What is that we human beings ultimately depend on? We depend on our words. We are suspended in language. Our task is to communicate experience and ideas to others.
Niels Bohr
So here it is, a return to writing. This space has always been a place to work out ideas along broad but distinct themes. Running marathons, seeing the world, and generally, exploring reality in motion. Let’s say through mostly athletic vehicles + planes, trains, and automobiles. I have to say, for all the travels chronicled here, I have never truly lost a sense of wonder, or how absolutely wild it is, the speed and ease at which we have been able to cross physical distance over the commercial airline network. Not that the whole world can be reached by airport, for sure there are some places that you have to walk to. But it was always feeling a a little science fiction to fit into an economy seat, watch “A Star is Born” a few times, and within hours feel the humidity of Rio de Janeiro or the cold of New York on a noisey runway.
At least since Bali, for me, it was always kind of underscored in my mind with an appreciation of how delicate the whole system can be to weather, politics, timing, force of will. All of which is to say, I’m not all that frustrated by the current global travel ban. I think the world has been wide open in ways we can now kind of appreciate the complexity of, I think it’s a nice time to explore, is travel an airplane or a state of mind?
I think it’s a nice time to play some tennis, which is just about the most fun thing you can do these days. And it’s so fun to find a new tennis court. It’s something square and instantly recognizable and common, but not soo common.
“I’m never going to take TJ Maxx or Home Goods or any of those stores for granted again” I heard a radio commentator buzz, it wasn’t even an advertisement. A curious thing to miss the most of all the ways life has changed, but you know, those stores are really tied to the brick and mortar, because they’re not just a way to get stuff, they’re designed as this whole treasure hunt experience.
And that’s kind of how I feel about tennis courts. I am surprised how naturally certain vocabulary moves into tennis. If I can work around the rain, or a busy public court, or even the act of rolling water off after a thunderstorm and eeking out a few rallies, I describe it as, another day of not being skunked. Skunked, being, like, when you can’t surf, usually because there are no waves.
So in that way, tennis is kind of this treasure hunt, surf around substitute for being home in the time of Cholera.
And it has been really fun.