Susan LaffertyTennis. I took lessons once upon a time. During my elementary school years. Early morning lessons to avoid the tropical midday heat of Surabaya.
I learned how to hold the racket. Practiced forehand and backhand. And remember this advice, “Keep your eyes on the ball.”
Somehow watching the ball instead of the court and other players and my racket meant I had a chance of hitting it across the net.
In 2018 we travel across the Atlantic to spend a week with our daughter in Dakar, Senegal. Conversations and laughter mark our visit. Along with bright sun. Cool ocean breezes. Blue sky.
And a Door of No Return.
The conversation was one we had several times. “People have black hearts,” she would say. “People have rotten hearts.” She used the word that describes rotting fruit. Busuk.