It's January 31st! The last day of the first month of the New Year! I am at the end of The Ultimate Blog Challenge and have been successful in completing it! One month of blogging isn't as hard as one might imagine when you find topics fun topics to write about! I've had a great time. Today is another milestone, too.....It's my birthday!

I have always liked having my birthday at the end of the month. My last name is at the end of the alphabet. January is the first month of the year and my first name is at the beginning of the alphabet. I share my birthday with some friends: Honey N. to name one. And also born today: Justin Timberlake (37), Portia de Rossi (45) and the late Jackie Robinson. There could be many others. See the video below from Kahn Academy on the probability of sharing your birthday with at least one person in a group of 30. Very interesting.

​

Up next is a series of famous renditions of Happy Birthday. Barbra may not be singing, but I'll throw it in because she's my fave! If you follow this link, my brother Mike makes videos for me all the time. Here is one from last year's birthday!
​

If you haven't seen this footage of the "late" Marilyn Monroe in a while, it's quite entertaining, especially for the early 1960's!

​And of course, The Beatles will top off this blog post with their fun, rock and roll style version of "Happy Birthday To You" AND "They Say It's Your Birthday"! Enjoy!

What is this thing called Pickleball? Pickleball? Yup, Pickleball. Well if you are a tennis player, this may be a hard pill to swallow, but Pickleball is taking over! And to boot, they are using many tennis courts to play this newish game to play on! I have tried it. I like it, sort of. It's pretty easy from the stand point of not having to run as much as in tennis, since the court is smaller. The rules are a little confusing at first, as is the scoring, but it's for those who can't do tennis anymore, as far as I see it. It's a very social game! And varying levels can play together more easily than in tennis.

I have played about a half dozen times. It requires a wooden paddle and uses a hard whiffle type ball. The sound of the paddle hitting against the ball is obnoxious in my book. The game is a combo of ping pong, badminton and tennis. It can be played as single or doubles and lots of people are hooked! I have one cousin who is NUTS for Pickleball. When he travels, he drops in on any game he can find. He logs into a Pickleball website and it tells him when and where the "gang" is playing. There are indoor and outdoor courts all throughout the country.

​I like playing games. I like racket games. I am competitive, so I play with a desire to win. It's hard for me to JUST play socially, but I am trying. I have played primarily because I have a couple of friends who play. I do like seeing them. BUT, and that's a big but, I have been a good tennis player, so I want to win. No apologies. I have been ranked Number One in NorCal by Senior Age Groups AND Number One in the USA on two occasions in doubles. I try hard and this game is easy for a good tennis player, once you get the differences.

My main goal, though is to not get hurt. I am not 35 anymore, but my mind says I should still hit shots like I was even younger than 35! So I will try to keep calm, have fun and play Pickleball for the fun of being with friends. Hey, one can have a goal, right? Instead of trying to explain it all here, I am posting a video with scoring and rules, and a link to the National Pickleball site. If you have a chance, I'd say definitely give it a try. 

I still do not have a Pickleball racket. That is on my list for 2018! I do know that having good equipment makes it easier to play. In the meantime, it's getting lighter later and so I may drop into the Wednesday night game at my local public tennis facility next week. If we ever have a chance to play against each other, here is fair warning: I am trying to beat you! AND have fun! See you on the Pickleball court!

​

Yup, one can celebrate almost anything! And today we celebrate National Bubblewrap Day! It is part of my daily life as an eBay seller. What would I do without it? It is essential to me! It protects the fragile items I ship to buyers. It is fun to pop! It's easy to use again and get more life from it than just a one time use!

I have friends and neighbors that save bubblewrap for me! For example, they buy something online, open the box, take their purchase, and are left with all this perfectly good bubblewrap. What should they do with it? Great idea, give it to Anne Z to use again! I love it! And I so appreciate their saving it for me!

