Christmas 2020: A Day of Joy in a Season of Covid-19

The Library of Congress

Christmas 2020 is upon us, and
 once again, I would like to share a Christmas Day poem 
by the 19th-century Scottish poet and essayist, 
Robert Louis Stevenson 
reflecting our common humanity:

A Prayer for Christmas Morning

By Robert Louis Stevenson

The day of joy returns, Father in Heaven, and

crowns another year with peace and good will.

Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that

we may share in the song of the angels, the 

gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the

wise men.

Close the doors of hate and open the doors of

love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift and good

desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil, by the blessing that Christ

brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to 

be thy children.

And the Christmas evening bring us to our bed

with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for 

Jesus's sake.

Amen.

Wishing kind thoughts for a Merry Christmas. 

Although we are of many faiths,

it is important that our common humanity 

allows us to share a season of peace and goodwill.

May each of you stay healthy in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Photo Illustration: 

Christmas Tree at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; by Michael Dickens © 2019. 

Barack Obama: Let’s do this!

Barack Obama

Since September, I’ve been getting text messages from former president Barack Obama. 

“Hey! It’s Barack. Click on the link to sign up so I can respond directly to you,” the first text read. “I won’t be able to get to everything, but I’ll be in touch to share what’s on my mind and I want to hear from you, too. Let’s do this.”

After texting in the run-up to the November elections to make sure I had a plan for voting, last week, Mr. Obama checked back. “Hi there. As 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to share my annual lists of favorites I’ll start by sharing my favorite books this year. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did. What are you reading?”

Then, the other day, “Hi there. As 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to share my annual list of favorites. I hope you enjoy.” And he proceeded to list his favorite music and films.

I seem to recall that the former president started to compile his cultural lists while still in office. Imagine if we had a president now who made time for reading and kept up with music and film. Instead, for Donald Trump, it’s all about keeping up with appearances and about TV ratings and wild conspiracy theories.

Somehow, I would like to think that President-elect Joe Biden, while maybe not quite as hip as his former boss, will restore a sense of curiosity and interest to books – and, perhaps, music and film, too – during his days ahead in the White House.

In the meantime, as we count down the days until President-elect Biden’s inauguration on January 20, here’s the impressive list of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2020: 

• Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar

• Jack by Marilynne Robinson

• Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

• The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

• Luster by Raven Leilani

• How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang

• Long Bright River by Liz Moore

• Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey

• Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum

• Deacon King Kong by James McBride

• The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio 

• The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett

• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

• Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

• The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

• Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

• Missionaries by Phil Klay

 

Evermore: Taylor Swift continues alchemy and teamwork started with Folklore

Last Friday, music megastar Taylor Swift released her ninth studio album on very short notice, Evermore. It’s the sister record to her eighth studio release from earlier this year, the Grammy-nominated Folklore. 

“To put it plainly,” Swift wrote on her Instagram, “we just couldn’t stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in.

“I’ve never done this before. In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with Folklore.

“In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning. I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So, I just kept writing them.”

What immediately caught my attention – and I’ve never spent much time listening to or exploring the immensely popular music canon of Taylor Swift – is Swift’s collaboration with members of one of my favorite indie rock music groups, The National. In particular, Swift worked closely with the multitalented Aaron Dessner and she shared vocals on “Coney Island,” a song that deals with losing oneself in a relationship, with The National’s melancholy frontman, baritone vocalist Matt Berninger. In listening to both the song and the album, there’s a sense of artistic freedom and a break away from Swift’s conventional pop radio sensibility to create a folk album that’s full of sound and texture.

 Taylor Swift / Evermore

Meanwhile, sitting across the kitchen table, here’s what Aaron Dessner wrote on his Instagram: “It’s only been five months since Folklore was released. But truth be told, Taylor Swift and I never actually stopped exchanging ideas and somehow we’ve finished a sister record called Evermore that I love just as much. 

“These songs are wilder and freer, sometimes in strange time signatures and darker hues, but very much a continuation of what we started with Folklore. 

“I can’t begin to express my gratitude and respect for Taylor – I never cease to wonder at her seemingly boundless talent as a singer and a songwriter and storyteller. It’s been the experience of a lifetime to work so fast and furiously with her. ...

“My band mates in The National – Matt, Bryan and Scott, along with Bryce – are here, too. Hearing Matt sing with Taylor and the entire band perform on “Coney Island” – things have come full circle.”

Perhaps, Berninger put it best. He wrote on Twitter: “Singing a song with Taylor Swift is like dancing with Gene Kelly. She made me look good and didn’t drop me once. ‘Coney Island’ is an incredibly beautiful song she and Aaron Dessner wrote together. It really made me miss Brooklyn. Such a blast being a part of Evermore.”

Hearing the Swift-Berninger duet “Coney Island” for the first time recently was very intriguing and it’s what nudged me into giving the entire Evermore album a good listen on Spotify – and I like what I heard. If you’re someone who has always had an appreciation for the sense and sensibility – and seriousness – of The National, I think you’ll like what you hear from Swift with backing from The National on Evermore.

