From tennis prodigy to cricket and back again, Ashleigh Barty is now a Grand Slam champion

Ashleigh Barty went from being a tennis prodigy who briefly traded her racquet for a cricket bat to becoming a skilled tennis professional with a solid all-court game. Only 23 years-old, the native of Ipswich, Queensland, is now the queen of the red clay and the pride of Australia.

On Saturday, the affable and talented Barty triumphed over Marketa Vondrousova, 19, from the Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-3, to win her first Grand Slam title at the French Open while playing in her first Grand Slam final. She became the first Australian woman to win the French Open since Margaret Court in 1973.

“For the last fortnight, the stars have aligned for me. I have been able to play really good tennis when I’ve needed it,” said the No. 8 seed Barty during her post-match press conference.

“This is just incredible. I never dreamt that I’d be sitting here with this trophy here at the French Open. I mean, obviously, we have dreams and goals as children, but this is incredible.

“I just kept saying to myself, I may never get this opportunity ever again, so try and grab it with both hands.”

At just 5-feet-5-inches (1.66 m), Barty possesses an abundance of natural skills, lower body strength and tremendous hand-eye coordination. Her overall game is technically sound – and she trusts it. With Barty, her game includes a dynamic kick serve, plenty of topspin forehands, lots of slice, and for an element of surprise, a few timely and well-placed drop shots.

“It’s been a natural progression of becoming stronger, not growing any taller, but getting stronger and being able to trust myself and hit my spots on my serve,” explained Barty.

“My serve is a massive part of my game, and I try and think my way around the court. I know where opponents like to return, and if they shift their position, where they return. And I try and expose those spots as best that I can.”

Ashleigh Barty reacts to winning
her first Grand Slam title.

Throughout the Paris fortnight, it became apparent how Barty developed her talent into a game that’s full of artistry as well as movement and power.

Against the left-handed Vondrousova, whom she had already beaten twice, the beguiling Barty took control of the match early by winning points with her forehand, using her sliced backhand to force her opponent into committing errors (22 unforced errors), and hitting winners (27). Her adroit volley skills enabled her to win 15 of 20 points at the net. It seemed the was little Barty could do wrong.

“I felt like for me it was the perfect tennis match, considering the situation, the conditions. It was amazing,” said Barty.

It’s a testament to what Barty’s done in just three years after taking a gap year to step away from the sport after she struggled with the expectations she had set after being a tennis prodigy and winning the Wimbledon junior girls’ title at age 15. She was ranked in the WTA Top 50 in doubles when she left the sport.

“For me, I needed time to step away, to live a normal life, because this tennis life certainly isn’t normal. I think I needed time to grow as a person, to mature,” recalled Barty.

So, Barty took up professional cricket in Australia in 2015. Then, after missing the “one-on-one battle, the ebbs and flows, the emotions you get from winning and losing matches,” she came back to tennis.

“You can only get them when you are playing and when you put yourself out on the line and you become vulnerable and try and do things that no one thinks of,” said Barty.

“I think it was just a natural progression for me coming back to tennis. Certainly, it’s alway been a big part of my life. Tennis will always be a big part of my life.”

Starting from the bottom, ranked 623rd, she had to qualify just to get into main draws. Now, with her first Grand Slam title secured, she is now ranked No. 2 in the world, behind No. 1 Naomi Osaka. This year, she’s won tournaments on both a hard court (Miami) and clay (Roland Garros), and compiled a 33-6 win-loss record in all competitions (27-5 in WTA tour events).

“It’s about creating your own path, creating your own journey, and embracing it,” expressed Barty. “There’s no formula how to, you know, become a professional tennis player. It’s your own, it’s unique, your own journey, your own path, your own experiences.

“I think the best thing to do is learn from your mistakes, learn from every single experience that you have, whether it’s good or bad. That’s the only way to go about it, only way to grow as a person and as a player.”

Ashleigh Barty shares a hug with
Marketa Vondrousova after their French Open final.

Throughout Australia and the rest of the tennis world, fellow pros offered hardy congratulations via social media for the engaging Barty soon after she won her first Grand Slam championship. She heard from Hall of Fame great Evonne Goolagong Cawley, one of her idols, who like her is an indigenous Australian and won Roland Garros in 1971. Barty was touched when she lifted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen and saw Cawley’s name inscribed on the trophy.

