Part II: The Positive Side of Staycations: Brevity, Brevity, Brevity..

If you would like to catch up with Part I click here. 

If brevity be the soul of wit, then John Le Carre's last novel Silverview is a the epitome of terse, yet powerful spy fiction. The book is a delight to read. The plot centers around a major "four-star" breach in British intelligence. The prime suspects are two. The first is the man who describes himself as a "British mongrel, retired, a former academic of no merit and one of life's odd job men." The other is his cancer stricken wife who was a former top analyst for British intelligence who works for a 'quasi' governmental organizations. 

Thrown in the mix of memorable characters are the British Head of Domestic Security labelled the "Chief Sniffer Dog" and a young wealthy financial wizard who abandons his London career to become a bookseller in a small coastal town in Northern England. Le Carrre (1931-2020) the Master of Spy Fiction is at his best in this 200 page finale.

Ken Follett's 802 Page Thriller 

Never 

Stuck at home this past summer with late stage covid hybrid, I embarked on an 800 page journey sparked by my "second look" at a special collection at Darien Library pictured below 

The Special "Second Look" section at Darien 
Library for Chart-Buster Books you might Have Missed  

Brevity is a challenge as one essays to summarize a long novel in a few paragraphs with less than 375 words....Here goes. 

How do you stay glued to an 800 page thriller that captivates and propels you to a '"Doomsday" scenario---as if you are on an 8 day, non-stop literary binge in your Home Entertainment Theater---your den?  

The plot of Never begins with Abdul an undercover CIA agent tasked with tracking a Saharan cocaine shipment destined to fund the terrorist group ISGS (Islamic State Greater Sahara) and simultaneously locate the terrorist leader, al-Farabi. The U.S gets involved when an American soldier is killed in a border incident and the sniper's rifle is traced to North Korea. Tensions swell between leaders in the U.S and China; then China sinks an American oil exploration vessel and we are quickly moving up the Defcon scale.  Then through a series of events linking Chad (in North East Africa) to Washington, D.C., China, to North and South Korea, the world arrives at the brink of Defcon One (nuclear war is imminent or has begun)--pitting the U.S. against its arch enemy. 

 Along the way, Follett introduces us to to many characters whose lives we enter since they are so clearly etched. There is the beautiful widowed Chad refugee, Kiah -with her tot Naji, who is on a flight to freedom seeking a better life in France. She joins the CIA agent Abdul on a perilous northern journey. Pauline Greene is the first female US President whose marriage is on the rocks and she has little time to spend time with her angst-ridden teen daughter Pippa as she perilously grapples with impending decisions.   

Married to Ting, a popular actress on Chinese TV, Chang Kai, a young liberal thinking minister for international intelligence, is at odds against old guard Maoist operatives like his father Chang Jianjun, Vice Chairman of the National Security Commission. Chang is faced with dealing with an American- UN resolution condemning China and false accusations made by his enemy Li Jiankang that his wife has been critical of the party. 

I invite you to enjoy your vacations, or staycations, as I did, and join the binge as you enjoy the literary journey by a master of fiction, Ken Follett.   

Part One: Staycations are for Recharging the Battery and Delving into the Creative Arts

 I am celebrating and remembering two staycations--one in the summer of  2021 and the second this past summer of 2023. 

The writer masked during Class at 
Greenwich High School 

   Both were initiated by the corona virus and both had different outcomes. During the Greenwich High School academic year 2020-2021, I volunteered to be a full time co-teacher of AP Chemistry. The regular  teacher,  PHD certified,  was quarantined at home because her aged parents were staying with her and she didn't want to expose them to the virus. She zoomed classes from home.

 We didn't miss a single day, didn't log in a single absence and I was happy to fulfill an important role to make sure the students who signed up for the class would be able to attend. 

  The summer of 2021 was memorable for experiencing mental burnout and physical stagnation. It was marked by resignation to remediation. In other words, I stayed at home, did  low impact exercise at my club and devoted the summer to recharging my depleted battery. 

  The following summer, I was charged up with much energy. During this next academic year I was no longer a long term Chemistry substitute so I was able to teach in other departments and disciplines-- including Special Education, English, Social Studies, Languages and Music. And, of course, I was now able to work at my own pace, meaning I no longer had to 'punch  a time clock' and could take days off if so chose..... 