Cover photos: Beth Garrabrant (@taylorswift13/Twitter). Video: Courtesy YouTube.

On books: Jon Meacham’s ‘The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels’ is still timely reading

Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and presidential biographer whose voice has become a familiar and reassuring one on MSNBC during the Trump Era. He’s a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor to Time magazine, and a former Editor-in-Chief of Newsweek. Meacham holds the Carolyn T. And Robert M. Rogers Endowed Chair in American Presidency at Vanderbilt University.

In writing about presidents as varied as Abraham Lincoln and George Herbert Walker Bush, Meacham has noted that “both called on us to choose the right over the convenient, to hope rather than to fear and to heed not our worse impulses but our best instincts.”

In Meacham’s 2018 best-selling book, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, a brilliant and fascinating – if not timely work – which I have found good reading during this pandemic-interrupted year, we are reminded that from our country’s very beginnings, the United States has, in the words of American historian and law professor Annette Gordon-Reed, “struggled to deliver on the promise of the Declaration of Independence and to make our Union ‘more perfect.’ Race has often been at the heart of those struggles, and The Soul of America persuasively argues that the resilient spirit of those who fought throughout our history to overcome that seemingly intractable problem is still with us. It is that spirit that gives us cause to be hopeful in the face of doubts about our country’s future.”

Meacham writes with both clarity and purpose throughout The Soul of America and explains how our current “Trumpian” climate of partisan fury is not new. He explores other contentious periods of our nation’s history – from the Civil War to World War I to the fight for women’s rights to Lyndon Johnson’s crusade against Jim Crow – to show how presidents and ordinary citizens have united to defeat “the forces of anger, intolerance, and extremism.”

Through each of these periods of our nation’s history, Meacham explains, our national life “has been shaped by the contest to lead the country to look forward rather than back, to assert hope over fear – a struggle that continues even now.” As Meacham once explained to Trevor Noah on The Daily Show when he was promoting the book two years ago, “every era is a battle between our best impulses and our worst impulses.”

Careful students of history will be familiar with some of these stories, but as Meacham notes, “if we have learned anything in recent years – years in which the president of the United States has taken pride in his deliberate lack of acquaintance with the most essential historical elements of his office – it is that even the most basic facts of our common past repay attention. ‘Eternal vigilance,’ it has been long said, ‘is the price of liberty’ and a consciousness about what has worked – and what hasn’t – in previous eras is surely a useful form of such vigilance.”

Historian Ken Burns, no stranger to the study of our nation’s past, summed his thoughts about The Soul of America by saying, “Rather than curse the darkness, Jon Meacham, with his usual eloquence and surpassing knowledge of our history, has offered us all the sublime and calming reassurance that, as threatening as so much of the present moment seems, Americans have weathered such storms before and come out on the other side with fresh and progressive horizons. This is a beautifully expressed and convincing prayer to summon our own ‘better angels’ to meet the obvious challenges of today.”

Meacham concludes The Soul of America by writing, “For all of our darker impulses, for all of our shortcomings, and for all of the dreams denied and deferred, the experiment begun so long ago, carried out so imperfectly, is worth the fight. There is, in fact, no struggle more important, and none nobler, than the one we wage in the serve of those better angels who, however besieged, are always ready for battle.”

A footnote: In October, HBO debuted a documentary, “The Soul of America,” based upon Meacham’s 2018 book of the same name. Here is a an interview Meacham gave on NBC’s “The Today Show” to discuss the documentary.

A slice of modern day life ... like an “Open Book”

Open Book host Scott Simon
with The Cactus League
author Emily Nemens

Modern day life as we know it slowed down back in mid-March. Sometimes, it's not always easy to remember what day of the week it is – there is a blur to them all after sheltering in place for eight months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, I have found there are many wonderful and simple things in which to be thankful. For me, “Open Book” is something that is both simple and worth appreciating.

Each evening, I look forward to connecting via Twitter with NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon, who has invited us into his Washington, D.C. residence for a half-hour salon he calls “Open Book.” Each “Open Book” show commences at 6:15 p.m. EST (3:15 p.m. San Francisco, 11:15 p.m. London, 12:15 a.m. Paris), and Simon, a Chicago native and unabashed Cubs fan, craves our company and the questions we submit for his guests.

In any given week, Simon's visitors might include: Columbia University historian, author and Financial Times contributor Simon Schama, ESPN Outside the Lines host Jeremy Schaap, Paris Review editor and author of the novel The Cactus League Emily Nemens and Veep co-star/comedian Matt Walsh. Among his many guests have been: Moneyball author Michael Lewis, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conductor Marin Alsop, American writer Terry Tempest Williams, sports writer and author Howard Bryant, and music writer and pop culture historian Greil Marcus.

On Open Book, Scott Simon
shares his love of reading and literature.