“What a wonderful result for Australia and how exciting that another Aboriginal has won at the French. I’m almost scared to say it but it’s now 48 years ago since I won my first Slam there too,” Cawley expressed via Tennis Australia.

“Tennis Australia and all lovers of tennis here and around the world will be delighted by the natural skills and flair Ash possesses.”

In sharing her personal narrative during her post-match press conference, Barty admitted that there’s no way she would have won the French Open title if she hadn’t taken a sabbatical from tennis. Now that she’s back, she credits her team – coach Craig Tyzzer and mentor and performance coach Ben Crowe – for helping her thrive.

“I’m not the only person out there. I have an extraordinary group of people around me,” said Barty. “I love working with them every single day. “They’re with me at the hardest times of my life, and there with me in some of the most amazing times. I think, for us, it’s a celebration of the journey we have been on for the last three years.”

Cover photo: courtesy of rolandgarros.com. Screenshot photos: courtesy of NBC Sports images.
An original version of this story appeared in Tennis TourTalk (www.Tennis-TourTalk.com).

Social media maelstrom: Did FCA really use MLK's words about the value of service to sell Ram trucks? Yes.

Each year, there's no bigger stage than the Super Bowl for advertisers – and Super Bowl LII was no different. While the tone of some of this year's messages aimed for laughter and nostalgia – not to mention philanthropy in an age of Trumpian tax cuts – one advertisement in particular drew much online criticism.

During the second quarter of Sunday night's Super Bowl game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, American car maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) turned to a sermon given 50 years ago by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. about the value of service and used it as the voice-over to sell Ram trucks.

If there's a wince award to be given – based upon the impact or backlash it made on social media – this would be the winner.

The use of Dr. King's sermon, entitled "The Drum Major Instinct," was part of a five-ad campaign by FCA that also included a classic scene from "Jurassic Park" featuring actor Jeff Goldblum and Queen's much-overused anthem "We Will Rock You" to market its Jeep and Ram brands. At a combined 240 seconds, FCA tied Anheiser-Busch for second-most ad time during this year's Super Bowl, which was broadcast by NBC across the the U.S. and reached an estimated 103.4 million TV viewers, the smallest Super Bowl audience since 2009. Each 30-second Super Bowl commercial cost advertisers about $5 million.

According to AdAge, FCA's global chief marketing officer Olivier Francois is "fond of calling on historical figures and movie and music stars backed by montages of vehicles and everyday people. He has a tendency to source ideas from a wide array of agencies, often making last-minute decisions on the winners."

In "Built to Serve," which was created by Chicago-based boutique agency Highdive, it made use of an MLK speech delivered 50 years ago to the day (Feb. 4, 1968) at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta – his last major speech before he was assassinated on April 4, 1968 – in which the civil rights icon declared "everybody can be great" because everybody can serve. Throughout the ad spot, there are "26 powerful images of those serving others" – "everyday people," including a farmer, a barber, a fisherman, a teacher, students in a classroom and members of the military. There's even a firefighter lifting a child over his shoulder.

"But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant," MLK is heard (but not seen) saying, "That's the new definition of greatness. By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve."

The ad reaches its conclusion with a message that to serve "you only need a heart full of grace. Soul generated by love." Then, the last image shown on screen is of the Ram slogan "Built to Serve."

While some liked the ad, calling it "wonderful" and "continuing on your legacy of 'on brand' storytelling," it also drew polarizing reactions, such as "who knew MLK was talking about pickup trucks this whole time" and "MLK wanted equal rights and for me to buy a Dodge Ram." A story about the Ram ad online in Huffington Post suggests "People were, understandably, not very happy with the company's attempt to profit off of one of history's greatest social just advocates."

In today's lead editorial in The New York Times, entitled "Dr. King's Words Turned Upside Down," it wrote: "Ostensibly, the Ram commercial was an appeal for people to serve. But who's kidding whom? The goal was to sell trucks, with Dr. King as pitchman."