There are two types of bubblewrap, one with the small bubbles and one with the larger bubbles. The more fragile the item, the one with the bigger bubbles should be used. The bubbles should be facing next to the object they are protecting. It's also a good idea to use a wrapping paper as an extra layer of protection! Sometimes double boxing extremely fragile items is a good practice too!

There is another way to score FREE bubblewrap besides getting it from friends and neighbors: Staples! I turn in old ink jet printer cartridges each month. Staples will give you a $2 credit for each one, with a limit of 10 cartridges per month. To claim that credit, the following month Staples will send an online coupon to use. I BUY large rolls of bubblewrap with that coupon and SAVE again. On top of that savings, I use eBates to begin the order and then click on Staples to place and complete it. More savings! More bubblewrap! Yippee!

Today, I am going to celebrate my bubblewrap stash. You can see from the photo that I have rolls and a large stack of it! I never scrimp on using it, because I always get more! Keep it out of our landfill by finding a friend who is an eBay seller like me, or someone who is moving. Put up a local listing on NextDoor or Freecycle! It is always fun to move stuff around the universe!

Happy National Bubblewrap Day to you and yours! :)

​

As many of you know, I am a 20 year veteran of selling online. I found this helpful article on eZines.com. I have followed the guidelines to reproduce it's content for you here on my personal blog: Anne Z on the Web. I hope you find these tips helpful in creating a STRONG online presence!

Strong Online Presence Made Possible in 5 Ways
Author: Michael C. Wong

In this digital world, building a strong online presence is very crucial for every business, whether big or small. If you are a business owner, you should be aware that everything around you is constantly evolving. Most of these evolutions have something to do with the web, thus you need to keep going. Remaining static is a definite no-no, so take your business online, and start building a strong online presence.

However, for some this is easier said than done, even if you've managed a business for some time, and then for those who are just starting up or others who are struggling to make it on top. Unfortunately for the not-so-web-savvy, doing so can be confusing, overwhelming, and frustrating. Imagine doing so many things all at the same time, definitely aren't going to be easy, and there aren't any guarantee if they'll work. But the key here is knowing how and where to start. I have put together 5 useful tips below to help you build a strong online presence. And let me assure you, they work!

The 5 Smart Ways You Need To Know

1. Goal Setting
You can easily get lost if you don't have a goal in mind. You need to write down as much as possible of what you want to accomplish, make a plain and simple plan. Next, itemize the goals, aims, and objectives you've set. Think of them in smaller bits. Maybe you can create a picture that you want your website to be among the top 5 most viewed blogs for the year 2017. Break it down by making actionable steps to achieve such goal. You can blog every, do product reviews, reach diverse audience, etc. Doing so will make your set goal seems more attainable.

2. Build a website
Though this one is obvious, there are still many business owners who find web design a daunting process. But building one is simply straightforward even if you are not familiar with programming language. Also, there are several free online tools that you can make use of to build your own website. Some of them are Doodlekit, Wix, and Weebly which are really easy. If you have bigger budget, you can opt to hire a developer to design a website for you.
Now that you have a website, remember that you have to be "online". As you go along, refine its appearance and put quality content in it.

3. Get SEO
You have your goals set and a website in place, but this won't be enough considering the competition online. If you don't do something about it, your webpage will be drowned in a sea of content online, and this is where you need SEO.
If you are worried about not being an expert in this field, it's totally okay. You can ask those around you with expertise or seek help from experts. With excellent SEO, you'll have the chance to take your website (your business in general) from zero to the top of Google. It is also important that you understand the basic SEO practices so you can make all your efforts more rewarding.

4. Social Media
This one is a must if you want to build strong online presence. Social will greatly help improve your chances of generating more revenue and building customer loyalty. With social media, your audience, potential customers, and interested parties would be able to engage through channels that play a significant role in their lives. Some of the most popular social media platforms that can help in your business are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, and FourSquare.

