Inauguration Day and an Inaugural Run At The Australian Open

New Year's Eve may come and go, but I always get a bounce in my step in mid-January every four years when the USA shows that we can do pomp and circumstance pretty well. We may not have a King or Queen, but we do lay out the red carpet for our president every January 20th.

This inauguration was no different and I watched intently as Barack Obama and the politicos in our nation's capital put on a show. I have to say, Beyonce Knowles has a set of pipes and the arrangement of our anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, was one of the best I have ever heard. If you haven't heard or seen it, here is the performance. Beyonce Knowles National Anthem

That aside, we Americans have some business "down under" in Australia, another "colony" which in fact still has The Queen as Head of State. In a very interesting match, the up and coming American Sloane Stephens, will take on Serena Williams on Wednesday in what might prove to be a match for the memories. The time is coming when Sloane will take over the American baton in this sport's relay and it might be at this tournament that she appears in the theatrical spotlight in this inaugural run in the first major of the year.

Sloane has the power and athleticism to compete with Serena who has been playing some of the best tennis of her career over the past two years. They both have power games and big serves. Stephens at the age of 19 is in her first major quarter final and in the biggest match of her career as of yet against her country woman. Serena and Sloane are friends and practiced together frequently while playing the Federation Cup.

Whereas Serena is playing through her matches quite easily, Sloane had some tough struggles to get to this point in the tournament and this may in fact serve her well as she has been tried and tested in the Melbourne stadium. Serena has not been and nerves will play a role here for sure.

She may not win her first quarter final tomorrow, and in fact Vegas has Serena as a heavy favorite, but I think Sloane's time is here and she will take that baton from Serena soon enough and it may be as early as 2013. I'll be tuning in late night.

Yemassee and a New Year

I have been thinking of this post and rewriting it as it has nothing to do really in regards to tennis. But as we turn the leaf over into 2013 it is always a good time to reflect.

One of the benefits in being a "seasonal" teaching tennis professional is that I get close to 4 months off a year. I enjoy this time with my family and I get some father/daughter bonding time before and after my 3 months working in Martha's Vineyard in the summer.

It's always tough to leave the family for an extended period of time. I had to travel to Singapore and Australia in my prior work leaving my wife back in the UK alone for up to a month at a time. But 12 weeks is a long time to be gone from one's home and family. My answer is: "Our American soldiers go farther away for a longer period of time and are doing jobs that endanger their lives on a daily basis." I am very lucky to be able to lead a life teaching tennis.

I do get to travel with tennis and I drive up and down the East Coast and once in a while I find a place that makes me realize how big a country we are and just how many cultures we have here in the USA. But then again, no matter where we are, we all have the same goals and objectives in life. One stop I made on my a recent migration was Yemassee, South Carolina.

I was on the hunt for gas as I had allowed the small gas tank light to come on and I had travelled off the beaten path this one morning of my journey. I had left behind most of South Carolina's back roads and was on Highway 17A when my tires rolled into Yemassee, South Carolina.

A town of approximately 1,000 people, Yemassee boasts one gas station that I could find: El Cheapo Gas.

Yemassee was the center of the Yamassee tribe of Indians up until the Yamassee war of 1715. Few towns boast a whole war with the town's name. As I drove down into the village, I noted Civil War encampments and fortifications by the roadside and I realized I was in the heart of a town that had a big Civil War history. In fact, all of the churches in town were burned during the Civil War except the Presbyterian Church which served as an army hospital for the Union soldiers.

The railroad passes through Yemassee and I learned that over 500,000 troops travelled through the Yemassee depot on their way to Parris Island and training just 45 minutes away. Yemassee has seen war and its ramifications in many ways over 2 centuries.

It's amazing to think, as you drive into what seems a small paradise, that the past and the events of war is never far away. Will 2013 see peace and prosperity? For those 1,000 people in Yemassee in their South Carolina small town through which AMTRAK rumbles through twice daily, life is no different than those of us in bustling South Florida and our 6 lane I-95 just 400 miles or so South. Cultures may vary and accents may have different twangs but we worry about peace, we tend to our families and friends and we live with our faults and strengths, our memories and our future, of which 2013 is just a stepping stone.