The Newsletter of the Santa Monica Tennis Club
January - February 2008
Editor: Joseph Hanania

EDITORIAL
2007: THE YEAR LAZARUS JOINED SMTC (SORT OF)

2007 was truly an amazing year for SMTC. Membership had been declining at least half a dozen years - from over 400 members to a predicted 150 this year. Jutta Ruehl, the Club's long time Trips Director, had quit to start her own company, and getting enough members to sign up for many Club events was a matter of Marguerite Jorgensen and others getting on the horn and nudging members into doing their thing. The glory days seemed over, the Club running on fumes. Treasurer Bruce Shelden even wrote a newsletter article warning that the Club was on the verge of dying if more members didn't volunteer, while the Board couldn't get a quorum for its first meeting.

So what has happened?

Our membership exploded, at last count, to 210 plus. What's more, we have more events than ever - an average of one or two per month - and they are filling up quickly. Instead of our phoning members to join in at the last minute, most of our events have waiting lists - and we have to politely explain that, gee, we'd love to have you participate but don't have enough room; please sign up earlier next time. What's more, the faster our supply of events expands, the faster demand also seems to expand.

And what events they are! Early December, we played against the Mulholland Tennis Club on what felt like the top of the world, its courts overlooking both the Valley and the Westside. The notice of that first time ever event went out via e-mail blast - the event itself filling up in mere days! Also, the Marina City Club invited us to play and dine with then last summer - and liked our company enough to make it a twice a year affair. (Sorry, our scheduled January 25th event is already filled). And the Riviera is now a regular on our schedule - as is the Malibu Racquet Club.

But that's not all. We originally put the newsletter online primarily to save money - not realizing how much this would also allow us to expand from our former four pages (including one page for entry forms) to the dozen plus "pages" you now hold in your hand. And newsletter contributors are not just the editor. A recent issue featured, between letters to the editor, entries to our photo contest, articles by Board members, and a tennis column, ten - count 'em - contributors! Turns out that, unbeknown to us, a lot of yuz are true "artistes" looking to self-express - reaching into your innermost beings and letting the world see your glory!

Nor are your creative endeavors ho-hum. Not only have you contributed an array of - how to put it? - unusual photos; you have also written letters expressing the pros and cons of tennis etiquette, how we run the Board, your opinions about the newsletter, and whatever else - and in rather graphic terms, too. This isn't polite, "How do you do?" chatter, but substantive dialogue. May your creative juices - and voices - keep flowing!

What's more, our online presence has raised our profile - so that instead of our seeking out members, they are "discovering" us via Google and the like. And they're coming not just from LA, and even distant Sacramento! One of our newest members, Anna Zohn, comes from...drum roll, please...Darien, Connecticut. Take a minute to wrap your mind around that one!

Of course, our promotional poster by Jeff Potts hasn't hurt. Neither have the activities of membership director, Carol Reston. One of the most amazing things I have witnessed during Sunday Open Play was unsuspecting strangers straying by our Courts - only to have Carol pounce for the kill, telling them why they absolutely had to join our disparate and motley tribe. And how effective was she? Come on now, if you saw a pretty blonde bearing in on you, how hard would you resist?

In 2008, after a year of due penance, we're also reinstituting SMTC tennis trips with Gwen Coleman. Details below.

All this activity, in turn, has created more people coming to Sunday Open Play - and the Club's taking out a fourth "prime time" court to accommodate the hub and the bub (creating, of course, more hubbub).

So, what's ahead for 2008? We have two final frontiers. First is the atmosphere which often still prevails at Sunday Open Play. Sure, it used to be the Wild, Wild West, and now it's only the Wild West. Hopefully, by the end of 2008, we can look back upon How the West Was Won. (Did some other movie maker already take that title?)

The big question, then: can we really make this happen? Our new Standards Committee is a start, but only a start. The power of example - not just telling other members how to act, but setting an example ourselves - is the best guidepost here. And this has got to come from the top - from the Board and from our best players - all this hopefully seeping into the behavior of our overall membership.

SMTC also continues to run in the red, as it has for several years. After intense lobbying by - and let's give credit where it is due - Harris Levey, the 2007 Board publicly posted an income and expenses statement for the first six months of the year. Although this was a good first step, much information about our finances remains vague. As a Club, we still need to address this issue.

