Toddler Identifies Classical Music
Tennis and Boris Becker
I recently met the filmmaker Alex Gibney and his wife Anne DeBevoise and decided to have a look at his documentary on Boris Becker entitled Boom Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker since I've been in the tennis mood. I remember Becker pretty well--he was of my era--a very exciting time in tennis--and the film brought me back to the primary players of that period. It was fun seeing some of the more recent interviews in the film, all these men players all grown up and looking older. My favorites were Bjorn Borg (I think everyone's favorite) and Guillermo Vilas and my least favorites were John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors (America's sore sport, poorly behaved players in my humble opinion) ...
Boris Becker was a German wunderkind, the youngest player to win Wimbledon--he already had two of those titles by the time he was 19. Aside from his stunning sports prowess and his sheer power, he also had a colorful underside when he ended up in jail for tax evasion a bunch of years later...Becker has a very interesting story and this film does a good, thorough job of covering it as well as showing an insider's look at the sport and what it takes psychologically as well as physically to be a champion. Gibney is a great storyteller and I highly recommend this documentary, available on Apple TV.
Forgetfulness by Poet Laureate Billy Collins
BY Billy Collins
The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of,
as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.
Long ago you kissed the names of the nine muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,
something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.
Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue
or even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.
It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.
No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.
Tree of Life Series, mixed media on paper, 60” x 22” $4000
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About The Author
New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.