving forward….

                               IV

Those were the seventh heaven days grwin g up, every summer going to the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association Big Apple officefor the comps , the family’s Joel Adler, competing in the tournament with his long time nemesis Nathan “Lefty”Goldstein of Brooklyn. 

His steadiness from the baseline, chasing down all Joel’s shots in their war of attrition, baseline duels from side to side inside and out, down the line, cross court in a war of attrition..(indoorArmories, Mammoth clay, Herby Titler’s clay, with Jake Javitz, later a N.Y. Senator, the Lincoln Terrace Park courts)

                                   V

So it was in this amateur climate Herby Flam. Leonard Steiner, Sidney Schwartz, Bob Willner, Sonny Fotre matured their teen age steady game into adroit pre college maturity.  

Cornell, graduate manager&coach Bill Ackerman’s UCLAteams, Tulane USC (the Falkenberg brothers, Bob and Tom,(their sister Jinx, courted by Howard “Slim” Hughes, wshile he was into flying lessons at Santa Monica’s Cloverdale Airport)evolved their all court shot making., American trwist s …Hugh Stewart from San Gabriel….Pancho Gonzales from East Los Angeles.(Andre Agassi’s former brother in law)

                                      VI

The Eisenstadts were under th radar…celebrating 185 years of their birthdays” the coach and civics teacher 95, Kappioe a Tilden High School counselor 90…185 gala celebration  underthe four bridges in Williamsburg, their daughter Ellen, engineering the gala, in the open era….the thletes in their quest for fame and fortue as the Serena andVenus sisters or Pete Sampreas and Agassi- Steffi Graf in  their retirement six or seven  bck from today’s Rger Federer, age34, to bag another “mojp”!..but doomed by the  newly married revitalized Serbianin those aforementioned rain delay four sets.

                                  VII

“Agonizing agonizing “ whispered retired  Midwood High School retired te3nnis coach,  95 year old Murray Eisenstadt to his wife 90 year old Kappie, in their 185 year birthday gala, under the four bridges.

Sepotember15, 2015  The City that never sleeps,

                                                                                     

What hath these streaks gone astray?

What hath these streaks gone astray?

                                  II

All things and stats being relative, where in the pantheon……    

Of the Stage’s pressure ….cooking a consecutive  day to day display of moneyed  ego trips over tumbling yesterdays in the performer’s mortal pursuit of Grand Slam immortality….

Establishing a new level of earth breaking epoch shatteringstatistics gone astray  on our cyber spaced out Grand Slamtennis  courts..             

                                   III

Therefore thus heretofore, the feminine interpretation of the Sultan of Swat, Serena Williamns, a tennis prodigy of Compton, California’s hatd courts, two victories shy of Steffi Graf’s thirty thrfee big time tournament victories on the Australia French Wimbledon U.S. Open Grand Slam tour, in Flushing Meadows, Queens, N.Y.…..

Her chase, pursuing Steffi Graf, losing her 3set semi final match to DaVinci “La Dolche Vita” Italian…no relation to Leonardo?..in a tight three setter semi final pursuit.

                                         IV

So the Sultan of Swat must go back to the boards As the pioneers of the charismatic tennis establishment say…Billy Jean Kings  UCLA’s Arthur Ashe stadium, to rediscover the joy and passion which brought her fame nd fortune in the first place.

                                    V

For her pursuit and chase to be denied,  “Steffi will be here Saturday”   bespeaks volumes of the crony authority at Flushing Meadows, failing to put into perspective how to assess the quality a thirty three feminine style Sultan of Swat cult, todominate a 33 year old baby faced “Gigi” Italian player…never before gotten this far in a Grand Slam..

Her one handed backhand in the pantheon of two handed powserplayers brings back to mind the constancy of the “David and Goliath” analogy, the Flushing Meadow connoisseurs verbally groomed…in their analysis, arguing stats, pursuing their crisp tongue lashing of the Sultn of Swat’s “mirror”.

Serena Williams, the Compton, Calikfornia prodigy, pursuing her dream of dethroning Steffi Graf’s 33 Grand Slams into thtothe Guinness Book of Records.                                  

                                    VI

NO WAY JOSE!

                                   VII

Whatever the divinity, Serena Williams, a prodigy out of the hard courts of Compton, California could not get to her once instinctual extra gear as she had,  pursuing her streak…. two matches away..from establishing a transcending vision of what she, her sister Venus, and their father, Richard, their surrogate coach… tossing used tennis balls in their ambition, overcoming their environmental limitations,(our North Long Beach at Lindberg Jr.High the Compton-L.A. Red cars) as they gained prestige, power, and acclaim in the Sultan of Swat’ family consciousness.  

A Cleopatra in disguise, those Bill Tilden used tennis bals of  Darwinian metamorphosis to fame and fortune.

An ascension to what was once an all no moneyed amateurAlice Marble Althea Gibson purity.

                                    VIII

So with Lou Gehrig’s game playing steak..”I am the luckiest man on the face of this Earth”..Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive hitting streak of 54 gmes…….…..   

                                     IX

Ted Willikams coming back from two wars, setting his hitting record…  406 batting average… 

And then again Babe Ruth’s own 60 four baggers, to be broken by Roger Maris’s 61.

So in this celebrity ridden gage of press agents..all… was not to be…the father maestro Richard Willikams  not on  the Flushing Meadows “reality scene” to  give his moral and visible support to his feminine Sultan of Swat, 

Greta Garbo “I vant to be alone”s she raced off her to privacy of sharing Nadal’s own grinding loss two days earlier on thesecourts..

Of her fall from what was once her imperial grace .

                                         X

But for “cool and awesome” DaVinci from Italy, her drop shots, sliced one handed backhand, her true grit of Via Nomentana in Novella Roma, off the Via Veneto, the spectacular ascension and all consuming streak of Serena Williams, coming down to Earth, the Compton, California prodigy, realizes her  killer instinct has finally come to a  cease fire, at the hands of a Da Vinci divinity…masking her own mystique, and all court presence… a prodigy gone stale in deuce and add out points (a few double faults on critical points)on her serve….her nerves gotr to her neurons and constancy of pressure to prove yourself by defeating your own quest, across the net….a “mirror” of what she once was.

                                   XI

“Don’t look back. You’ll see something gaining on you”..Satchel Paige, pitching in relief, for the Cleveland Indians.

September 12, 2015.The City that never sleeps.