So we ring out 2007 and ring in 2008 by continuing a tradition initiated last newsletter by President Jorgensen: writing up a Club member who is doing something exceptional. When you discover what David Morton does, you may find yourselves as stunned as I was - and proud to be a member of what I will rename, for today, David Morton's Tennis Club.

Finally, we also say a fond good-bye to Bob Shubert, who ran our Friday Night Affairs, and to Jim Castagnola, who ran tournaments. Both are decent and fair-minded individuals. The acid test? They both make the same accurate calls, whether they are playing on my side of the court, or against me. (Unfortunately, they too often play on the other side). Their contributions to the Club will be greatly missed.

Carol Reston is also resigning her post, to our collective detriment. And I, too, am leaving the Board; this will be my last newsletter, although I will run the Interclubs to which I have already committed.

With all that said, should the 2008 Board continue to build on the momentum of the 2007 Board, we can anticipate that this should be a very good year, indeed. So, get your tournament entries in early - don't forget to vote - and looking forward to seeing y'all on the courts.

- Joseph Hanania

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TIME TO RENEW - AND REJOICE

Rejoice, those of yuz who have been waiting for the last minute to renew your SMTC membership. Our low, low rates have not gone up, but remain at a mere $65 per annum. However, the good news ends there; you do still have to send in a check.

So, please fill in the renewal form and mail this in, together with your check, for your 2008 membership.

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PALISADES INTERCLUB, SUNDAY JAN. 13th

SMTC has been invited to send 8 players for an afternoon Interclub at Palisades Park. Refreshments will be served. Cost: $15 per person. Anyone interested in participating should send an entry form with check payable to SMTC ASAP to Katherine Spetner, 1022 26th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403. Include your phone #, cell #, e-ddress and USTA rating. Thanks.

Click here for the entry form.

-Katherine Spetner

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SMTC'S FIRST TRIP OF 2008 ON JAN. 18th - 20th
Shadow Mountain Resort in Palm Desert

Martin Luther King weekend, we are headed for the Shadow Mountain Resort in Palm Desert to play tennis, tennis, tennis. (Start playing upon arrival Friday afternoon; keep playing through Sunday check-out). We also feature a cocktail party/pot luck Friday evening dinner, and dinner Saturday night at a fabulous restaurant (after a full day of fun tennis).


Pool at Shadow Mountain Resort

Prizes will be awarded for the Saturday. and Sunday tennis tournaments. Double up on condo accommodations for our all inclusive price of $280. Check out the resort at www.shadow-mountain.com.

Please sign up by sending the entry form to Gwen Coleman.

Click here for the entry form.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

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SAIL AWAY TO MARINA DEL REY!

Friday, January 25th, eight lucky players will get to strut their stuff at the Marina Club, 4333 Admiralty Way, for an evening of mixed doubles starting at 6 p.m. Afterwards, we have been invited to use their spa facilities including sauna, steam and jacuzzi, and then join them upstairs for a night of wine, women, and song on the dinner/dance floor, overlooking the Marina. (Is this promotion sexist? Nah!!!)

Please let us know if you want to join in the entertainment portion of the evening. During our interclub last summer, this featured a three piece band which lured a few of us out on the dance floor. We will reserve a table with members of the Marina Club, with whom we will look out at the sailboats -- and dream about sailing away.

All for a mere $20. Dinner is separate. (Note: this event is sold out.)

- JH

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MALIBU AWAITS YOU! (YES, YOU!)

Those of us who once made our way up the posh hills of Malibu and played at the Malibu Racquet Club remember how beautiful its eight courts are, and how prettily it sits by the ocean. Yes, those were the good old days.

Don't tell anyone, but the good old days are not only back; they are better than ever. Sat., Feb. 2nd, a dozen lucky 3.5 and 4.0 Club players will charge up the hills again for a mixed doubles match from 1 - 4 p.m., cocktails and hors d'oeuvres to follow. (BYOB). The address is 23847 Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu. Or check out the site www.maliburacquetclub.com.

We know, we know. It was Heartbreak Hotel - apologies to Elvis - when Malibu cancelled out on our interclub last summer. But this time, it's a go - and who knows what our unfulfilled hearts may find there? As always, first come, first served. Please fill out the entry form and mail, together with your e-dress and a $25 check payable to SMTC to: Joseph Hanania, 500 California Ave. #14, Santa Monica, Ca. 90403. Thanks!

Click here for the entry form.