 That summer was glorious: I followed a dream that I have had  for so many years since living in California and hiking and backpacking the Sierras enjoying treks in to the wildernesses of the Alpine and Tuolumne Meadows, 

That's me Learning to Climb Mt. Hale
in the White Mountains led by a guide (summer 2022) 

 I trained during the year to build up my endurance to climb some mountains in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. And what a blessing it was and is to be accompanied by a guide. (More on this experience on a later post).

 Nearly three and a half years after the onset of Covid, I tested positive, in the middle of Judy 2023.  Rather than be totally sidelined by the subsequent quarantine and staycation that ensued,  I dedicated myself to Literature and Arts that I will be proud to share in a subsequent post. So tune in to Part II.   

  

  . 

Part II: Advice from Dan Lucey: Tennis is a People Sport

Meet Mr. Cool Man Tennis: Dan Lucey is second from the left. He is flanked on his right by John Holden on his left by Bill Hepner and Alex Swetka (early.1960's)

In Part I, I introduced my life changing relationship with Dan which began in San Francisco over 50 years ago at the Golden Gate Tennis Courts.(To read Part I, click here.) 

In this essay, I want to highlight some advice that Dan related to me over and over again.

      

First, he inspired me to be physically fit: eat healthy foods, get lots of sleep and work out daily. I applied his advice then and even up until now, so that recently my primary care Physician put me in awe when she disclosed that biologically I am 30 years younger than my chronological age.

  Secondly, Dan emphasized total focus on the fundamentals of the game: serve, groundstrokes, net work, serve and volley, then lobs. 

 Thirdly, he  pointed out to me that through my passion with tennis, I would be meeting interesting and fascinating and-- even sometimes well- known people wherever I play. 

How true have been your words Dan. 

With Dan beside me, we watched and analyzed the winning techniques of some of the best Golden Gate players-- such nationally ranked players as Tom Brown who with his precise ground strokes bested Greg Shephard (about 20 years younger) who boasted a smooth serve and volley game. We also watched other great players as Rosey Casals, Whitney Reed (see Part I) and "Peanut" Louie Harper. 

  

 I have lived in over 40 different residences across the United States, enjoyed playing tennis in eight different states (eleven--11-- different residences in both Northern and Southern California alone) and have made many many friends on the tennis court, joined clubs and tennis ladders.  To list all the fine people I have met would be too time and space consuming .So, here are just a few of the interesting folks I have met along the way.

Some tennis greats I have run into along the "way" include  Lew Hoad at a Senior men's tournament  in Sacramento; playing tennis with U.S. Open champ Art  "Tappy" Larson, playing next to Dr. Reginald Weir (a black tennis legend prior to Arthur Ashe) and Dick Savitt, U.S. Open champ (whom I met at the Columbia University Tennis Center on Coogan's Bluff, NYC) 

And finally a chance encounter with Senator Ted Kennedy at a tennis facility in Maine. (recounted in this memorial to my dad's passion for sports.) 

And the beat goes on...

(Now, I have developed another passion: mountain climbing a few of the 48 mountains above 4,000 feet in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (with a guide, of course!).  

Down Memory Lane with the A. B. Davis Tennis Squad 1958

 

Reintroducing the A.B.Davis Tennis Team, Class of 1958. Pictured left to right are Harvey Sande, Les Moglen, Bob (Eder) Adrian, Norm Dayron and Dick Schwartz. We were a feisty, fearless  team led by our coach civics teacher Mr. Elwell. 

   Here are some memories. Though short, Harvey Sande was a steady 'dynamite' player at most times unbeatable. He reminded me of the outstanding Aussie tennis great Ken Rosewall.  He often picked me up in his vintage Volkswagen bug with stick shift and canvas top sunroof. He introduced me to the New Rochelle Tennis Club where I played the summer of 1963. I enjoyed watching Harvey beat some of the top club players by out rallying then on the  immaculately groomed red clay.  I hooked up with Harvey in California where he practiced Law in Berkely. Sadly he ran into his own legal problems. I called him  from Connecticut and Harvey told me in slow speech he was disabled unable to get around and basically homebound. Shortly thereafter, I learned he passed away. Harvey was soft spoken and showed grace under pressure when outplaying players stronger than him. Harvey, you will be missed. 