5. Be Consistent and Give Value
Always bear in mind that deciding on doing one habit can help you move toward your goal, so be sure that you do it every day. Whether it's blogging, social media, or whatever it is, just do it consistently. At the same time, be sure that what you provide to your target market is something of great value. This will help you attain credibility and be an authority in your field, two things that are equally important in your visibility and online growth.
Building a strong online presence might be challenging but can also be exciting. You can always experiment on what works for your business or what needs to be change. These 5 smarts ways will make things a lot easier for you so you can take your business to the top.

By the way, how would you like to have a 6 figure earning coach to guide you, to have a ready to go sales funnel with all the in demand products in place, plus, you are not required to close any sales or coach any people? You can copy the exact system that I am, and many others are, using to build an online presence and ultimately a sustainable online business in the next 90 days. Click here to get your free video!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Michael_C_Wong/315628
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9642888

The monkey is finally off her back. Caroline Wozniacki was considered the best tennis player never to have won a major title at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. Today's Australian Women's Final result changed all that talk! Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) defeated Simona Halep (Romania) 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-4 in a battle of wills and endurance. The epic match lasted nearly three hours in the Melbourne heat Down Under. It  couldn't have been any closer. In actual points won, Wozniacki had 110 to Halep's 108. WOW! 

Admittedly nervous before the final, the 27 year old Wozniacki threw her racket into the air and fell backwards onto the hard court after clinching the final point, a ball that hit the tape by Halep. It was a match that had some of the best tennis rallies and "gets" that I've ever seen. Neither player had won a major title before, and no one from Denmark had before Wozniacki won today. They each had reached three major finals with unsuccessful bids that has kept them motivated.

With the win, Caroline Wozniacki regains the World's Number One ranking after she first accomplished that feat for the first time, over six years ago. There has never been a longer span between reaching number one by any women tennis player before. Halep, age 26, was the Australian Open's women's top seed and current Number One ranked player. The heat on court was so hot that a mandatory ten minute break was called between the second and third sets.

Both players are popular among other the tour players and fans, and as I watched I knew I would be happy for whomever won, and sad for the loser. Both have hearts and souls of champions. Don't count Simona Halep out. She has a new mental component to her gutsy playing style. And she is determined, coming back from match points down in her exhausting semi-final match vs American Lauren Davis as an example. The final set was 15-13 in favor of Halep. 

As for Caroline Wozniacki, she is on a roll. She ended the 2017 tour season with a big win at the WTA finals in Singapore, considered to be the "fifth grand slam" title among players. She is newly engaged to former NBA basketball player David Lee, (Golden State Warriors) an NBA champ from 2015. The 5'10", blonde, right-hander is now back at Number One and has her first Grand Slam title after 43 attempts, over 12 1/2 years time. She said it was a dream come true!

Her tour rival and close friend, Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) showed her support today, but tweeting this comment: ”I got too nervous to watch but woke up to @CaroWozniacki new number one and Aussie Open champ. So awesome. So happy. Are those tears? Yup they are. From a year ago to today I’m so proud my friend so proud. Literally can’t even sleep now.”

Number One rankings come and go, but Caroline Wozniacki will forever be a Grand Slam Tournament winner. Perhaps this is just the beginning for her. I wonder how many more titles she can win! She said in a post tournament interview that the best part is that she never has to answer how someone can be #1 without winning a Major. She answered it for the final time today! Congrats Caroline! You deserve it!

Crowd serenades Wozniacki after winning the finals!

Every quarter eBay has an event for three days for it's new hires and employees. It's a wonderful program that  was originated in 2015 called "Becoming eBay Summit". I am honored to be included in the seller panel which wraps up the event's three day session with a final sit down dinner. I have been able to participate about a half dozen times and love going to eBay Headquarters in San Jose.