Mind you, FCA has often relied upon using message-driven Super Bowl ads to touch on the state of the American economy and farming industry, featuring appearances or off-camera voice-overs by well-known cultural figures like Eminem, Oprah Winfrey, Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood and Paul Harvey. These were all critically acclaimed and memorable.

However, now, one need only point toward the irony of the NFL's attempt to monetize MLK's activism while at the same time it systematically colludes against Colin Kaepernick, a black quarterback, and his protests of police brutality and systematic racism.

"Black people can't kneel and play football, but MLK should be used to sell trucks during the Super Bowl," tweeted writer and comedian Akilah Hughes. "Unbelievable."

In an interview with The New York Times published in its Monday print editions, Tim Calkins, a Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management marketing professor, said of FCA's "Built to Serve" ad: "It's the wrong mistake to make given everything that's going on in the U.S. right now. There's so much emotion right now around race in this country that this was a high-risk move, and clearly it's not going over very well.

"I think it was well intentioned, but they're going to have a lot of explaining to do," said Mr. Calkins.

Indeed, especially when you add to the disconnect that MLK's sermon touched on the danger of overspending on items like cars – not to mention people "are so often taken by advertisers."

One thing I learned from looking over a variety of social media in researching this commentary is that many viewers felt that FCA's "Built to Serve" ad, which was meant to inspire about the power of service, cooperation and community, was distasteful because it used the words and voice of a civil rights icon to advertise trucks.

Did FCA cross the line when it used MLK's voice as a means to sell trucks during its 60-second advertisement for the 2019 Ram 1500? I think it did, especially when you consider that the Black Lives Matter movement still march in the streets and NFL players are criticized for taking a knee during the National Anthem in silent protest against racism and policy brutality. I found it insulting to the memory of the revered civil rights leader.

However, if you were to ask Eric D. Tidwell, managing director of Intellectual Properties Management, the licensor of the MLK estate, you would get a different answer from mine.

In a statement released at the height of the backlash Sunday night, the King Estate said it had reviewed FCA's ad before it aired to make sure it met its standards and "found that the overall message of the ad embodied Dr. King's philosophy that true greatness is achieved by serving others.

"Thus we decided to be a part of Ram's 'Built to Serve' Super Bowl program."

Meanwhile, FCA, the parent company of Ram, defended its ad and released a statement Sunday night. It said it was "honored to have the privilege of working with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. to celebrate those words during the largest TV viewing event annually," and added "Estate representatives were a very important part of the creative process every step of the way."

Fine, but as The New York Times concluded about the "sheer crassness"exhibited by FCA in using MLK's voice and message to sell its Ram product and further its ideals – and I am in agreement – "He did not ask to be a huckster for a line of trucks."

Words that built America: Thoughts on this Fourth of July

"Where liberty is, there is my country." 

– Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Today is Independence Day – America's birthday – the day the United States celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, signed 241 years ago on July 4, 1776, and the separation of the original 13 colonies of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations from the British Empire.

According to Garrison Keillor, broadcasting in his Writer's Almanac  this morning across National Public Radio stations from coast to coast, I learned this: "Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence; everyone else in the room thought he was the most eloquent and the best writer and he offered no dissent. It's said that John Hancock wrote his name in extra large script so that King George would be sure to see it; the king suffered from cataracts. Fifty-six men from 13 colonies signed the document. One out of eight of them had gone to Harvard. Two would go on to become presidents of the United States."

Now it can be told: The signing of the Declaration of Independence actually took place on July 2, not the Fourth of July, and, said Keillor, "this fact always irked John Adams, who decided to protest the date of the new celebration by never, not once, attending a July Fourth celebration as long as he lived."

Also, the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place in Philadelphia on July 18, 1776, in Independence Square. Bells were rung and music filled the air. Congress established the Fourth of July as a national holiday in 1870. It became a federal holiday in 1938.

Today, Independence Day throughout the United States is commonly associated with fireworks and parades, backyard barbecues and picnics in city parks and at lakes and beaches. We celebrate family reunions and go to baseball games, too. Indeed, Independence Day is our celebration of our National Day in the United States.