- JH

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"Hello Tournament" - Sunday, February 10

This year's Hello Tournament, celebrating SMTC's 80th anniversary, begins two weeks early. Previously, we have had numerous people say "Why are you having this on Academy Awards Day?" So we listened, and are moving it ahead. Rain date is March 3rd.

This popular tournament gives us a chance to meet new members and say "hello" to old members. It is a round robin, mixed doubles event, so you will only play one match with each partner, in either morning or afternoon sessions. We will also have trophies and refreshments, followed by a dinner at Buca Di Beppo at 5:00 p.m. (Buca Di Beppo is located at 1442 2nd St. in Santa Monica, phone 310-587-2782).

Grand Prix awards for 2007 will be announced at dinner, and you can meet the glamorous new Board.

Guests and former members are also welcome. And if your guest becomes a member, you receive a sizzling $5 coupon! Entry fee is $28 for members and $33 for others; $19 buys you for dinner only.

Click here for the entry form.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

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WESTCHESTER INTERCLUB FEB. 24TH!!!

Yeah, yeah! We've heard it all. Why do we SMTC members always have to travel to other Clubs for our matches? Why can't we play an Interclub at Reed?

We hear you - and, as always, your wish is our command. (Did you have any doubts?) So...we've scheduled an Interclub with the mighty Westchester Tennis Club at Reed Park on Sunday, Feb. 24th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. And, just to show you what a bunch of swells we really are, we're even offering a promotional price for this home event to (and we blush to admit it is this low) a mere $15.00!!!

We've only got eight spots, though. Soooo, fill out the entry form and sign up fast!!! As always, first come, first served.

Click here for the entry form.

- JH

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JOIN OUR ROUND ROBIN RIOT!!!

2008 will usher in an expanded singles round robin format. The newest - and most exciting - feature of our format is that this year's Round Robin is available not only to Club members, but also to players unaffiliated with SMTC, who nevertheless wish to check us out. Thus, our Round Robin not only gives members an opportunity to take on crafty new opponents; it may also generate new members for the Club.

As usual, the fee is an exorbitant $10 for members. Non-members sign up for $15.

Please send your entry form and check to Steve Dorman by Feb 1st. Play begins Feb 15th.

Click here for the entry form.

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THANK GOD I'VE PAID MY TAXES INTERCLUB, APRIL 20TH

Join a dozen of us as we run off to Toluca Lake, near Universal City, Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.. We will be celebrating, along with our fellow Tolucans, having sent our checks to Uncle Sam, and being free, once more, to be upstanding American citizens...who also play tennis.

After checking out the Toluca Lake Tennis Club at www.sportscentertltc.com, please send entry form and a check for $25 to Ron Elmer. First come, first served.

Click here for the entry form.

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Credits

ON THE LINE

is produced by

ACE UP OUR SLEEVE



Public Relations and Advertising

www.Aceupoursleeve.com

Editor: Joseph Hanania

Roving Correspondents: Jim Castagnola, Mary Durkin, Bruce Janger, Marguerite Jorgensen, and Carol Reston

Website by

Tom Johnson

We thank you for your interest


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A PHOTOFINISH VOTE!!!

The pros in the old days of Chicago machine politics had a saying. "Vote early, vote often!" Now it's your turn to vote for SMTC's photog of the year - with one slight difference in the rules. Here, it's one member, one vote. Put the number of your favorite photo - one, two, three, four, or five - in the subject line, and send in to joe@aceupoursleeve.com. (To Alex Clarke; we won't tell if you don't vote for your dad's photo. Honest!)

To keep the event fair, we won't say who took what photo. Just look at 'em all, and tell us which one you think is best. The most talented photog will get their name - and the photo they took - in the next issue of the newsletter, together with a coupon for ten big ones, redeemable at any Club event. SMTC members have trophies galore. But being photog of the year - that is the really big prize. So, don't miss out. Vote!

UNLEASH THE ARTIST WITHIN" PHOTO CONTEST:
ENTRY #1


Mystery Lady With Trophy

ENTRY #2

Jutta Ruehl and Anonymous Male at Morgan Run

ENTRY #3

Alex Clarke getting coached by his 69-year old grandfather, Deo Agbayani, and his mom Audree in Hawaii, on how to whump SMTC players.

ENTRY #4

Paul Suchecki's younger brother, Karl, whom Paul beat in a 3-set cliff hanger.

