Smokey Mountain hospitality at it's finest....

April 4, 2013

Last email was sent from Dave & Emily Nelson's home in Clyde, North Carolina just before Easter Sunday.  Dave & Emily's hospitality has always been a sterling example of western Carolina's traditional way of treating people.  Easter Sunday lunch/dinner at the Kelly home (Emily's family) brought that friendly hospitality to an even higher standard. Huntsman Senior Games 2012, Two time Silver metalist!

Before eating everyone socialized, from the youngest, 10 years old, to the oldest, which wasn't me as you are probably thinking.  Eighteen family members, and I, held hands around the table, as Jack Kelly blessed the food and warmly welcomed each of us.  As we held hands I thought of the Danish Christmas gatherings at Susanne's mother's home in Denmark, where the holding hands tradition continues.  The next morning, driving away from Clyde towards Cary and  the low lands, I felt an inspirational closeness with folks of the Smokey Mountains.

After driving across Arizona and Texas the four hour drive from Clyde to Cary, North Carolina seemed to pass by with a few blinks of the eye.  Arrived Cary around noon and was able to play at the Herb Young Community center for two hours.  Six o'clock in the evening played for four more hours at the Cary Senior Center.  I believe the average cost to play at the various clubs I've visited is around $6.00.  The ping-pong community of Cary is fortunate, they pay $4.00 per night and I ,as a senior non-resident of North Carolina, paid the ungodly amount of $1.00.  Not a typo....one dollar!  Beat that.

East coast travel time is reasonable compared to the southwest.  I drove two days across Texas and was able to play at just two clubs, El Paso and Austin.  Texas is huge.  Do you know how to make a Texan angry?  Tell them we're going to split Alaska into two parts...Texas then becomes the 3rd largest state...! 

Retaping the handle at the 2011 North American Teams in Baltimore MD.Next day was another easy drive to the Northern Virginia Table Tennis Center located in Chantility, Virginia.  This club is, once again, another club located in a warehousing district of the city.  Appears, with the real estate market at a low point, clubs are finding affordable locations in warehousing and small shopping malls.  Currently I'm staying at our Baltimore Team Captain's home in Sicklerville, New Jersey, Robert Hodgson.  Robert told me last night, while eating dinner, the owner of the Trolly Car Table Tennis Club, whom is also a real estate broker, negotiated a monthly lease for the club where the land lord gets half of whatever the club takes in.  Meaning, if the club takes in $400 per month the land lord gets $200.  Moreover, the land lord pays for all utilities!  I want this guy to go with me next time I'm looking to purchase a new car.

Last night Robert and I played at the Flick! Table Tennis performance center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The club owner, Jeff Fuchs, is quite the business man and yet a player/coach.  Jeff will be traveling with and coaching the USA Jewish youth team competing in Israel this year.  Enjoyed discussing a club business model with Jeff, once again it takes a behind the scenes god-father like figure to help make a club grow before it takes off on it's own.  I heard several club operators, at the grass-root level, say the USATT board-of-directors is out of touch with the average club player.  No silver bullet, to fix the issue, was mentioned, however I do remember bullets being mentioned in some form or another.  I reckon they'd probably identify with Sarah Palin.

Tonight we're playing at Robert home club, the West New Jersey TTC, where we'll play in a USATT league night.  This weekend I'll be in Pottsville, home of the oldest beer company in the USA - Yuengling's, visiting my family.  Time to relax and maybe hold hands.

Andy