BILL AND JIM IV

I have mentioned before about Jim’s being a tennis prodigy when he was little. When he began at 6 years old to bat the ball around, there were not many boys his age who played, so he usually sought games with older boys. In fact, he hung around Sequoia all day, picking up games with anyone he could, teenagers or adults. So it was very nice to discover another tennis player his age who lived only a few blocks away.

Bill is the son of friends we knew in high school; in fact, I had gone to elementary school and church with Anne, his mother, and we had been in the same high school sorority. So we had some pretty close ties. Somehow Bill and Jim got together and when they were nine years old, began playing doubles together. That was the beginning of a long, enjoyable relationship between the two families.

One of the parents would take turns taking them to tournaments, and there were many of those all over the South. Or sometimes Anne and I would go and take all of the children (eight between us). I remember going once to a tourney in Clarksville, about 60 miles away, planning to spend the day and then return home each night. This particular time rain delayed the schedule and we ended up having to grab what motel we could, run to K Mart and buy toothbrushes and something to sleep in, and be ready the next morning to play at 8:00. (And what do you do in a small town with eight children and rain --- you go to the bowling alley and spend the day!)

Jim and Bill were very successful as a doubles team (singles, also); therefore, we often had to remain for the duration of the tournament. We sometimes made family vacations of them, but found that didn’t work too well; the competitive nature of the tournament made it hard to relax. So mostly we just went to the tournament to play and watch.

When the genius took the two boys to tournaments, he had a sleeping rule: he would sleep on the floor and give each boy a bed until one of them lost. Then he got the bed. And the loser got the floor. That gave the boys a little more incentive to stay in there.

Once when Jim and Bill were about twelve, I drove them over to Knoxville. At that time I was mortally afraid of heights, and unbeknownst to me beforehand, we had to pass over some mountains. The boys knew I was scared and made it worse, by ooooing and ahhhhing each time we came to a drop off. By the time I got over those mountains and into Knoxville, all I could think about was, “How am I going to drive home?” I was one nervous wreck.

They did well in the tournament, as usual. By this time they had played so much tennis and had gotten so adept at the game that the doubles matches went on forever because they would both stand at the baseline and get every ball back over the net. Many of the points consisted of the ball going over the net 40 or 50 times before someone would make an error. These matches made me edgy enough, but then I would think about the ride home and get almost sick. Bill’s father, Walter, bless his heart, flew over for the finals and drove me back home. I was extremely grateful.

(I am happy to say now that I no longer have that fear, and for THAT, I am extremely grateful. Now when I ride to Knoxville, I wonder why in the world I was so upset. Since that time I have been to the top of the World Trade Center, Empire State Building, the Washington Monument, and twice to the Grand Canyon.)

Bill and Jim had a great time growing up together on the courts. They played doubles all through high school, winning many state titles, and topping it off with the Tennessee high school championship when they were juniors. They went to different colleges, so that was essentially the end of a great team, but they remain good friends to this day.