And yet, in recent days, out collective liberties and freedoms have come under attack, thanks to the actions of a few – but with far-reaching consequences. Robert Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies who served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, recently wrote that real patriotism "isn't about putting up walls, excluding Muslims and refugees, giving tax cuts to the rich, threatening freedom of the press and attacking the federal courts, or dividing Americans by race and ethnicity." In fact, he goes on to say, it's just the opposite. "Real patriotism requires sharing the burdens and sacrifices of keeping America going, paying taxes in full, cherishing democratic institutions, and bring America together."

Indeed, in this era of Trump, it is important that we remind ourselves what "We the People" truly stands for.

Here's one final thought worth sharing on this Fourth of July, 2017:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

– And, so began the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, the statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, who were then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead, they formed a new nation – the United States of America.

Happy Birthday America!

This year, the City ruled the Land

With a near-perfect 16-1 postseason, the Golden State Warriors won their
second NBA Championship in three years on Monday night.

If you're a Golden State Warriors fan, like I am, you're probably in a pretty good mood today. After all, this is the year that the City ruled the Land.

Congratulations are in order for the Golden State Warriors on the occasion of winning their second NBA Championship in three seasons. On a late, spring Monday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 129-120, to win their best-of-7 NBA Final, four games to one.

Indeed, as Warriors fans know, there's strength in numbers.

The much-heralded Kevin Durant, who joined the Warriors family nearly a year ago on July 4, 2016, in search of his first championship, garnered the Finals MVP by pouring in 39 points in the clincher. Teammate Stephen Curry, himself a Finals MVP when the Warriors won it all in 2015, added 34. Together, they were virtually unstoppable. In defeat, LeBron James scored a game-high 41 points for the Cavaliers. After the final buzzer sounded, James found both Durant and Curry on the court and offered props to both. Very classy move.

Looking back, the Warriors won the NBA Championship for a reason – they had the best collection of committed players and a coaching staff who molded this group of highly talented and motivated athletes into a winning team. They played with joy and enthusiasm, beauty and unity. Throughout their historic 16-1 post-season run, there was always a sense of passion on display and their desire to achieve a common goal of winning the title was always in focus. On any given night, in any given game, the Warriors always hustled and more often than not, found a way to win.

Thank you, players: Matt, Ian, Stephen, Kevin, Draymond, Andre, Damian, Shaun, Kevon, James Michael, Patrick, JaVale, Zaza, Klay and David. Thank you coaches: Steve, Mike, Ron, Jarron, Bruce, Chris and Willie.

Long after the game ended but not before the celebration had waned, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, sporting a championship tee to go with his Champagne-soaked-and-spiked coiffure, reflected on the championship moment during a televised interview outside Oracle Arena, among a hearty group of blue and gold-clad Warriors fans. As always, with the right sense of thought and tone of voice – and with graciousness, too –  his words spoke volumes:

"There's so much joy, so much love. It's an incredible group of guys," said Kerr. "We know how talented they are. They are so committed to each other and to the greater good. That's ultimately what puts you over the top. We have the talent – obviously – to compete for a title every year, but what puts you over the top, I think, is when you have that level of respect and commitment to each other."

This year, it was the Warriors turn to win it all.

Projecting an identity through fashion in flight

Everyday is a fashion show and the world is your runway. – Coco Chanel

Qantas c. 1986 /
Design by YSL

During a recent visit to the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport, everywhere I looked there were colorful displays showcasing a history of airline uniforms worn by airline passenger-service and safety professionals – once called stewardesses and hostesses, and more recently flight attendants. This distinct type of fashionable attire – from haute couture to comfortable mix and match – has become a part of our popular culture. As I looked over the uniforms and learned more about them, I realized that not only have I been flying as an airline passenger for many years, but it made me nostalgic for travel when flying from destination to destination was fun and exciting instead of a stressful exercise in navigating from Point A to Point B.

Pan American c. 1975
Design by Edith Head

In Fashion in Flight: A History of Airline Uniform Design, on display in SFO's International Terminal Main Hall and the Aviation Museum & Library through January 2017, the seventy uniforms that comprise the exhibition date from 1930 to 2016 and include the work of a veritable who's who of more than thirty designers, including: Bill Blass, Piere Cardin, Oleg Cassini, Halston, Edith Head, Ralph Lauren, Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent. The long list of their clients includes past and present U.S. airlines such as American, Braniff, Continental, Delta, TWA and United, as well as international carriers Aeroméxico, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic.