For me, “Open Book” is like an extension listening to Weekend Edition Saturday because there is the calming presence of Simon's voice and the idea that if you tune in, you’ll come away having acquired new knowledge and feel good about our world. On “Open Book,” Simon shares an anecdote or two about daily family life during the pandemic followed by reading a poem or a short story from the likes of Dorothy Parker, Terrance McNally, Shel Silverstein, E.B. White – maybe a haiku penned by his dog Daisy – then, there's a visit by a special guest. Finally, it’s followed by question and answer time that enables viewers to participate in the discussion. Recently, Simon has also been reading from his work-in-progress baseball novel, tentatively titled Wins, Losses and Saves, and asking viewers for their feedback.

Not only is Simon a master interviewer, he’s also a great listener. It all adds up to a scholarly conversation in the new normal. At the end of each show, Simon remembers to pay tribute to our everyday heroes: first responders, healthcare workers, postal carriers, food service workers and others who are doing their part to help keep “the trains” of everyday life running on schedule.

Scott Simon, host of Open Book.

Don’t worry if you’re busy at the appointed time to catch “Open Book” live. It immediately is available for replay on demand and previous episodes remain on Simon's Twitter account @nprscottsimon and are archived on his website, scottsimonbooks.com. So, it's actually possible to binge-watch “Open Book” while enjoying a coffee or tea, any time of the day or night.

While it's difficult to predict how long we will be shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak before it's safe to resume our normal daily comings and goings, I do hope Simon will consider continuing “Open Book.” If not nightly, then perhaps he can host “Open Book” at least once or twice a week. Thanks to Periscope and Twitter – and with able assistance from his wife Caroline and his oldest daughter Elise feeding him questions and helping with production – Simon has shown the simplicity of reaching so many of us with relative ease and he does so with much warmth.

Hopefully, if there’s a positive to come from the pandemic, it's that people will appreciate the gentler things of life, like “Open Book.” I know I have.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2020

It’s Thanksgiving Day in America.

As is my Thanksgiving tradition, sharing a Thanksgiving thought and poem with gratitude to the American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson:

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Giving thanks and remembering the kindness each of my dear friends, both old and new, with whom I’ve crossed paths with, both near and far, has shown me.

Cheers, love and peace.

Photo: © Michael Dickens.

What day is it today?

Looking out my front door on Saturday morning.

What a difference a month makes. Indeed, as someone recently wrote, “Time looks different than it did a month ago.” No more commutes, allowing an extra hour of sleep on weekday mornings, no more Saturday morning grocery shopping – Thursday mornings at my local Trader Joe’s seem less crowded and hectic – and no baseball or any live sports of any kind to distract the rhythm of hurried lives. Instead, watching sports means watching classic replays of NCAA Final Fours or World Series.

By the way, what day is it today? I woke up this morning swearing it was Wednesday. It wasn’t, it was just Tuesday in Mount Rainier, Md.

Now, social distancing is likely to recognized as the buzz phrase of the year – and it’s only the beginning of April. Suddenly, my Google calendar is full of cancelled entries – from my Friday docents tours at the Library of Congress to hosting our Seattle friends last week to our own weekend mid-month theater trip we looked forward to in New York City. Lots of plans and hopes dashed – cancelled – because of the global coronavirus pandemic that’s spreading across the country like nothing I’ve ever experienced. No sense in buying concert, theater or baseball tickets or planning any travel until we know when our lives return to normal and it’s safe to do things that until last month we took for granted. By the way, what will the new normal be like anyway?

The past month has been filled with strange and scary times. Our narcissistic president has shown his incompetence, greed and his lack of empathy. He and his inept administration are in way over their heads. Decorum is not one of this president’s strong suits. Speaking of suits, would it pain this president to button his suit coat when he’s in front of the cameras, which lately seems to be every day since he can’t hold one of his “campaign rallies”?

Now, no matter how busy – or panicked – we might become, day by day, worrying about our health, our finances, our future, we look for diversions. Anything to avoid thinking about the coronavirus crisis and how POTUS wants to get us all killed. Fortunately, there are ways to break the monotony and find daily solace in our discretionary time while we stay at home “flattening the curve” in quarantine. For me, these simple pleasures include:

• Watching live or on demand Steve Nieve’s daily improvisation. Steve who? Steve Nieve. For those in the music know, The British-born Nieve, 62, is a longtime keyboard maestro who for more than 40 years has anchored Elvis Costello’s Attractions and Imposters bands. He’s an accomplished classical and jazz pianist, and each evening, he turns the naturally-lit living room of his and wife Muriel’s simple-but-colorful French home into a music salon for about half-an-hour on his Facebook page, Steve Nieve Page. Nieve plays, Muriel operates the smartphone camera (and sometimes shows images of their colorful backyard while she hums and sings along in her delightful French accent). They are joined by young singer Ajuq. Chances are good you’ll hear Nieve break out into some Costello faves like “Alison,” “Shipbuilding,” “The Long Honeymoon,” and “Useless Beauty.” These sessions will definitely make you smile.

