13 July 25

Eight years ago (for my August birthday) Ben and Amanda gave me this tie, challenging me to find occasions to wear it! Today's Wimbledon final round gives me the advantage to score my sixth chance to show it. I am not a tennis fan but I'm happy to celebrate great moments. We have a few tennis balls that serve as toys for our cats and dog.

29 August 22

I think that I was given this tennis-racket tie as a challenge to find occasions to wear it. I am neither a tennis player or a true fan. But I am aware of major events like the U. S. Open -- and the opening rounds begin today! Among the top stories, super champion Serena Williams faces her first challenger today, and this may well be her final professional tournament. I don't know whether the ending of a tennis career is properly called a "swan song," a "final service" or a "grand follow-through."

11 September 20

 It's time to take my annual opportunity to wear this tennis tie in honor of the U. S. Open Championships. I do not play tennis and I do not claim to be a tennis fan, but I have this tie in my wardrobe and I feel the need to serve it up. On the calendar from "On This Day" you can review many of the major matches that happened on this date over the years!

4 September 19

Can you guess why I'm wearing this tie today? None of the 32 students in my Beginning Ethics class had any clue. I do not play tennis, and I am not a big fan of the sport, but I have been enjoying some glimpses of great contests during this year's U. S. Open Championships! I am astounded by Serena Williams and I hope she does win it all this Sunday. This tie was a gift from Ben and Amanda two years ago, and I see it as a serving up a game that is set up for me to match it to suitable occasions! Love? it's not my fault.

11 September 18

I am not a tennis fan, but Ben and Amanda gave me this tie last year as a challenge to find appropriate occasions to wear it. The recent news about Serena Williams "behaving badly" at the U. S. Open Championships this year, coupled with the anniversary of several of Chris Evert's six U. S. Open Championships, make this a winning day.

6 September 17

For my birthday last month, Ben and Amanda threw me the challenge to find a good day to wear this tie. Today is appropriate -- it is the date in 1975 when Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova asked for asylum in the United States, while playing in the U. S. Open tournament. Other great events associated with 6 September include the opening of the first self-service grocery store (Piggly Wiggly, in Memphis, TN) in 1916, the departure of the Mayflower from Plymouth, England in 1620, and the earliest date on the Mayan/Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, in 3114 BCE (as we count the years).