Tuesday July 5th, 1977, Mercersburg Academy

Morning broke early, too early. I woke up just in time to make it to the Dining Hall. On days like this I slip on the adidias warm-up and call it good. I set a new Sugar Pops record, 6 boxes and at least a pitcher of milk! I was so hungry.

Everyone that went to Saint Thomas the night before compared notes, there were three groups and everyone split up. Some went on rides, others ate, while still others drank beer. When the fireworkds started we stood at the edge of a wheat field and under an orange moon the fireworks burst across the sky. It was so bloody hot but we had a great time and we all thanked FXB for the chance to get away.

I’m was so tired that I could hardly move, thank god FXB's lecure was a bit long this morning. It was good recovery time and once I got moving the weariness fell away. We worked on the looping forehand this morning and I had a good group so it went fast. In the afternoon as luck would have it, was my day off. I took a huge nap and feel better. At mail call I had a surprise, my Dad sent me a card, he never writes let alone a card. I think I’m going to frame it, it means that much to me. He’s not exactly a Hallmark kind of guy.

I was telling Mr. B that my Dad is blue collar all the way. He takes his lunch to work each day in a lunch pail. Sometimes his hands get so dirty that they never come clean. But I wouldn’t trade him, he’s a good guy, honest and smart and he likes to have his fun. When not working construction he trains quarter horses and drinks beer. He’s very good at both. One afternoon at the net post I told Mr. B all about my life in Idaho and how it was'nt close to the Country Club life. He said I wasnt missing much and that not many kids get to grow up on a farm and said I was lucky to be away from all that city pavement. He told me all about growing up in Patterson, N.J.; there were some interesting stories there.

I gave a camper tour of the Buchanan cabin just down the road from Fowle Hall. I had done a lot of studying up and I told them all about the President’s life, his Presidency and the kids were impressed.Thank god for the Fredrick Library on Main Street, they have a good collection and theres another great reference on campus the wrestling coach doubles as a history teacher, he taught me me a lot over dinner one night.

I was a nervous wreck all day, I had a match to play and the pressure was killing me.
In the consolation bracket of the Counselor tournament I had to play Jude-Marie from Washington D.C. A loss would forever scar my guy confidence...that's pressure.

First of all she showed up looking like a Vogue model, she is very stunning with long blond hair, and perfect cheekbones, but not that friendly, she came to play. Once we got going I had to fight for my life because rather than hitting away from me she kept the ball in play and on the baseline. She made me hit 6 backhands in a row to win a point. She also held her serve so it was tough. But I figured it out…I made her run. I hit cross-court drop shots followed by lobs and once I got her winded it was over. I won 8-6. After that Chris Russell-Vick and I played her and Tom Vrana in mixed. We lost 7-6 but we kept them off balance with the lobs. Both players really smack the ball. Chris is a wonderful player that seldom makes mistakes. In the previous round she beat Jude easily with her all-court game. Thank God I didn’t have to play Chris!

Afterwards I showered and walked down to Wises’. I drank a half gallon of water and three cokes. It was 93-degrees during the match, In Idaho that translates to 103! There is no escaping the heat, we don’t have AC in the dorms, we don’t even have fans. You lay there and just sweat. Its very hard to sleep, I hope this heat wave breaks soon. I’ve never felt heat like this before. I just heard on WRCV that its 92-degrees and its 10:30 pm. In Idaho you can always count on it to cool off at night.

Then there's the poison oak. I went up to the hard courts to relieve counselors this morning for water breaks. I got hit in the calf with a ball; now I have the perfect infected outline of that ball on the leg thanks to poison oak. The oak gets in the felt when the balls roll to the corner of the court. Three campers have poison oak as well and Mr. B dispatched Academy maintainance to the hard courts to kill the oak. The only solution is calamine lotion. It's 11:15, Im sweating, Im reading finishing up Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night and I’m so miserable.