What joy I have spentless times hitting a two ounce rubber ball over a three foot net. Tennis has widened the circles of possibilities within my life. When I hear the sound of a ball resonating off the sweet spot of racket strings, tennis has been like a bell awakening me. Where else does such noise occur then in a game where love means nothing yet everything? For many a year I have been able to share thousands of enjoyable hours with people of all walks playing tennis. Hitting these yellow balls this has allowed me to quiet my mind and listen to my heart. Tennis comes from a French word tenor, to hold and has provided much fun.

Tennis has provided me the treasure of friends, travel, income and experiences and has provided me an art form to cultivate insights. As a life long tennis player and teacher, I experienced many happy returns both on and off the courts. For over thirty five years, I have been able to teach at the White House and help those without houses. I learned at the public courts and worked at private clubs. I have played with those in the city and some of the best in the country. Tennis has allowed me to take theory and transform it into practice and to learn that loss can become a gain. Finally, as an instructor I have taught that one becomes either a champ or chump participating in this game of errors by learning to live, lob, drop-shot and laugh.

As a youth, I used to call out "service" to begin each new point. The hardest thing for most people in this sport is to learn to service because it is difficult to toss the ball up high in a straight line. Finally, the metaphor of how to learn serve has been a beacon of light in many of my darker moments. I have found that refining my inner game is about developing more gentle relationships with all things.

Learning to have fun has been my chief aim. I believe life is about not just focus but the ability to also seeing the larger picture. Besides being a tennis instructor I have been active in the environmental field. I have established many recycling and environmental programs all over this country reaping may "happy returns'. There are similar mind sets to playing tennis and conserving our earth.

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