The only downside for me is the distance and time it takes to travel from Marin County to the Silicon Valley. Commute traffic begins early on Bay Area freeways and so my plan was to leave early and avoid as much of it as I could. Yesterday was a success on that front! I was the first of the "customers" (as they refer to us sellers) to arrive. I was escorted to a second floor Board Room and immediately sat in the head chair! So much fun.

Many on the panel have been regular guests, as well and so we enjoy seeing each other for this occasion. eBay sellers can be somewhat isolated doing their work on computers by themselves at home. When we gather we love to catch up with a camaraderie of sharing our selling experiences. Our panel consists of many members of the Bay Area eBay Seller Group which holds their monthly meeting at eBay. It's one of the largest eBay seller groups in the USA.

When it's time to enter the big event room, we are welcomed with cheers, applause and a standing ovation. These new hires know that the sellers are what eBay is all about. And for us, it's always a pleasure to meet them in return. The panel of about ten sellers sit in director's chairs on the stage. Our discussion/interview is moderated by a long time eBay team member.

​We went down the line introducing ourselves and a bit about why we sell, what we sell and what freedoms selling on eBay gives each of us. After that we are asked questions pertaining to the different areas of eBay like "terapeak research tools, seller hub, shipping, trust and safety" and so on. There is a lot of experience on the stage as well as enthusiasm for eBay. The best part of the event is that we are being listened to! That wasn't always the case at eBay. I know because this year will be my 20th anniversary selling and buying on eBay. I've jumped through many hoops for eBay over the years!

After the discussion is finished the sellers all find a table (one seller per table) and engage in wonderful talks about what we do. My table was a lively group with new employees across many departments and locations. They asked me questions and I asked them questions. It was a nice exchange of information. As the dinner came to an end, we said our goodbyes and we sellers were given a gift from eBay. The new employees were given a group photo to remember their three days of the "Becoming eBay Summit". As I headed back to Marin, I was grateful to be included in a positive and inspiring evening. I look forward to many more in the future! Thanks eBay!
​

We have an awesome independent book store in Marin County (The Book Passage) that is a well established stop for authors plugging their books. It is always well attended when someone well known shows up. Last night was no different. Actor Nick Nolte, you remember him (North Dallas Forty, Down and Out in Beverly Hills)...was interviewed by fellow actor Peter Coyote. Nolte's new autobiography is called Rebel: My Life Outside the Lines and has just been released by William Morrow.

Nick Nolte didn't disappoint his many fans present. I didn't know what to expect. He has always been a "Rebel" as an actor and basically a "crazy man". That's what's so interesting about him. He does his own thing. I went last night to see for myself. 

Coyote asked Nick to talk about different areas in his life, mentioning sections of REBEL. He spoke of having a "giant of a man", who was 6' 6" tall, as a father. His mom was professor type in Ames, Iowa where he grew up. Football was his game, but when he was introduced to acting, it was something that he just had to do!

Nick Nolte gave lots of insight into many of the folks he's worked with through the years. But not in true "tell all" form, he spoke of writers, directors, producers and how things worked in Hollywood. When it came time for Q & A, I was the first hand up. Of course, I was interested in his connection with Barbra Streisand and his role in The Prince of Tides. Nolte was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in 1992. He said, "Barbra is a perfectionist". He said it with no malice and had the utmost respect for her attention to detail.

He recounted first meeting her at her Manhattan, New York apartment. That was before he was cast at Tom Wingo from the wonderful Pat Conroy novel. He said Barbra offered him some red wine, but was a bit nervous about Nolte possibly spilling it on her ALL white carpet. That of course, got a big chuckle from the packed room at the book store. More questions came his way and each was answered indirectly with many tangents and lots of work details. For a man of 76, he has a strong recollection of details and the work.

There was very little spoken about his personal life, except for his early years and his accepting parents. As I waited in line to get my copy of his book signed, I ran into two other Barbra Streisand fans who were happy that I asked about The Prince of Tides. Nick signed my book and I told him I was looking forward to reading it. He said, "I haven't read it yet, either" in his raspy, deep voice. (He worked over seven years with various ghost writers, finally settling on a woman who wrote in his "voice" and he is happy with the end product.)

