The heat wave continues and last night it was like sleeping in a blast furnace and tough sleeping. The sheets get wet from sweat and humidity and dont dry. My hair was wet and matted and never dried. WRCV FM said that it was 85-degrees at midnight! It was up to 97 this afternoon, that’s nothing in Idaho but when you consider humidity into the high 80’s it's unbearable.
Mr. B. talked for a long time today. He said on a tennis court you have many fights the opponet, the heat, the wind, bad breaks, the sun,horrible line calls and few can win against those odds and elements. Instead Mr. B says its smart to team up with a few of the elements to level the playing field. How hard is it, reasoned FXB to figure out which way the wind blows and use that when lobbing or hitting drop shots, to pay attention to the sun and put a lob or two up. Heat can be managed by being prepared, conserving energy and making the opponent run. As far as breaks, breaks go to the person that’s digging in and working the hardest. Line calls can be managed by calling lines as tight as your opponet. In the extreme heat of morning Mr. B was cool and refreshed and the lecture was perfect for the occasion.
At 11-am Mr. B came to my court and said he needed me. Tom S. found someone to take my court and I climbed into the station wagon. We headed toward the Chapel and I asked what was up. FXB said he needed me to take a look at Brian Barker’s TV set. I'm studying video and documentary film production at Idaho State and know a lot about video so I was the best candidate. Bryan plays the carillion bells in the Chapel tower and plays wonderfully. Mr. B. says he’s been here since the 20’s and just recently celebrated his 50th anniversary at the Academy. Bryan’s white hair and blue eyes gives him a regal look. He lives in a nice brick home a couple of blocks from the chapel.
Bryan greeted us at the door and I checked out the television set. I spotted the problem right off, the antenna wire in the back was disconnected. I reattached it, turned on the TV and Bryan was happy. He asked Mr. B if we could stay for tea, he had the tea boiling and pot was whistling. Brian had a fancy tea service with cakes and cloth napkins. I could tell that Mr. B was more than amused. We had a cup and listened to Brian’s lovely, formal English accent and the tea was green and strong like my grandmother's. Brian went off on a story from the old days and I was reminded of the great old book‘ Goodbye Mr. Chips”.
In the car Mr. B says that Bryan disconnects the television set a few times a summer and he's called upon to come and ‘fix’ it. He brought me along just so he could say that ‘Jake has to get back to work.’ Mr. B says that sometimes Bryan has more than tea in the cup with a wink. FXB thinks he's just a lonely guy. At that moment I thought ole FXB was a softie, playing the visit game, I was glad to ‘help’ Bryan and honored to be a guest.
We drove past the beautiful gothic chapel, past the tree lined streets to my dorm then to the Dining Hall. FXB said I did such a great job that the job is mine for the rest of the summer. I thanked him and both rolled our eyes.
The afternoon was brutal on court. We stood in the sun for 3 hours and I downed at least a gallon of water. We kept the little kids in the shade and watched the others closely to make sure none of them got heat stroke. We kept on them to make sure they were drinking water. We still had three go to Dr. Prevost at the infirmary. Prevost then came to the courts and told Mr. B. he was worried about the heat, so we sent the smaller kids to the pool.
I went swimming at 4 and that helped …then I took a nap until dinner time. I m so scorched, sunburned and bleached, I hope it rains soon, the heat is killing me.
I finished reading the Fitzgerald book and started in on Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms, its an amazing read. Im facinated with him, he used to live in Idaho and I've adopted him as a hero.
On the third floor of Fowle Hall there's a stack of books 3 feet tall all destined for the trash bin. I found 20 classics and that’s my reading list for the summer…everything from Hardy and Keats to beloved Hemingway and Steinbeck and this new guy Wallace Stegner. What a find,I love the books and my reading time.
Mr. B. talked for a long time today. He said on a tennis court you have many fights the opponet, the heat, the wind, bad breaks, the sun,horrible line calls and few can win against those odds and elements. Instead Mr. B says its smart to team up with a few of the elements to level the playing field. How hard is it, reasoned FXB to figure out which way the wind blows and use that when lobbing or hitting drop shots, to pay attention to the sun and put a lob or two up. Heat can be managed by being prepared, conserving energy and making the opponent run. As far as breaks, breaks go to the person that’s digging in and working the hardest. Line calls can be managed by calling lines as tight as your opponet. In the extreme heat of morning Mr. B was cool and refreshed and the lecture was perfect for the occasion.
At 11-am Mr. B came to my court and said he needed me. Tom S. found someone to take my court and I climbed into the station wagon. We headed toward the Chapel and I asked what was up. FXB said he needed me to take a look at Brian Barker’s TV set. I'm studying video and documentary film production at Idaho State and know a lot about video so I was the best candidate. Bryan plays the carillion bells in the Chapel tower and plays wonderfully. Mr. B. says he’s been here since the 20’s and just recently celebrated his 50th anniversary at the Academy. Bryan’s white hair and blue eyes gives him a regal look. He lives in a nice brick home a couple of blocks from the chapel.
Bryan greeted us at the door and I checked out the television set. I spotted the problem right off, the antenna wire in the back was disconnected. I reattached it, turned on the TV and Bryan was happy. He asked Mr. B if we could stay for tea, he had the tea boiling and pot was whistling. Brian had a fancy tea service with cakes and cloth napkins. I could tell that Mr. B was more than amused. We had a cup and listened to Brian’s lovely, formal English accent and the tea was green and strong like my grandmother's. Brian went off on a story from the old days and I was reminded of the great old book‘ Goodbye Mr. Chips”.
In the car Mr. B says that Bryan disconnects the television set a few times a summer and he's called upon to come and ‘fix’ it. He brought me along just so he could say that ‘Jake has to get back to work.’ Mr. B says that sometimes Bryan has more than tea in the cup with a wink. FXB thinks he's just a lonely guy. At that moment I thought ole FXB was a softie, playing the visit game, I was glad to ‘help’ Bryan and honored to be a guest.
We drove past the beautiful gothic chapel, past the tree lined streets to my dorm then to the Dining Hall. FXB said I did such a great job that the job is mine for the rest of the summer. I thanked him and both rolled our eyes.
The afternoon was brutal on court. We stood in the sun for 3 hours and I downed at least a gallon of water. We kept the little kids in the shade and watched the others closely to make sure none of them got heat stroke. We kept on them to make sure they were drinking water. We still had three go to Dr. Prevost at the infirmary. Prevost then came to the courts and told Mr. B. he was worried about the heat, so we sent the smaller kids to the pool.
I went swimming at 4 and that helped …then I took a nap until dinner time. I m so scorched, sunburned and bleached, I hope it rains soon, the heat is killing me.
I finished reading the Fitzgerald book and started in on Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms, its an amazing read. Im facinated with him, he used to live in Idaho and I've adopted him as a hero.
On the third floor of Fowle Hall there's a stack of books 3 feet tall all destined for the trash bin. I found 20 classics and that’s my reading list for the summer…everything from Hardy and Keats to beloved Hemingway and Steinbeck and this new guy Wallace Stegner. What a find,I love the books and my reading time.
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