ENTRY #5

Bob Shubert looking exceptionally happy with partner Lucienne Aarsen after winning the 3.5 Doubles Club Championship


- JH

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ACCESSING THE ONLINE DIRECTORY

Yeah, sure, I've been there, too. I grew up with a manual typewriter, from which I graduated to an electric, and finally to the computer.

I sat my first computer on one side of my desk, my electric typewriter next to it. I wrote more quickly on my typewriter; why was I being forced to learn this newfangled demon from heck? After a little while, however, I discovered writing on the computer to be faster and easier than writing on the typewriter, which hit the dustbin long ago. All of which brings us to the SMTC online directory (the computer), which has replaced our printed handbook (the typewriter) at a savings of about $450 per year. And yes, the online directory also takes a bit of learning. So please consider this article to be a free remedial class.

I won't go into the advantages of the online listing, other than to say that about one quarter of our 200 members join after April, when our handbook traditionally came out - making it dated virtually as soon as it arrives. (Remember all those additional inserts you got in the mail you were supposed to keep track of - and which I never did)? Our online directory, on the other hand, gets continually upgraded, with no stray papers to get lost.

So, how to access our latest nefarious invention from heck?

The EZiest way is to write down the access code, which is in the e-mail announcing that the newsletter is online. Then, double click on the second link also contained in that e-mail. Copy the access code onto the entry page of the online listing and press enter. Voila, you are in! Or go directly to the SMTC website; hit the tab which says Membership Listing, and put in the access code.

You can even print up the online listing, which is about four pages long, and never have to turn your computer on again - ever! Make as many duplicate copies as you want to put in your tennis bag, your purse, wherever.

For those of you who have not yet done this, why not try it as soon as you finish reading the newsletter? It's new; it's exciting; it's the latest thing - like learning how to serve the ball. And practice makes purr-fect!

- JH

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TENNIS TIPS

Don't confuse yourself with mechanical details during a match. Pay attention (relaxed concentration) on watching the ball.
The Tennis Player's Bible. Edited by an Advisory Board of Leading SoCal Tennis Teachers. Copyright 2000.
One of the most suicidal things you can do is to believe your ranking. You don't win matches because you're number whatever; you get to number whatever by winning matches.
James Blake in his 2007 autobiography, Breaking Back

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THE TRUE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONS

Every year, the Club Championship has run at a loss. In fact, they are intended to be the Club's loss leader - our year-end blow-out - proof, if you will, that we have survived and prospered another year. So the question is not whether we will run a loss, but how big a loss the Club should take.

As part of our efforts to get more bang for our buck, this year the Board decided to cap our losses at a draconian $500, and then turned over this thankless Mission Impossible to Tournament Director Jim Castagnola.

"No problem," he said, even as we laughed up our sleeves, crassly doubting his abilities. Capping our losses at $500 would be like winning a tennis game by serving four aces in a row. How many of us could really do that? Could even Jim pull off such a feat? The truth is, we would not have uttered a peep had our losses rolled up to $600, maybe even $650.

So when Jim presented the final numbers, the entire Board sat in shock. You could have knocked any of us over with a piece of stray fiber from a tennis ball. Jim, who had himself passed up competing in the tournament because of tennis elbow, had brought the whole event in at a loss of...drum roll, please...a mere $200.

Pretty hot, no?

Especially since the food and the drinks were never finer. The honor for playing the ham - excuse me, cooking the ham - as well as preparing the steak and other amazing goodies goes to Carol Reston. Running around Santa Monica in search of her secret, special ingredients, she brought her Polish culinary expertise to our feast - to the delight of the rest of us.

So, a belated thank you to our two true Club Champions.

- JH

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ANNUAL TURKEY SHOOT

Thanks to Ron Elmer for his capable assistance, we were able to have ten teams in the morning and twelve teams in the afternoon session (after many phone calls by Gwendolyn Coleman and Katherine Spetner as well). The morning started out with some mishaps: a ‘no show’; a last minute cancellation and then an injury! Keith Donahue called one of his friends at the last minute and Sue Weinberg arrived to save the day. David King also played for the injured one. Thanks also goes to Carla Guitian who volunteered at the last minute to enter and also a former member, Joan Matis, who also came to our rescue to make even numbers for the teams.