• Watching live or on demand NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon’s nightly “Open Book” family get-together that he broadcasts via his Twitter page @nprscottsimon. Each evening, from his home in Washington, D.C., Simon talks about and reads from books and also FaceTimes with special guests. The art of conversation about literature and music lives on.

• Also on Twitter, former longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor Keith Olbermann joins us from his New York City residence, sitting alone in his comfortable reading chair – sometimes joined by one of his dogs – and reads to us in his wonderful and distinctive voice. His nightly “Thurbercast” is both delightful and enjoyable. Like the others, you can catch the “Thurbercast” live or on demand on Olbermann’s Twitter page @KeithOlbermann.

• Finally, NPR Music has an abundance of Tiny Desk Concerts which you can link to through their website. Thanks to the pandemic, it’s be re-branded for now as Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts. One of the newest ones features Death Cab For Cutie’s frontman Ben Gibbard singing a newly-penned tune, “Life in Quarantine,” as well as “Me & Magdalena,” a tune Ben wrote for The Monkees’ Good Times album, and finally  “She’s Got a Problem,” an homage to songwriter and musician Adam Schlesinger of the band Fountains of Wayne, who passed away on April 1 from complications due to COVID-19.

There’s no right or wrong way to spent your hours and days and nights and weekends and weeks. Many different cultural organizations from coast-to-coast such as the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center and San Francisco’s de Young Museum of Fine Arts are offering music and conversations and virtual exhibition tours.

And, of course, what better time than now to binge-watch something you’ve been wanting to binge-watch? There’s lots to find perusing through streaming channels like Netflix and Acorn TV. I’m currently enjoying Ugly Delicious, New York chef David Chang’s original series for Netflix, in which he combines travel, cooking and history – three things I’m very fond of. Each episode highlights a single dish or concept, and he explores how it is made in different regions and how it evolves. Pretty cool, eh?

In the meantime, “Let people know you love them and wash your hands everybody. We’ll see you on the other side,” says Gibbard at the conclusion of his NPR Music Tiny Desk (Home) Concert.

 It kind of says it all, doesn’t it?

The way it is: Find your joy whatever it may be

On the grounds of the Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.

What a difference two weeks makes.

Two weeks ago, my wife and I attended a book signing event at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., featuring Washington Post sports columnist John Feinstein talking about college basketball – telling some wonderful and funny stories – and signing copies of his new book The Back Roads to March, and also scored tickets to two outstanding concerts. One feted Garth Brooks, who was awarded the 2020 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress at DAR Constitution Hall and the other featured Bruce Hornsby and yMusic at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, Md., a beautifully constructed, small hall with breathtaking architecture and sight lines and awesome acoustic qualities.

How could I know then that soon after, the coronavirus would shake up our lives and shut down the country? No longer would it be arts and sports as usual. Within a matter of hours and days, professional and college sports were sidelined in the nation’s interest to combat the spreading of the coronavirus. Soon, the arts and entertainment world followed. This is a time of year when we’re used to having basketball, ice hockey, baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, and March Madness with the NCAA basketball tournament all going on at the same time and fighting for our attention and interest. There’s also plenty of great Broadway theater this time of year in New York City and we recently had bought tickets for a Broadway musical and an off-Broadway play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music scheduled over Easter weekend. Now, nothing. Broadway is dark for the foreseeable future and our trip effectively scrubbed. We hope to trek to New York City when times are safer and our health isn’t in danger.

Bruce Hornsby and yMusic

Many of us are asking this simple question: How can we get by when arts and sports – so much of our civic life and pastime – are shut down? After all, each in its own way fosters human connection and a sense of community. Just about all of us are suffering, whether it be mentally, physically or emotionally.

There’s plenty of anxiety for everyone to handle and no one knows just when we can expect a sense of normalcy, again. Will it come in June, July? Maybe. Will it come by September or October? I hope so. Nobody really knows for sure.

As we practice social distancing as a means of overcoming the coronavirus pandemic, through working at home and going out only when necessary to buy groceries, visit pharmacies or pickup a take-away meal – self quarantining – it becomes more important to have family and friends to stay in contact with, through picking up the telephone, through FaceTime and Skype, through texting and email. Thank goodness for modern technology while we are all sequestered and following the rules.

Take breaks to find your joy whatever it may be. Each day, turn off the news for a little while and turn on to your favorite kind of music. Mine includes everything from Elvis Costello to Pink Martini to Wynton Marsalis to Emmylou Harris. I’ve got plenty of great CDs to enjoy – and Spotify to fill in the gaps. Washington, D.C., has an outstanding classical music station, WETA-FM, which my car radio is always tuned to, and it’s accessible via the NPR app as well as online via the station’s website. There’s no better time than now to appreciate listening to music.

For those who can, going for a good solitary walk or a run through the park is seen as essential for our health and wellbeing. For half an hour yesterday afternoon, my wife and I went for a walk through our neighborhood and explored some streets we weren’t familiar with. Our journey was maybe a mile in duration but it felt so good. Perhaps, planting a garden or watering early-season flowers is a possibility as spring begins soon. Anything that allows us to escape the mundane, anything to get away from cable news or Twitter overload is a plus in my book.