Add another book and autograph to my collection. It's always fun to see people you've enjoyed on the big and little screen in person and hear their stories. As I shuffled through the photo section of the book, I recall just how handsome Nick Nolte was when he did "Rich Man, Poor Man", one of the first Mini-Series on TV from back in the 1970's. He may have changed in appearance over time, but inside he is still a dedicated actor who cares about his work and has put many demons behind him.

AOL, remember them? America Online had a huge presence in the early days of the Information Superhighway called the Internet. Back in the 1990's one could walk into any post office in the USA and find CD's for AOL software on the counters given away for FREE. They also showed up in mailboxes across the country too! They had a heavy marketing campaign going, that's for sure.

When I purchased my first Apple Macintosh with internet capabilities, it came with AOL right along side of games and other software for us to try out and use. That was back in the early 1990's and so I signed up for my first eMail account with AOL. The cool part was that one account gave one the opportunity to have multiple user screen names. One could host pictures as well as ultimately crude websites on AOL. I took advantage of that and learned a lot about setting up accounts and sites.

The biggest downside was that internet connections were painfully slow with dial-up modems. My first built in modem was 14.4kbit/s or something so slow it could NOT handle anything but a simple message, no attachments. I soon bought a speedy 28.6kbit/s external modem but it was still dial-up access. I hit the jackpot and thought I had gone to heaven when I was able to upgrade to a 56kbit/s external modem, still dial-up. AOL was with me the whole way through my "advances" in the tech world.

I heard rumors that our neighborhood might be getting broadband internet access. This was the mid to late 1900's. The connection was going to be offered by Earthlink. I signed up and was given my second email address, this one an Earthlink account. I used that service to host another free website and pictures. I still kept my AOL, why not have two addresses? 

The speeds were better. I started selling on eBay and I hosted my photos on AOL. It was quite a hassle. There was still a long way to go in service, speed and storage online. Apple joined the game and offered a FREE eMail address for LIFE if you signed up. So I got one. The .mac account soon switched to a .me account and as we all could guess, no longer FREE. 

I also have a FREE Gmail account and a Comcast account that comes with my cable TV service. I have eliminated my twenty year Earthlink account, but still keep my .me AND my oldest account: AOL. Why, because no one else has one! And it's so retro. People say, what's your address? I answer with AOL and they say, WHAT? It's really fun to see their expression!

In order to keep all my online correspondence in order, I use Apple Mail which gives me a chance to see it ALL at a single glance. Silly as it may be, I enjoy ALL the various pluses of having so many ways to reach me. Some accounts are transparent like my AOL account, others are used for specific needs. Anyone else out there have an old AOL account? 

So Long Amazon!

I had a good run. I have been selling on Amazon going back to the days when they had auctions. I bet you didn’t even know they ever had auctions! After that I switched to selling on Amazon using the Merchant Fulfilled process. Someone would buy a product from me, and I would ship it to them. I began using FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) back in May of 2011, when I was having some medical issues and would be out of commission for a while. A client gave me tons of CDs, DVDs and books to sell for them and I was game to try this thing called FBA.

In no time, I was in heaven. I scanned the bar code of books, CDs and DVDs, set a price and then shipped many large boxes to the Amazon warehouses around the USA, before my hiatus. Using their highly reduced rate for shipping those heavy boxes was such fun. One could see that being a high volume shipper like Amazon has it’s advantages!

After sending in hundreds and hundreds of items, I watched the sales pour in during my recovery phase. Who wouldn’t like making money while reclining on the couch? After I was back up to speed, I sent in at least one and more often multiple boxes per week to the Amazon warehouses. I even used UPS pick-up to make things much easier and convenient with those boxes. I shopped for products that would sell for at least triple the price I purchased them for, in order to at least double my money. The rule of 3X was my guide!