The vibrant and colorful outfits and accessories in Fashion in Flight are designed to not only "signify a distinct role in the workplace," but they also project a sense of identity for each airline – and they reflect prevailing fashions of the times, too. Through the years as airline fashion evolves and hemlines lift up and touch down, the passenger cabin has become a different kind of fashion runway.

Fashion statement /
United Airlines c. 1968 by Jean Louis.

If style is primarily a matter of instinct, as the American fashion designer Bill Blass suggests, then decade by decade, one notices a transformation from the tailored-suit look of the late 1930s to WWII's military influence, from postwar Paris haute couture to stylish New York designs – even interstellar chic as the 60s space age takes off. With the age of jet travel booming, bringing with it highly expressive uniforms, flight attendant fashion takes center stage. By the late 1970s, I learned, "pluralism and neo-traditionalism are seen emerging" and continuing into the '90s.

Finally, the business-like look of uniforms we see today – especially on U.S.-based carriers such as American, Delta and United – "have allowed greater contrast and noticeability for airlines that continue to engage celebrated designers in order to present contemporary fashion as an important part of the air travel experience."

Cover photo: Braniff International Airways hostess in uniform by Emilio Pucci c. 1965.
Cover photo and United Airlines photo: Courtesy of San Francisco Airport Commission, www.flysfo.com
Qantas and Pan American photos by Michael Dickens © 2016.

In our garden: Reflections on Earth Day 2016

Purple iris

Earth Day, a day that inspires awareness and appreciation of all the gifts earth and nature gives us, was observed worldwide on April 22.

It is often said that love begins in the home. And, so does our love for our planet earth. Last week, in preparation for Earth Day, I took advantage of our moderate temperatures that we who live in the San Francisco Bay Area enjoy throughout the year. The opportunity to be outside allowed me to spend some quality time in our garden.

As I looked around, I thought to myself: "If I love the earth, all will bloom naturally."

We are blessed to have nine different rose bushes as well as irises, calla lilies, fuchsias, rhododendrons and camellias surrounding our house. Indeed, we have an abundance of beautiful blooms throughout the entire year, especially during the month of April when all of them are in bloom at the same time. They get plenty of sunshine and clean air, and as we are aware that northern California is in a drought, we are mindful not to be careless in how much we water our flowers and plants.

And, so, in celebration of Earth Day, as I do so often throughout the year, I grabbed my camera and took lots of photographs, recording these colorful moments in our garden for others to appreciate and enjoy. Consider it  as my random act of kindness. 

May every day be like Earth Day to us.

Queen Elizabeth rose

All That Jazz rose

Purple rhododendron

Calla lily

Rainbow-colored rose

All photographs © Michael Dickens, 2016.

A spiritual journey: Opening hearts and minds

All great music is a gift and thus an instrument of God.

~ Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis, the 52-year-old Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning trumpeter, who is the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, has created the beautiful and inspiring Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration, a landmark collaboration of jazz, gospel, instrumentation and vocals, which unites secular and sacred music. While it is structured and progresses like a Roman Catholic or Anglican Mass, it's also rich in the African-American Baptist tradition, too.

"The theme of the Mass is that everyone has a place in the house of God," Marsalis said during a recent interview with the Boston Globe. "We're the most integrated nation ever, at least in the modern world that we know about. For our music to be, we have an identity but that identity is already universal. I try to find the core values that are so fundamental that they transcend ethnic identity. That doesn't mean I run from it. I embrace African-American culture and I love it and embrace it, but it is a part of a human identity. So, I'm always trying to make a larger human statement."

Damien Sneed, conductor
 of the Abyssinian Mass.

Recently, Marsalis took the Abyssinian Mass on a 16-city tour that included performances in Dallas, New Orleans, Kansas City, St. Louis, Augusta, Ga., and Washington, D.C, playing in both concert halls and churches. Last weekend, the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra along with the 70-voice Chorale Le Chateau, guided by the stylish and exuberant 34-year-old choral director Damien Sneed, who conducted the mass, returned to the "House of Swing" in New York City and presented Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration before three sold-out audiences at the Rose Theater. It was broadcast online via a world-wide webcast.

