Durring my nearly twenty-five years on staff at the United States Golf Association I had many, many good fortunes. So many that I would often crawl back into my mind and ask myself, "How did I get here.?"
One such "How did I get here" moment was when I would go into New York City and to the offices of the United States Tennis Association. There I would meet with what would be their counter part to my job responsibilities at the United States Golf Association. During those times I met and he would often sit in on our meetings, the tennis great Arthur Ashe. Sitting with him in this small setting, listening to him talk was something very special. Ashe was the only black to win Wimbledon and the United States and Australian Opens. He was a great tennis player. But in my opinion he was a great human.
There are many things I think I will always remember about Ashe but two in particular are, one, I believe it was the New York Times description of him.
"Militant in his convictions but mild in his manner, this
slim bookish and bespectacled athlete never thought
of himself as a rebel and preferred information to insurrection."
Boy would I like to see some of that today..."Talk, information over insurrections."
Secondly in his book.....As he describes what Christmas meant to him and what he was taught from his father about Christmas.
"When I was a boy, on Christmas my father always took
me late in the day to visit families who were less fortunate than we were. We brought food and toys---and Daddy always
insisted that we give away not simply old toys but one or
two of the... new toys we had just received."
His father taught him to give away not just something old that he no longer wanted..."But one or two of the new toys we had just received."He was taught to share, "The first fruits he had received... not the hand-me-downs."
Sadly Ashe died much too young. He died February 6th, 1993 at the age of forty-nine.
On occasion I still think of the few times I met and was in his company. It is a rare person that will give away what has just been given to them. What a great attitude, not just at Christmas, but at all times.
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December 23, 2015
Keep on,
Larry Adamson