A glimpse of my Roger Angell books

Speaking of books, it’s a great time to make time to read. I’ve got plenty of books on my bookshelves ready for me to turn their pages. With baseball usually in the spring air this time of year, I’m always eager to read one of Roger Angell’s excellent books on baseball like The Summer Game.

Remember, we are all in this together and however we can, each of us must help one another – whether through simple politeness while we queue for our groceries at the local market or by stepping up to the plate and showing responsibility in matters of importance. Don’t do anything daring or stupid. Indeed, the coronavirus makes no sense and how dare it take over our lives – but it has, and we hope our federal government finally shows some of the same leadership that many in the private sector have been showing for over a week.

One of these days, things will start to come back around. We just don’t know when – and that’s a pretty scary thought. In the meantime, do take care of yourself and those whom are nearest and dearest to you, too.

Indian Wells: An unprecedented shakeup to tennis

Indian Wells Tennis Garden 

It’s been less than 48 hours since the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., one of the most prestigious events on the professional tennis calendar, was canceled. There has been plenty of anxiety over the spreading coronavirus in the United States and worldwide, which has cost tennis the first of what could be many more tournaments.

Make no mistake, the cancellation of Indian Wells, an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier Mandatory tournament – dubbed the “fifth Grand Slam” – with $17 million in prize money that’s owned by billionaire American business magnate Larry Ellison, was big news in the sports world on Monday. It was all over social media and discussed on television and radio and in newspapers across the United States. In fact, the BNP Paribas Open sent notification Sunday night that the tournament would not be held as scheduled by using social media channel Twitter, linking its tweet to a statement on its website.

The 2020 BNP Paribas Open will not be held.https://t.co/BVKQmmcbth pic.twitter.com/CHOd0PgJeV

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 9, 2020

On Monday afternoon, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi issued a statement on the 2020 BNP Paribas Open not being held:

Official Statement on Coronavirus & 2020 @BNPPARIBASOPEN 👇 #ATPTour pic.twitter.com/hKzJFfuJbL

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 9, 2020

Understandably, many fans tennis fans are disappointed by the cancellation of Indian Wells – some are calling it an overreaction instead of a decision made with the right intentions – and some players expressed frustration with how the decision was communicated to them. Even the media are chiming in, too. ESPN tennis commentator Chris Fowler tweeted: “Major events being called off day by day. Feels unprecedented in our lifetimes. What’s next?”

A day after the Indian Wells cancellation was announced, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Coachella Valley where the tournament is held had increased from one to six. With the Miami Open scheduled to begin in two weeks followed by tournaments in Charleston and Houston soon after – not to mention the upcoming European spring clay season in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome – every event could be in danger of cancellation or be played in empty stadiums without spectators allowed to attend. Also, up in the air is the matter of ranking points for players and distribution of prize money.

Can’t even imaging how MANY people lost LOTS of money with @BNPPARIBASOPEN cancellation... #ThinkingOutLoud

— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) March 9, 2020

Kristi Ahn of the United States, ranked 96th in the world, had received a wild card entry to play in the women’s singles draw at Indian Wells. A member of the WTA’s player council, Ahn told The New York Times on Monday, “I think they (the Indian Wells tournament officials) did everything they could, but all of a sudden the situation changed overnight, which is unfortunate. We can’t be mad at them for what, I think, is ultimately the right decision.”

On Monday, following the cancellation of the BNP Paribas Open, tournament organizers in Indian Wells made a rapid effort to accommodate players who had already arrived in the scenic palm desert site by guaranteeing players in the main draw singles and doubles events and in the qualifying singles draw complimentary  lodging as well as access to practice courts – even medical and laundry service – through March 16. As New York Times tennis correspondent Christopher Clarey tweeted: “Will feel like the run-up to a tournament, only this time there’s no tournament.”

Suddenly trying to process that @BNPPARIBASOPEN is cancelled by concern over #CoronavirusOutbreak that now includes Coachella Valley..
Public safety has to be first, of course. Major events being called off by the day. Feels unprecented in all of our lifetimes. What’s next?

— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) March 9, 2020

Ted Robinson, a longtime Tennis Channel broadcaster, who was scheduled to provide play-by-play commentary on many of the main stadium matches from Indian Wells (for a mostly U.S. audience), called the developments an “unprecedented shakeup to tennis.” In an email interview Monday evening with Tennis TourTalk (for whom I am a contributing editor), he said that “ranking points, unexpected hole in the schedules of players, lost opportunities for those defending points and looking to come back, taking advantage of a wild card like Jack Sock ... the answers to these unknowns will be fascinating.”

The Miami Open, which is the next tour-level stop for both the ATP and WTA tours, is moving ahead as scheduled. On Monday, tournament organizers issued a statement:

Statement from the Miami Open. pic.twitter.com/kj6aDOmMwV

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 9, 2020

Meanwhile, Robinson said the cancellation of Indian Wells places unintended consequences on other tournaments. “Does this place ‘pressure’ on Miami, Charleston and Houston, all scheduled to host tennis events in the next month? Not to speak of Rome, as many already have pointed out, where Italy has just cancelled all sporting events for the month of March. 