In watching Saturday evening's demanding performance online in the comfort of my living room, I became riveted by Abyssinian's libretto, its celebratory joy and its profound message. The choir was full of spirit. The orchestra clearly was enjoying itself. And, the spirited sermonizing from the Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, brought much charisma to the presentation. There was a whole lot of feeling in that show.

"The choir brings the fire and the choir brings the truth to the Abyssinian Mass," Sneed told NPR. "The choir brings the spirit, it's like the haaaaaa, the breadth of God."

Amen, amen, amen. O Father we go forth in Thy Holy Name.

Wynton Marsalis solos
during the Abyssinian Mass.

Indeed, the music in Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration is not just gospel and it's more than just jazz, too. There's also an element of classic music that resembles Handel's Messiah. 

The work originally had its premiere in 2008 as a commission in honor of the 200th anniversary of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church. It made its European debut in 2012 at London's Barbican Theatre.

In a recent interview with NPR's John Burnett that aired on Weekend Edition Saturday as part of its year-long series "Ecstatic Voices: Sacred Music in America," celebrating the diversity and richness of sacred music in the U.S., Marsalis explained how different kinds of music are related -- the universality of rhythm -- showing how a rolling 6/8 rhythm is found in both African and Anglican religious music. Tapping his fingers on a notebook and humming "a complicated pattern," Marsalis remarked how "in a slower tempo, it would be 'Greensleeves.'" He demonstrates by scat-singing the melody. "All the musics are related."

Some additional observations Burnett shared in his NPR story about Marsalis and the 17 movements that comprise the Abyssinian Mass:

"(It) digs deeply into what Marsalis would call 'the soil' of the black church: its shouts, its dirges, its spirituals, it hymns of praise. With this work, he celebrates the seminal influence the church has had on the music of black Americans, and the continuing pull it exerts on his own artistic and spiritual life.

"Marsalis used the joyful stylings of the African-American gospel tradition to deliver a musical message of universal humanity. He says he tried to put it all in there: God and Allah exultation and the blues, Saturday night and Sunday morning."

Glory to God in the Highest! Glory to God in the Highest!

After the tour's final show Sunday night in Boston's Symphony Hall, Marsalis took a moment to reflect on many positive things that stood out, which he chronicled on his Facebook page.

"When Chris Crenshaw started to sing the Benediction tonight, the choir began co-signing him, 'Come On Deacon, Preach brother! Make it plain.' He sang these words with a powerful clarity:

"Lord, from you all things. Though we are many in life and death, we are truly one. Just the calling of your Holy name releases us to perceive the oneness in all, of all. You have given us, through your word, the divine thought. And the divine thought IS the divine manifestation IS holy action."

For Marsalis, "that is the power of prayer in whatever religion, or none at all."

After the two-and-one-half hour online performance concluded Saturday evening, I realized I didn't want it to end. Listening to Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration attentively, it brought out a lot of emotions and moods. It was very joyful and uplifting. It gave me pause to reflect upon what a blessing it was to be part of such a glorious experience and full-circle journey.

Amen.

You can watch the entire Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration via: http://wyntonmarsalis.org/live/.
Photographs courtesy of artsneworleans.org, NPR.org, kplu.org

Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball

We Did It! / 2013, Oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches
By Jon Francis

Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball is a visual and artistic metaphor of the American pastime that reminds us that baseball is rich in art and literature.

Last Saturday, I visited the Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball exhibition at the George Krevsky Gallery of American Art, located at 77 Geary Street near Union Square in San Francisco. Seeing this year's exhibit brought back fond memories of the 2012 San Francisco Giants World Series championship as depicted through a painting of Sergio Romo, shown moments after striking out Miguel Cabrera to clinch the decisive victory, while his battery mate Buster Posey races to the mound to join Romo in celebration.

This year's 16th annual exhibition of baseball art includes iconic images of Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays, all which reinforced for me on this April afternoon why baseball matters ~ why it has an important purpose in my life.