At one time I had almost 3,000 items in various Amazon warehouses around the country. In order to become competitive, I started using a repricing software. In one month alone, I had over $10,000 in sales! I was hooked! Amazon shipped out thousands of packages for me that were purchased by their Amazon Prime buyers. At the same time, I was also selling on eBay. When one platform performed well, the other might be slightly down and visa versa. It was an ideal way to sell online! That is, until it all changed. Here are ten reasons I have decided to stop selling on Amazon using FBA!

1) Amazon began charging enormous fees for Long Term Storage. My 3,000 items would cost a fortune to keep in their warehouses if they were not fast movers. Okay I get it, people were just sending in anything and everything and space is money! I had to become more selective of what I shipped into them.

2) There was pressure to collect sales tax from the states where I had Nexus. Nexus means the location where my stuff was located became my location of doing business. Even though they were online sales, I was responsible for collecting sales tax in about fourteen states including my home state of California. Thank goodness for software like TaxJar! Follow this link to learn more about what they do!

3) After taking about a month to set up all the states where I had Nexus, which included getting business licenses from all of them and filling out endless paperwork online, my tax reporting became pretty automatic. Out of the lot of fourteen states, five were monthly, six were quarterly and two were annually. I did spend a couple hours each month, paying and filing! Again, thank goodness for TaxJar, who imported my numbers and gave me a step by step of how to report. I have to admit it became a hassle and time suck, especially as my overall sales dropped. I was doing a lot of work for very little return.

4) As for my eBay selling, I became sales tax compliant on that marketplace, too. I had to collect sales tax from eBay buyers from the same states I collected for sales on Amazon. Again, TaxJar came to the rescue and was easy to set up, but I can’t tell you how many angry eBay buyers needed calming down. I had to give refunds to many of them because asking them to pay for sales tax when I wasn't physically located in their state became a “deal breaker”. I am happy to eliminate this hassle as I continue to sell happily on eBay! Now I only need to collect sales tax from fellow Californians! That is easy to do with the eBay tax schedule included in my listings. I only am obligated to report my sales tax for California State Board of Equalization once every July.

5) Amazon became more restrictive in what products I was allowed to send in. If an item was deemed HAZMAT (hazardous material) or was a “gated” product, I couldn’t sell without sending in receipts from multiple vendors. Frankly, I picked up most of my CD’s and DVD’s at garage sales and rummage sales, so I had no receipt. If a DVD sold for over $25, I was locked out. A lot of those items were my bread and butter as far as sales went.

6) Amazon became more competitive among fellow FBA sellers. I used to be one of the only people scanning at my local library sale. However, the writing was on the wall when the library themselves began scanning everything before they put the books out on the shelves. Good for them, but who needs that as competition, and so many others.

7) Amazon kept raising their fees. In order to make any money, I would have to sell higher priced items. Anything priced under $20, and higher for items priced under $10 was subject to a larger percentage Amazon fee. In some cases, I was losing money with a sale because it was not priced high enough. I don't need pay Amazon anymore than I already do!

8) I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon of producing my own products in China, to sell as the only seller on Amazon, known as "White Label". The cost upfront for that process was something I was not willing to pay. I did sell one "white label" product that eventually sold out, which did make me some money. There are lots of sneaky sellers on Amazon who piggyback on one's listings just to try and get ahead and I didn't want to have that happen.

9) I am tired of buyers on Amazon not leaving feedback. After almost twenty years, I have received less feedback in that whole time frame overall than in just one year of eBay. So if a single buyer leaves a negative feedback on Amazon, it really can hurt ones numbers and standing with Amazon. One can asked for it to be removed, if warranted, but that takes time and management of ones Amazon account. No more.