“Many minds have likely addressed the possibility of finding a ‘window’ within 2020 to stage IW, but like many, I can’t see a feasible time, especially in an Olympic year.”

Stay tuned.

Credits: A version of this blog post first appeared in Tennis-TourTalk.com. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A Tuesday Night Memo at 10: Getting to know me ...

My blog, “A Tuesday Night Memo,” recent turned 10. Yes, I’ve been writing a blog for a decade!

People who know me well know that I’ve been interested in writing, reporting and storytelling for much of my life. So, it’s only natural that I turned to blog writing because it gave me an opportunity to hone my writing skills and provided a forum for writing about things that truly interested me that I wanted to share with others.

Here’s a little touch of history about my blog:

I started writing “A Tuesday Night Memo” on January 26, 2010, as a means for sharing musings about my life filled with music, sport and urban travel, and to foster community with my friends, family and Facebook acquaintances. More recently, I added a Twitter profile, which has allowed me to reach a wider audience across the country and the world. Finally, I jumped onto the Instagram bandwagon earlier this year in order to share and comment on some of my favorite photographs and subjects.

Folks who read my blog know that I’m passionate about music, sport and urban travel Additionally, I have used “A Tuesday Night Memo” as a vehicle for writing from time to time about art, food, fashion, gardening and religion – and in the age of Trump about politics. Before we moved to the east coast nearly three years ago, sharing news about our former Oakland, Calif., flower gardens at home always seemed to generate great interest and enthusiasm. Maybe, it was the pretty shapes and colors of our flowers that others found appealing, especially since we could maintain a garden all year long. Here in Maryland, thanks to having four distinct seasons of the year, our gardening and gardens are limited to certain times of the year.

The feedback I’ve received from the 482 “blogged” entries for “A Tuesday Night Memo,” which collectively have received more than 179,000 page views, not only is very much appreciated but also very useful. Among the many subjects I have written about, some of my favorites have been: my appreciation of tennis champion Roger Federer; how the city of Seattle fosters community through international cinema; a history of the world as seen through 100 objects; classical music conductor Gustavo Dudamel; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr; my music love affairs with Elvis Costello and Pink Martini; validating our travel experiences through the photographs we take; and Jerry Seinfeld’s internet comedy Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Among my recent posts, I have written about: An appreciation of women’s tennis grand slam champion Ashleigh Barty; a look at what makes makes a good city great; figuring out adulthood through the web series “The Female Gaze”; a profile of Rhiannon Giddens and a look at her global voice that resonates with curiosity and purpose in these troubled times; and “Getting Lost at the Smithsonian,” a podcast crafted by comedian Aasif Mandvi.

In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoy sharing my writing week in and week out, and I look forward to contributing more of my words and thoughts in what is shaping up to be another exciting year awaiting all of us. With a shoutout to Monocle, the London-based global briefing magazine that covers international affairs, business, culture and design, here’s a Q & A so you can learn a little more about me:

Where do we find you this week?

On Sunday, I was at The Cinema Club in northwest Washington, D.C., discussing the best new American and foreign independent films. This week, we saw Saint Frances, written by Kelly O’Sullivan, which is filled with plenty of empathy, humor and grace. It’s definitely worth seeing. On Monday evening, I was at Politics & Prose listening to a lively discussion about college basketball with John Feinstein, whose new book, The Back Roads to March is a must read for NCAA March Madness.

What’s the ideal start to your Sunday?

I’m an early riser, so I like to pull out one of my three French presses and make a pot of coffee to enjoy while perusing the Sunday “fat papers” – The Washington Post and The New York Times. Also, it’s a chance to update my status on Facebook and check Instagram.

Soundtrack of choice?

Lately, I’ve been enjoying the music of George Gershwin, from Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls and other light classical fare based on my choice via Spotify. I always have dreamed of being a pianist giving recitals in small concert halls or playing in sporty jazz clubs. Gershwin’s music always puts me in or leaves me in a good mood.

What’s for breakfast?

I love a good bowl of granola cereal with maple yogurt and, perhaps, a slice of toast with peanut butter. On weekends, when I’ve got more time, I enjoy springing for a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. Coupled with a small glass of orange juice and coffee, my breakfast puts me in a good mood for the remainder of the day.

News or not?

Always in the morning. I tune in to listen to “Morning Edition” on NPR and peruse the online editions of  The Washington Post and The New York Times. I often use my Twitter feed as a means of tapping in to NPR and other media like The San Francisco Chronicle (from living in the San Francisco Bay Area for 20+ years) and The Guardian. I also try to keep up with a variety of long-form articles from The New Yorker and my favorite magazine is Monocle, the London-based monthly that focuses on world affairs, art and architecture, and cultural arts.

Some exercise?

I enjoy riding an exercise bicycle every chance I get – which isn’t often enough – but I’ve always been an avid walker and the flatness of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., makes walking very inviting. 