Also, there's Oakland A's reliever Rollie Fingers illustrated in his prime, a collage of the outfield wall at Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field featuring the advertisement "Hit Sign, Win Suit" ~ even a gelatin silver photograph of Fidel Castro swinging a baseball bat.

Each work of art from the more than 40 artists in this year's exhibition, created through the use of a variety of mixed media ~ graphite on paper, oil on paper, oil on canvas, gelatin silver photograph, acrylic and marker on canvas board, hand-cut paper collage, and pastel on paper ~ cements our lasting memories of the game we've loved since we were children.

And, there's also a featured literary component, "Baseball Canto," by the American Beat poet and San Francisco resident Lawrence Ferlinghetti:

Watching baseball, sitting in the sun,
eating popcorn, reading Ezra Pound,
and wishing that Juan Marichal would hit a hole right through
the Anglo-Saxon tradition in the first Canto
and demolish the barbarian invaders.
When the San Francisco Giants take the field
and everyone stands up for the National Anthem
with some Irish tenor's voice piped over the loudspeakers,
with all the players struck dead in their places
and the white umpires like Irish cops
in their black suits and little black caps, pressed over their hearts
standing straight and still
like at some funeral of a blarney bartender, and all facing East
as if expecting  some Great White Hope
or the Founding Fathers, to appear on the horizon
like 1066 or 1776 or all that.

But Willie Mays appears instead,
in the bottom of the first,
and a roar goes up, as he clouts the first one into the sun
and takes off, like a footrunner from Thebes.
The ball is lost in the sun and maidens wail after him
but he keeps running, through the Anglo-Saxon epic.
And Tito Fuentes comes up, looking like a bullfighter
in his tight pants and small pointed shoes.
And the rightfield bleachers go mad
with Chicanos & blacks & Brooklyn beer drinkers
"Sweet Tito! Sock it to heem, Sweet Tito!"
And Sweet Tito puts his foot in the bucket
and smacks one that don't come back at all
and flees around the bases
like he's escaping from the United Fruit Company
as the gringo dollar beats out the pound.
And Sweet Tito beats it out, like he's beating out usury,
not to mention fascism and anti-semitism.
And Juan Marichal comes up,
and the Chicano bleachers go loco again,
as Juan belts the first ball, out of sight,
and rounds first and keeps going
and rounds second and rounds third,
and keeps going, and hits pay-dirt
to the roars of the grungy populace.
As some nut presses the backstage panic button
for the tape-recorded National Anthem again,
to save the situation.

But it don't stop nobody this time,
in their revolution round the loaded white bases,
in this last of the great Anglo-Saxon epics,
in the Territorio Libre of Baseball.

A special treat of this year's show is A Baseball Salon: Memories of the Game, an evening of baseball poetry and literature readings, music and short film that will be hosted by the gallery on May 2.

"Baseball has a new purpose in our lives," writes Dr. Marshall Ledger, a magazine editor, in the gallery notes for Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball. "We have discovered the sport in the visual arts and in literature, where artists and writers use it as theme or metaphor to draw us into their special, and often unexpectedly rich, creative worlds."

(Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball continues through May 25. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.)

In our garden: Reflections on Earth Day 2013

Earth Day, a celebration of what the earth gives us, was celebrated across the world on Monday.

It is often said that love begins in the home. And, so does our love for our planet earth. Yesterday, amid clear skies and a wealth of lovely sunshine that greeted the San Francisco Bay Area, I seized an opportunity to get outside for a little while and spent some time in our garden.

As I looked around, I thought to myself: "If I love the earth, all will bloom naturally."

We are blessed to have nine different rose bushes as well as irises, calla lilies, fuchsias, rhododendrons and camellias surrounding our house. Indeed, we have an abundance of beautiful blooms throughout the entire year, especially during the month of April.

And, so, in celebration of Earth Day yesterday, I grabbed my camera and started taking photographs, recording these precious moments in our garden for others to cherish. Consider it  as my random act of kindness. 

May every day be like Earth Day to us.

Iris

Mr. Lincoln rose

Pristine rose

Calla lily

Rhododendron

All photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013. All rights reserved.