However, the Pilgrims and the Native Americans struggled on through the six rounds of which one would be the best. The Pilgrims led the field decidedly in the morning, defeating the Native Americans soundly – 228 games for the Pilgrims to 141 for the Native Americans. The top Pilgrim in the morning session was Carrie Gold with 33 games and Keith Donahue with 33 games, followed by a new member Greg Zucker with 31 games.

The afternoon session proved that everything is subject to change…the Native Americans won 290 games to 179 for the Pilgrims...which meant the Native Americans came out ahead with 431 games to 407 for the Pilgrims. The leading scorer for the afternoon session was a guest, Fitzroy Sammoth with 37 games (highest for the entire day) and our own Katherine Spetner with 31 games. Each winning team member of both sessions received a $10 gift card from a grocery store and the leading scorers also received a $10 gift certificate from a sporting goods store. Forty four people participated in this event and all ...well most all..said they had a good time.

We are sorry to report that the injury was Joanie Rippner who fell and broke her wrist, so after the cast comes off and she has rehab she will be back amongst again. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

We collected three bags of food for the needy and five people donated their $10 grocery certificate to the same cause. The food collected was delivered by Randy Chow to the Westside Food Bank.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

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RECENTLY SIGHTED

Those of you Young Turks who have recently joined the Club don't know her - but many of us Old-er Timers never forgot Jackie Schmidt. Even as she got up in years, she beat on those of us young enough to be her sons and daughters. Wielding her Triple Threat racquet, she outfoxed us and outthought us, moving around the courts with the aplomb of a woman two decades younger.

Her secret? First, she kept a little something in her water bottle which kept her energized, even as the rest of us wilted on the courts. Second, she wore a wide brim hat which kept the sun out of her eyes, even as the rest of us swung blindly in the sunlight. And, of course, she laughed and smiled at us "poor babies" - while showing us how to properly hit the ball.

Anyhow, Jackie disappeared for a while - and was greatly missed. Until she reappeared on a recent Sunday playing alongside her son, Mike Schmidt - who just happens to be number one on the singles ladder - while still showing him how to hit a better ball.

It was good to see her, if only briefly. Welcome back, Jackie! We miss you.

- JH

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A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW

So, how do our perceptions affect our interactions with others?

Even as skies remained hazy from no less than fourteen fires raging around Southern California, several tennis club members lay around the pool at a recent Tennis Trips LA retreat to Palm Springs. Nearby was an elderly couple, also laying by the pool and talking incessantly into their cell phones. Their eyes never met mine; they did not even look at one another; each was in their own world.

I have never been a fan of the cell phone, believing that they principally serve to disconnect people and interrupt in person conversation - all in the name of "connection." And here, once more, I had Exhibit A: an oblivious couple unable to enjoy this fine resort, instead jabbering on their cells. Why, I wondered, had they bothered to come on vacation?

My last time coming out of the pool, the man was finally taking a "phone break" and nodded to me. He and his wife, he said, were evacuees, forced to flee their Lake Arrowhead home. Despite heroic efforts by firefighters, they were not sure if their home was still there - or not. The calls were their way of trying to find this out.

And just like that, my attitude towards the couple changed.

I do not know what happened to their house. What I do know is that I first judged them with incomplete information. When I got the larger picture, my judgment suddenly stood on its head.

And I wonder - how many times do I do the same thing, either on or off the tennis courts? And do such judgments serve me well, or ill?

- Joseph Hanania

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UNPERSONALS

Shirley McClaine lost her Head Ti.S6 tennis racket recently at Sunday Open Play. If you accidentally put it in your tennis bag, please call her at (310) 820-8043 or at work (213) 439-9454.

Gillian Cook is recovering from recent surgery. We wish her well.

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A $250 Gift

Despite our membership upsurge, SMTC continues to run in the red. To help out, former Director, now member Carol Reston has volunteered to file the Club's annual tax return, gratis. For the past several years, the Club has been paying Treasurer Bruce Shelden $250 per annum for this service.

The extra savings will help push the Club back towards the black - and translates into, among other possibilities, 30 hours of additional court time for Sunday Open Play. Thanks, Carol!

- JH

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NOTES FROM LADDER DIRECTOR

As this is written, Your Humble Director is preparing for a rematch with Nafiz Cekirge (pronounced "Checker-gee"), who broke onto the ladder by edging past me 7-5 in the third set on November 4. YHD had a match point in the second set and served with a 5-4 lead in the third, but the new guy came up with the goods when necessary. Playing the ladder(s) is your best opportunity to be a part of such epic drama.