10) I am tired of living in fear of being kicked off of Amazon. I have heard stories of folks waking up and being locked out of their accounts for a random selling mishap. Amazon is not very forgiving. It did honestly happen to me in selling T-Shirts through the Amazon Merch Program. After selling what were approved t-shirt designs, one day I was reported by someone I didn't know and the next day I was gone. Even with an appeal, there is no getting back into Amazon's good graces. Frankly, I didn't want to go through that with my regular FBA account. So I ended my Professional account and kept my Merchant Fulfilled in place (buyer pays, I ship) and now save $39.99 per month. I am not looking back. My eBay biz is in full swing and I am happy to be playing in that sandbox for now!

Full disclosure: I am still a Prime member for buying stuff on Amazon. I like getting FREE 2-Day Shipping on all the things I buy that are designated PRIME. I am glad for the experience of selling as an FBA seller on Amazon, but I am glad to be done for all the reasons above!

I began playing tennis in 1968. Wow, that's fifty years ago. My mom signed my younger sister, Carrie and me up for tennis lessons through the Parks & Red Department in Thousand Oaks, CA. Our first lessons were group lessons for beginngers. It was a three week session, but I can't recall how many days a week it was. It could have been Monday - Friday back in those days. They were held at the local high school courts, during the early afternoon.

Our teacher was an athletic man who taught himself how to play  tennis. He came from a background of ice hockey and baseball. He loved teaching my sister and me because we were also athletic. It was the era of Billie Jean King, who was from nearby Long Beach, CA. She loved to rush the net and hit volleys, so our teacher decided that we should learn that style of play, too. That was not very common way for girls to play the game. He also that we should learn all about spins and thought that "topspin" was the future of tennis and we worked hard getting the feel of that aggressive spin. We even learned the American Twist serve which had a wicked bounce when it hit the court.

We weren't very excited about our tennis lessons at first, but we couldn't wait to try out our new wooden tennis rackets. My mother saved "Blue Chip" stamps from her weekly grocery shopping trip. She had us help "stick them" into her "Blue Chip" books. When they were filled up, we went to redeem them and my mom picked out two "Blue Chip" tennis rackets for us. Looking back now, I know that they were not high quality rackets by any means, but to us, they were very special.

So off we went to our lessons, with our "Blue Chip" rackets and two cans of tennis balls. We also took our own personal  drink thermoses of lemonade/orange juice mix with lots of ice cubes. It was summer time and always hot in T.O. when I was growing up! Then one day our tennis teacher introduced us to a new sports drink: Gatorade. It was made for athletes and was just coming into the marketplace where we lived.            
                
Carrie and I stayed after our scheduled lessons and played lots of doubles with the other kids from the classes. Our teacher made sure we got lots of practice playing games and eight game pro sets. The tennis balls we used were white in color and opened with a "key" attached to the bottom that you had to turn and unwind the metal lid, just like tuna fish cans in those days!

Because we were used to playing baseball with the boys at the park, we had no trouble hitting the tennis balls over the net AND over the chain linked fence at the courts. But if you did hit it on purpose over the fence, you had to run and retrieve it and miss a turn. When I became a tennis teacher years later, that was one of my pet peeves. I could always tell those Little League players trying to hit "home runs" with their racket and tennis balls! I would tell my students that I didn't want anyone breaking my record of fourteen shots hit over the fence! My record still stands!

I don't know what eve happened to our old "Blue Chip" tennis rackets. I need to try and dig up an old black and white photograph to see it again. We eventually moved on to other, better rackets of the time: Tensor and the Wilson T-2000 that Jimmy Connors made famous. We kept practicing, got a little better and began playing in some local tennis tournaments. We were hooked. Open Tennis began in 1968, the year we started playing. Open Tennis meant that the amateurs and professionals could play together in the same events. Prize money was beginning to grow. In 1968, we also purchased our first color television set and watched Billie Jean King on TV that summer during Wimbledon. It's hard to believe we have been playing tennis for fifty years. And it began with our "Blue Chip" rackets!