Cultural musts?

Living five miles from Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as well as being a docent at the Library of Congress, I’ve learned there’s so much culture to tap into – if you’ve got the time and interest. The National Gallery of Art has become a favorite destination and, of course, I never tire of exploring the Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress.

A glass of something you’d recommend?

I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. During the winter months, I drink mostly reds and quite often it’s Pinot Noir. During summertime, when the weather is warm and I’m often grilling on our patio deck, I enjoy drinking a Pinot Grigio from Oregon or a California Sauvignon Blanc.

Ideal dinner venue?

I’m fond of many of the Chef José Andrés concepts in Washington, D.C., including Jaleo and China Chilcano. Closer to home, about five minutes by car, is Franklins – our go-to place for ourselves and when we’re hosting out-of-town friends. I love their shrimp and grits and Carolina pulled pork.

Favorite look?

This time of the year, I enjoy wearing Lands End traditional fit blue jeans, a Navy blue or black turtleneck shirt with a Uniqlo down vest, knitted socks crafted by my wife, and either a pair of Navy blue Cole Haan or charcoal black Adidas sneakers. I like to coordinate my colors!

Stay tuned!

On books: In NPR host Scott Simon’s ‘Sunnyside Plaza,’ he reminds us why kindness starts from within

Scott Simon is one of America’s most admired writers and broadcasters. Every week, I make an appointment to listen to NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, which he hosts. I follow him on Twitter, along with a million others. So, when Simon writes, speaks or uses social media to convey what’s on his mind, I’m eager to be in the mix, and I have an appreciation for his respectful thoughts on topics that range from humor to serious matters.

Simon has already written eight books – from novels to memoirs – on a variety of subjects near and dear to him including baseball. 

He’s an unabashed Chicago Cubs fan and loyalist and his enthusiasm for our National Pastime easily rubs off on others. 

Last month, Simon’s recently-penned ninth book – a story he’s wanted to tell for years – was published by Little, Brown and Company. Sunnyside Plaza, a mystery aimed at young readers, is a “story of empowerment as a young woman decides to help solve a mystery of multiple suspicious deaths in her group home.” 

A deft storyteller who can make you both laugh and cry, Simon wrote the mystery of Sunnyside Plaza from his own past. After all, when he was in his teens, Simon took a job in an assisted living facility in Chicago, where he worked with people who had developmental disabilities. He drew upon those experiences there in writing his new book.

“It was more formative in my life, I think, than most any war I’ve covered, any political campaign I’ve covered, any reportorial experience I’ve had,” Simon said in a recent NPR interview. He explained how “it really opened my eyes into seeing the world differently.”

NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon

Recently, my path crossed with Simon’s on his book tour, where he spoke about Sunnyside Plaza before an attentive audience at the American Library Association mid-winter conference in Philadelphia. 

In describing the kinds of individuals he came across in the group home, Simon explained that there were “people who have joy and amazing ingenuity just to get through the day, people with great spirit who see past the superficial differences we often see. Once I saw past it, it opened my eyes. It taught something to me.”

On this particular day in Philadelphia and in interviews, Simon speaks about how his personal experiences of working in the group home shaped his thinking and writing about it. In his familiar, midwestern polite tone of voice, he says that he purposefully avoids using specific terms to describe the people living at Sunnyside Plaza because he doesn’t want to get tangled up in an issue of language. Instead, as he suggests, “I want readers to see them as people, not put a label on them at any point in the book.” 

Since its publication, Sunnyside Plaza has drawn much critical praise, both in print reviews and from peers. For instance, The Wall Street Journal wrote: “A wise, humane book from NPR’s Scott Simon tells a mystery from the point of view of a 19-year-old resident of a group home for people with intellectual disabilities. Mr. Simon’s respect and affection on every page of this gentle mystery narrated by Sally Miyake, a 19-year-old resident of a group home.” Meanwhile, Jerry Spinnelli, the Newbery winning author of Maniac Magee and The Warden’s Daughter, says: “Sunnyside Plaza is a light in the shadows that illuminates the humanity in us all. It’s a book as special as its characters. A treasure.”

A question that Simon is often asked on his book tour centers on why he’s decided to leap from his role as a highly-respected journalist into writing novels. On his personal website, scottsimonbooks.com, he notes: “I wanted to challenge myself. And I thought I might have something to offer. I’ve been blessed with a rich reporting career that’s often veered between the imperative, like covering wars, and the inane, like learning how to tango (within the same week, I reported the war in Kosovo, and went swimming in Beverly Hills with Esther Williams). One refreshed my perspective for the other. So, I hope I can use my experiences to put details, feeling, and a certain humor into my fiction. And I hope I can apply some old reporting muscles to try to imagine new lives.”

Photo credits: Sunnyside Plaza dust cover courtesy of Amazon.com. Scott Simon photo courtesy of americanlibrariesmagazine.org. 