As posted in the display case at Reed Park, the Open Singles Ladder is on one page and the other ladders are on a second page. That second page has turned quite yellow, because there haven't been any changes in those other pages in months. Certainly there are people in this club who can play doubles well enough to cause some changes. And if two women (any two) want to play a ladder match, we will again have a Women's Singles Ladder. Just play the match and give me the result, and your names will appear on the ladder page.

- Bruce Janger

Click here for the ladder.

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Welcome New Members

  • Terry Bernardi    310-820-7012   3.5
  • Les Biller    310-459-4225   3.5
  • Diane Brooks   310-455-9916   3.5
  • Brian Burns   310-975-9843   3.5
  • Paul Groth   310-570-0663   4.5
  • Carole Jablon   310-820-7012   3.5
  • Shahbaz Noorvash   310-666-3366   3.5
  • David Soto   310-913-4307   4.0
  • Robert Stevenson   310-829-9446   4.0
  • Daniel Zeidman   310-569-6151   3.5
  • Anna Zohn   203-241-2291   4.0
  • Berman, Gordon  310-393 8972   3.5


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After learning about David Morton's work, On the Line asked him to write about it. We trust that you, like us, will find the results both surprising and stunning. JH

PROFILE: DAVID MORTON
By David Morton

January 2002 - Afghanistan. I'm sitting in a house in Kandahar with ten Afghani men. The turbaned guy next to me is trying to release the jammed magazine on his AK47 rifle, and as he's doing this he's pointing the rifle in all directions and making me nervous he might accidentally shoot someone…..basically me! Through gestures I relinquish him of the rifle and eventually release the magazine for him.

So what am I doing in this country a month after the Taliban have disappeared from Kandahar?

I have been volunteering for "Wheels for Humanity," an organization that delivers to the poor disabled of the world wheelchairs and other ambulatory equipment they cannot afford to buy themselves.

In 2002 nobody wanted to go into Afghanistan, probably because of the danger. But my girlfriend Holly and I arrived with one and a half million dollars of aid in 11 containers full of wheelchairs, blankets and medicine for the refugees fleeing the war. We worked for two weeks alongside Muslim doctors from Pakistan.

Why do we do this? Because we are both ordained ministers in a spiritually based church, and the ministry is one of service to humankind, and not preaching.

We have both volunteered for "Wheels for Humanity" since 1997, initially as team members - but now leading teams of Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists to help seat the disabled correctly in their new wheelchairs. Without the equipment we bring, many of these people would spend their whole lives crawling on the ground.

Over the past ten years I've worked multiple times in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Zimbabwe, doing similar tasks.

It is extremely rewarding work and this comes in many ways, a smiling mother after we've given her child a first wheelchair; a man now able to have an occupation - and meaningful work - because he has mobility; or an older person just being able to sit outside in the sunshine. One man in Vietnam who had no legs and crawled everywhere told us, after we seated him, "Now I don't have to spend my life at the eye level of a dog." A humbling experience to be able to change somebody's life for the better.

Since the mid 90's, Holly and I have brought four children from Mongolia for corrective surgery at Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles. All the care at this hospital is done at no charge. We raise the funding for their airfares and expenses from people like you reading this.

The child we are now helping is Kudzai Manjoro from Zimbabwe. Kudzai is twelve years old and his feet do not function. They are like flippers, and he runs around on his knees. After meeting him and seeing the need, I decided I would bring him to LA for corrective surgery. The surgeons at Shriners will surgically remove his feet. After healing he will be fitted with prosthetic legs and trained to walk. Kudzai and his mother Nesta, will be here for approximately four months.

To take care of them both while they are here Holly and I are now raising $12,000 to pay for their airfares, visas, housing, and food. During the time that Kudzai is healing I will take him in a wheelchair to Disneyland, SeaWorld, Santa Barbara and the Aquarium. When you are from a landlocked African country, many of these things are truly amazing. I once took a Mongolian girl to SeaWorld, and when the whale jumped out of the water the expression on her face was priceless!

Should you wish to make a tax-deductible donation to Kudzai's fund please write your check payable to: Hawthorne Rotary Club and mail it to David Morton, 844 - 10th St., #D Santa Monica, CA 90403.

Spin Boldak, Afghanistan January 2002


Mongolia


Khovsgol Aimag, Mongolia. 2004


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