Bright Ideas

I heard it on the news, “People who play tennis live nine years longer.” I tried playing tennis once with three Australian women who claimed these outings were just to “hit and giggle.”

First, I made myself a white tennis outfit, and we bought a cheap tennis racket. It didn’t take long to realize my poor playing was dragging down the levity of the outings, and I threatened to be depressed by the experience. I excused myself and abandoned the sport.

But I enjoy watching the sport. My mother-in-law also enjoyed watching the sport, and I doubt if she ever played. Last week the U.S. Open was on television, with Serena Williams upset in the championship match by a 20-year-old Japanese woman, Naomi Osaka.

Osaka did not outplay Williams; Williams’ outbursts defeated her. The chair refused to excuse her outbursts, and penalized her to a loss. Osaka felt badly and Williams felt badly for the winner, too.

Has your mouth ever gotten you into a “situation?” We need to be silent. We need to listen more than we speak. Listening never causes problems; it’s only speaking, proclaiming or throwing down your tennis racket that defeats us.

I don’t suppose watching televised tennis extends our lives, but it’s fun, engaging, and I’ll keep doing it as long as I get reception of games.