On tennis: Novak Djokovic turns a perfect night Down Under into winning his seventeenth major title

On a perfect night for tennis in Melbourne, with clear skies and an open roof in Rod Laver Arena, Novak Djokovic won his seventeenth Grand Slam singles title with a five-set victory over Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open men’s singles final Sunday. Once again, Djokovic proved himself unconquerable. He remains hungry and driven.

Djokovic’s 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph that lasted four hours rewarded him with his eighth Norman Brookes Challenge Cup trophy and returned the Serbian to No. 1 in the world rankings.

“I’ve had (the) privilege to win this big tournament for eight times,” said Djokovic, 32, during his post-match press conference that didn’t start until the early hours of Monday morning. “To start off the season with a Grand Slam win significantly boosts your confidence and your expectations are quite high for the rest of the season. But whatever happens, this season is already successful.”

Djokovic arrived in Melbourne a fortnight ago after he won all of his singles matches and contributed significantly to Serbia’s triumph in the inaugural ATP Cup team title in Sydney. In the year’s first Grand Slam, which took place amid difficult circumstances from the blazing bush fires that blanketed much of southeastern Australia, the second-seeded Djokovic began a run of good form by dropping just one set before the final. En route, he beat No. 14 seed Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round, No. 32 seed Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Roger Federer in a much-anticipated semifinal – all in straight sets – before the 26-year old Thiem, whom New York Times tennis columnist Christopher Clarey characterized as one “with thunder in his ground strokes and highlights in his dark hair,” pushed him to five sets in the title match. 

Although Thiem had won four of five previous matches against Djokovic – and built a two-sets-to-one lead Sunday thanks to stringing together six straight games at one point – he hadn’t beaten him on an outdoor hard court. This time, although No. 4 seed Thiem had some chances – especially when Djokovic began to struggle with both his consistency as well as his level of energy – the Austrian just couldn’t reach the finish line in time.

Thiem was broken in the third game of the decisive set and never quite recovered. His last chance to pull even came as Djokovic served at 4-3, 15-30. Then, the Serbian won the next three points to hold serve and the end drew nearer.

On this memorable night and in this particular final, Djokovic was at times defiant. To wit, twice he was cited for time violations. But always, Djokovic was tenacious – especially in long rallies – as he gutted out his victory over Thiem by serving nine aces and hitting 46 winners. 

With his latest major title, Djokovic moved to within three of Federer, the all-time leader with 20 Grand Slam titles, and he’s now two behind Rafael Nadal’s 19. Once again, the old guard fended off the new blood. However, one thing’s certain: Thiem proved he’s more than just a clay-court specialist. He can play heroically on hard courts. After all, Thiem beat No. 29 seed Taylor Fritz, No. 10 seed Gaël Monfils, top seed Nadal and No. 7 seed Alexander Zverev in his four matches leading up to Sunday’s final against Djokovic. Thiem also spent six hours more than Djokovic on court throughout the tournament.

“Huge congrats to Novak, an unreal achievement,” said Thiem, gracious in his remarks during the trophy ceremony. “You have helped to raise the level, and I’m proud and happy I can compete in this time and period of tennis.”

When it was Djokovic’s turn to address the crowd, he remarked: “This is definitely my favorite court, my favorite stadium in the world, and I’m blessed to hold this trophy once again.”

Then, looking toward Thiem as he spoke in a complimentary tone of voice, Djokovic said: “I would like to congratulate Dominic on an amazing tournament. It wasn’t meant to be tonight. But you were very close to winning. 

“You definitely have a lot more time in your career and I’m sure you’ll get more than one Grand Slam trophy in your career.”

Thiem, who was attempting to become the first new major winner since Marin Cilic won the 2014 US Open, fell short in a Grand Slam final for the third time in his young professional career. His Australian Open set back followed two previous defeats against Nadal in the finals of the 2018 and 2019 French Open.

“I think there’s not much to change,” Thiem said during his final Melbourne press conference. “In the last two sets, I definitely gave everything I had. Novak is part of three guys who are by far the best players who ever played tennis. If you play a Grand Slam final against him, it’s always going to be a match where small details are deciding.

“ ... It’s unique in sports history that the three best players by far are playing in the same ere a,” Thiem acknowledged. “That’s what makes it very, very difficult for players to break through.”

Indeed, Djokovic, along with Federer, 38, and Nadal, 33 – The Big Three of men’s tennis – have combined to win the past 13 majors. One has to go back to Stan Wawrinka’s 2016 US Open victory to find a Grand Slam winner other than Djokovic, Federer and Nadal. Wawrinka and Andy Murray, with three Grand Slams apiece, are the next best active players behind the Big Three. For sure, Djokovic isn’t quite ready to rest on his laurels. Not now, anyway. 

“Grand Slams are one of the main reasons why I am still competing and still playing full season, trying to obviously get the historic No. 1. That’s the other big goal,” Djokovic said. “I put myself in this position that is really good at the moment. I’m super happy with the way I started the season. It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the year.”

Original commentary written for Tennis-TourTalk.com.

Photo: Courtesy of Australian Open website.