   Les Moglen was the star of our team: tall, strong and solidly built. The Moglen family, including older brother  Lloyd, Les, younger brother Leland and sister Mary Lou were all inspired to excel in tennis by their dad Maxwell  The family lived down the Esplanade, close to the Columbus Ave. New Haven Railroad stop. Their home was below a steep rise and they had engineered the construction of swimming into the rise. Maxwell would often drive his boys up the hill in his Chevy Impala convertible to practice   tennis at the clay court behind the home built by real estate magnate Joe Durst. He would always bring a tennis ball launcher machine and living across the street,  I would watch him train each of his four kids 

   Les played number one for us and was unbeatable. Both he and Lloyd were ranked New York State Players and Lloyd even made it to the qualifiers at Forest Hills. Les became a plastic surgeon in the Bay Area and sadly passed away in 2014. 

 Watch out tennis world: Norm Dayron could be unbeatable on the courts: he had a booming serve and when on, he could serve many a love game. I invited him to join me at the Durst 

Clay court and we often enjoyed pushing each other around. Off the courts Norm often invited me over to his home where we shared our passion for jazz and he particularly liked Shelly Manne. He married schoolmate Betty Zukernnick and I often wonder what happened to him.

Bob (Eder) Adrian was a fearsome player; he mastered the art of court strategy that made him a cagey player both in singles and doubles. He was close behind Les Moglen in court

dominance.

Dick Schwartz spent his High School years in the home built by the grandfather of classmate Richie Feist, Leo Feist, music publisher. He grew up in the Bronx two blocks from Crotona Park which today sports a beautiful tennis facility that hosts the annual Bronx open. He has written many articles showing his passion for tennis. 

 

Is it Time to factor in the Accomplishments of President Richard M. Nixon in assessing his legacy?

Dwight Chapin, a resident of Riverside, Connecticut makes a strong argument why we should reassess the character of President Richard Nixon in view of the accomplishments during his term in office. 

In The President's Man by Dwight Chapin (2022), written 50 years after Watergate, the author presents a well written memoir depicting how a Kansas raised farm boy becomes the personal aide and confident of President Richard Nixon. ("I was given a gift of understanding him," he declares in a Washington Post interview referred to below." )

From the time of Nixon's infamous quote "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore" after his narrow defeat in the Presidential election of 1960, planning and executing the around-the-world trip; celebrating the Apollo 11 astronauts landing on the moon in 1969, to Nixon's groundbreaking trip to China in 1973 and Nixon's resignation, Chapin served faithfully at Nixon's side

After moving with his family to LA and attending USC, he works on Nixon's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of 1962, meets and impresses John Haldeman, West Coast head of J Walter Thompson who helps promote him--along with the President's wife Pat Nixon to be Nixon's White House aide The book moves along at a nice pace detailing his exciting tireless efforts at electing Nixon to the Presidency in the 1968.

Chapin is an excellent memoirist and does an excellent job at portraying Nixon as a brilliant political strategist and global statesman who surrounded himself with outstanding advisors; however, one could argue that despite his near idol worship of his boss, Chapin fails to depict him as an admirable public servant; after all, the Watergate scandal does overshadow his presidency. 

Along the say we meet a colorful cast of characters and politicos: Roger Aisles who becomes Nixon's TV producer, Rose Mary Woods, Nixon's personal secretary, Dick Tuck master Democratic Party "prankster", Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the Pope just to name a few. For a more complete summary click here.  

I also recommend viewing this 27 minute Washington Post interview with Chapin. Here you can, perhaps, reevaluate your judgment of Nixon the sadly fallible human being versus Nixon the shrewd political operative who successfully prosecuted Alger Hiss, established OSHA,  EPA  and the all volunteer military. For RN's impressive accomplishments in office, both foreign and domestic, search the Richard Nixon Foundation website.

A Triumvirate of Professors Ted De Bary, Ted Tayler and Ted Reff. Celebrating the Centennial of the Core Curriculum at Columbia University and Beyond.....

Three Teds are a rare Triumvirate-- three Columbia Professors whose global humanitarian visions and teachings  have had an exponential influence on myriads of students: their disciples, Columbia and other University students, graduates, families, friends, and associates. They are Ted de Bary, Ted Tayler and Ted Reff. 

