In Memoriam: Mae Panettieri

Over the years, people in my family would joke to each other that because my Grandmother had lived for so long and been in such good health that she was going to wind up outliving us all. Now, I don’t think she had any interest in doing that, but God did bless her with a long, healthy life and it was easy to think she was just gonna keep on going.

All the way through her 95th birthday my Grandma had her sight, her hearing, her mobility and a sharp mind. Her memory for people and events was still good, and she enjoyed following her favorite sports on TV, especially baseball and tennis. I inherited my tennis enthusiasm from her, and I particularly enjoyed calling her up during the Grand Slam tournaments and discussing who was winning and losing. I was all set to do that again as Wimbledon started this week, when I got the call from Dad on Sunday that Grandma had passed away. Despite her increased physical frailty over the past several months, the news still came as something of a shock. I will miss my grandma and I will miss handicapping the field of contenders for this summer's events with my favorite arm chair double’s partner.

Having lived for almost a full century, it’s amazing to me to think about all that my Grandma lived through in all the different periods of her life. Visiting her house, you were treated to all of these wonderful collages of photographs hanging on the walls that told the story of where she had been and what she had done. You could mark the passages of time as the pictures went from black and white, to faded color prints on thick square photo stock, to Polaroid pictures, to 4X6 prints and digitally-printed photo calendars. I love looking at her wedding photos where she looks so tall and beautiful and happy beside my grandpa, with a train following behind her that seems to go on for miles. I love seeing her in all different places with my grandpa, taking care of their store in Brooklyn, playing tennis and golf, clamming together out in the Bay, going on cruises and vacations with friends, dancing together at their 50th anniversary. It was a life filled with love, and hard work, a competitive spirit and a sense of enjoyment.

After my Grandpa passed away, the scope of her world got a little smaller, but she still had a lot of love surrounding her. She took care of two parakeets that both could speak to you in three languages, she tamed my rather scruffy and lovably disagreeable dog Sparky, she had the constant love and support of my dad and in recent years she had the joy of spending time with three of her great-grandchildren, Anna Mae, Ava and Mallory.

There are so many images and memories that immediately jump to mind when I think of my grandmother, The way she held a bocce ball or a horseshoe when she was preparing to throw, the way that she threw down her pinochele cards when she had all the remaining tricks of trump in her hand. How she rolled out the crust when making apple pies with me and my sister Nancy. The way she stood at the door and waved to us as we’d drive away from her house after a visit. The joyful way she danced at her 90th birthday party, and the way she held and comforted my sister Anne Marie after my mom’s funeral. My grandma was strong but soft-spoken, she was competitive but not over-bearing. She loved her family and she took care of us. She was a great lady.

When my dad told me she had passed away, he told me she had a very good last day. She woke up happy and with energy, the great grandkids came over and she played with them and they went outside in the sun. Then as they left to go back home, she waved good-bye, and then later she was tired and she laid down and drifted away. After 95 years of living and working and loving, that sounds like a very nice day. I wouldn’t have wanted it any differently for my grandma, and she deserved nothing less. I’d like to close by saying thank you to my Dad for taking such good care of her these past few months under difficult circumstances. I’d like to thank her caregiver Lydia, who took such great care of her these past few months, Anne Marie and Randy and my nieces for showing Grandma so much love and attention and keeping her mind focused on happy things. I’d like to thank everyone who sent her cards, or made phone calls or just kept her in your thoughts and prayers. She felt your love and it sustained her. We can all take the memory of her with us, as she now rests in God’s love.

Vamos, Rafa!

I love Raphael Nadal's tennis. I think he's an amazingly entertaining and talented player. It does seem like he will be forever stuck behind Roger Federer as the #2 player in the rankings, which is sad. But don't get me wrong, I love Federer too. It's just that in terms of who i prefer watching, it's always Rafa. Federer is effing amazing, but he can totally decimate an opponent and make it look so easy. What I love about Rafa is that he makes it look difficult. His arms are huge and he just rips the ball all over the court. With Federer, you see him make an unbelievable shot and you think "how did he DO that?" But with Nadal, you know exactly how he did it. He powered it there. And it's awesome. He also is a bit OCD, with long amusing routines for having things just so before each point. Both he and Roger are amazing competitors and treat each other with a tremendous amount of respect. They are both amazing athletes and are equally impressive ambassadors for their sport. They approach what they do with intensity and hunger, but seem to be very humble gentlemen off-court. They are the best of adversaries.

This morning was the French Open Men's Final at Roland Garros. Nowhere is Rafa more dominant than on the clay at Roland Garros. He has won every match he's ever played there. He has won it the past three years, beating Federer in the Final the past two years. Federer's missing French Open trophy is all that's keeping him from a Career Grand Slam and the title of the Greatest Tennis Player in History. So it's always high drama around whether Roger will come up with a plan to get past Nadal.

Today, Rafa totally crushed Roger. It was not even close. Ever. It was competitive for about 15 minutes in the second set, but the eventual score was 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. 6-0!! Against Federer in a Final. It's not even like Federer is bad playing on clay. He's just second best after Nadal, but the distance between them sometimes is so great. At this point in his career, Nadal cannot be touched on clay. The thought of someone taking 3 sets from him in a clay court match seems unbelievable. So now Rafa has 4 consecutive Roland Garros titles, tying the record with Bjorn Borg.

The thing is I LOVE that Federer can't beat Nadal at Roland Garros. I love that Nadal is undefeated there. If he wasn't then I wouldn't care, and would be thrilled to see Roger win. but why should Nadal have to suffer his first loss and mar his record just so Federer can be the King of Tennis for All-Time? When the commentators are pulling for Federer, I want to remind them that Nadal is trying to make history too with the most consecutive wins ever at the French Open, plus this kid wants to be number one and he's never gonna get there by losing a tournament he won the year before.

In two weeks, Wimbledon starts, where the situation for Roger and Rafa is flipped. Roger's not undefeated there, but he's dominated it for the past 5 years. Rafa has been getting closer and closer to winning it himself, taking Roger to a 5th set last year before ultimately losing. It remains to be seen if they can get through the field and meet again in yet another Final. But if they do get there, you'll know which one I will be rooting for. Vamos, Rafa!!