On July 21, 2014, I met with Professor Ted de Bary (1919-2017)

of East Asian Studies, in his office at 500D Kent Hall.
He autographed a copy of his latest and last book, The Great Civilized Conversation: Education for a World Community

(Columbia University Press, New York City, 2013)

Fifty years plus after studying East Asian Humanities at the feet of Ted de Bary and his colleague Professor Ainslee Embree, I have come to realize the profound and enduring influence of their year-long teaching in the growth and understanding of my own spiritual, mental and physical well-being, and, indeed, as well as others.

In sum, their message is that the westerm core should be expanded to encompass readings from Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Islam, Arab, African and Native American religions.

There is now a new definition for the 'Renaissance man' --once pictured as a 'spin-off ' of the English gentlemen whose oak-paneled library shelves were filled with the classic volumes of  the great works of western civilization. The new multi-culturally educated world citizen is someone whose education knows no boundaries. They have, by choice, freed themselves from the limiting fetters of cultural influences perceived through the prism of Greco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian values.

Learning for oneself is indeed proudly holding up the banner with 195 Flags of the world declaring, "I ADVOCATE TOLERANCE OF THE OTHER THROUGH LEARNING ABOUT THE OTHER."

Columbia University has lived up to the vision of these two professors. The Global Core Requirement does just that: it "asks students to engage directly with the variety of civilizations and the diversity of traditions that, along with the West, have formed the world and continues to interact in it today."

On the ides of March of 2019, I paid tribute to my 17th Century English Prose and Poetry Professor Ted Tayler, by attending a memorial tribute held at Low Rotunda.  He was Columbia's Milton scholar and I was privileged to spend two years with this brilliant man who inspired me to write my master's thesis on John Milton's Samson Agonistes.  (Click here for the  two earlier articles).

Ted Tayler (1931-2017)

Professor Ted Tayler, Lionel Trilling Professor of the Humanities, was born in Berlin, Germany in 1931 and died April 23, 2017.  He was also a Shakespeare scholar and it is only appropriate that he passed away on the very same day as the Bard of Avon---only 401 years later.

I am indebted to David Lehman CC'70 for his inspiring essay, in essence a dual biograhy---which explores in depth the uncertainties and ambiguities of life--illuminated by the brilliant radiance of Ted's mind---itself  obviously in-spired by a higher order of things. ( To read David's essay: Ted Tayler: The Good Man, The Good Poem, The Great Professor, click here)

Ted Reff  (1930-  )

Third on my list is Ted Reff of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, specializing in the years 1840-1940. I was privileged to attend an all day colloquium in Schermerhorn Hall dedicated to this living legend who has written "extensively on the principal movements of that period: Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism and Surrealism; and above all the artists Manet, Degas, Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso and Duchamp."

His scholarship was global and multicultural in scope; he focused not only on the artist's social/cultural milieu and personality, as it influenced his art, but also "earlier or exotic art on which he drew."

His former students came from near and far to honor their Professor. Over the course of six hours, 13 of his students each spent about 30 minutes exploring with video slides such diverse subjects as:

    1. "To imitate the Chinese...." Henri Matisse and Far Eastern Art
    2. An Amateur in Africa: Inanke Cave Art as a Celebration of Life
    3. Why So Sad? The Changing Image of Pierrot, 1684-1870

For a 'visual taste' of some of the projected slides  Click here for an earlier article.

Finally, I offer kudos to each of  the many many thousands of disciples of the the Three Teds who continue to share the living legacy of these three towering Teds wherever YOU may be across the globe and whatever endeavor YOU are engaged in.

 ...and especially Professors Rachel Chung and Joanne Covello who, nearly three years after the passing of Ted de Bary, are continuing to offer and teach his signature course Nobility and Civility.

The overriding message of the readings in this course starting with Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi and and continuing through Laozi, Cicero, Plutarch, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada to the middle ages-- a time span of about 2,000 years-- is  that peace of mind, harmony and  stability is attainable in all societal and political groupings-for all times.   And, though, our times are reflective of prior ages and civilizations with a remarkable dystopia---an era marked by global opioid deaths, fatal pandemic plagues, continuing wars and upheavals and toxic political gridlock--we have the choice to come together in our families and nation by spurring a movement of individual self development that tolerates and embraces the other. 

And how is that achieved?  Every level of society will cooperate in worshipping, respecting, paying homage, internalizing the love embedded in values passed down from one generation's enlightened leaders to the next  and emulating community strengthening actions.