I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

storytelling for truth lovers

  • Nadal’s List of Unlucky Losers


    Yes, yes I know what you’re going to say. Why devote time and space to a sports event in the midst of a pandemic that continues to ravage the health and well being of millions of people across the globe? In the midst of institutional racism, police brutality, a criminal justice system with no justice, authoritarian leaders motivated by greed and mendacity, momentous confirmation hearings for a new addition to the United States Supreme Court rushed through a sham process whose outcome is not in doubt? Crises of climate change exhibited by floods and fires that chip away whole communities in a day?

    Immigrants and refugees living in subhuman conditions administered by a rogue contractor with the chilling initials of I.C.E.? And, not to be forgotten, the 140 million people living in poverty in the USA who slip through the cracks of our collective memory? Finally, the presidential campaign now in full swing again with the candidates hitting the trail heavy and hard in the remaining three weeks. Agent Orange has been healed, ramping up his rhetoric, promising to kiss everyone who isn’t wearing a mask at his rallies. Super fun? Super dangerous.

    Okay, so diversion from current political events was one of the reasons for my passionate following of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris for the past two weeks.  Number two, as Joe Biden would say, is my ongoing love affair with tennis since my high school days on a tennis team with an unremarkable record. But for the past 15 years since a 19-year-old Spaniard named Rafael Nadal won his first championship trophy at the French Open in 2005, I have followed his career like a groupie for the Rolling Stones.

    Two days ago on Sunday, October 11th. Nadal won his breaking all records Roland Garros Championship number 13 in the men’s singles competition. An earthshaking achievement in the sports world that gave him 20 Grand Slam titles to tie Roger Federer for the most in tennis history, Rafa’s 100th. victory on the clay courts in Paris.

    Who did he beat in the finals for each of those wins? The Unlucky Losers are familiar names to tennis fans around the world:  Argentine Mariano Puerta in 2005. Roger Federer in 2006, 2007, 2008. Robin Soderling in 2010 (Soderling had eliminated Nadal in the Round of 16 in 2009). Roger Federer in 2011. Novak Djokovic in 2012. David Ferrer in 2013. Novak Djokovic in 2014. Stan Wawrinka in 2017. Dominic Thiem in 2018 and 2019. Novak Djokovic in 2020.

    Rafa turned 27 on June 03, 2013

    ( the day of his 8th. French Open title)

    Seven years later at age 34 he won his 13th. title in a tournament moved from its usual summer dates to the fall as a result of the Covid pandemic, with a new kind of tennis balls that resisted his patented spin, in cold temperatures very different from those on his balmy island of Mallorca in Spain, in a new Phillippe Chatrier clay court covered by a retractable roof that was closed for the final,  in a venue that holds more than 15,000 fans but was limited to 1,000 for the 2020 tournament again as a result of safety precautions for everyone who attended and participated. And yet Rafael Nadal prevailed as he had on twelve previous occasions.

    Today Nadal’s home country of Spain awarded him The Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit which is one way of saying he is one of the greatest Spanish sports figures in their history for not only his achievements on the tennis courts but also for his humanitarian efforts away from the courts. In her presentation of the award Vice-President and Spokesperson of the Council of Ministers, Maria Jesus Montero said:

    “There is little to mention about the curriculum of this outstanding person on and off the courts,” Montero said. “We are honored to convey this distinction to him not only for the undoubted sporting merits of one of the best sports in history at an international level, but also it is a pleasure to do it in a person who brings together the values of the youth referents, everything that allows us to be better. The Government makes this highly deserved sports recognition for one of our national pride, Rafael Nadal.”

    I am thrilled for Nadal’s victory Sunday and was moved by his comments in the trophy presentation ceremony that he was, of course, very happy to win but that it was difficult to feel as joyful as he could have felt if the world weren’t facing the challenges of the pandemic.

    His conclusion was the same one he makes in every victory speech, thank you, thank you very much…which is what I want to say to Rafa Nadal for the past fifteen years of entertainment and inspiration as a warrior on the tennis courts, a man who plays every point as if it is his last,  a man who never gives up, never gives in.

    Thank you, Rafa, thank you very much.

    **********************

    Stay safe, stay sane and please stay tuned. I have voted. VOTE.

  • tis the season – not that season


    Pretty drew a line in the sand regarding television news following the 2016 election, a line which has stood with remarkably few breaches during the past four years. This boycott includes the presidential and vice presidential debates so I was watching the Veep debate alone in the den while Pretty scrolled Twitter in our bedroom last night.

    Moderator Susan Page had her hands full with the candidates answering questions she hadn’t asked, not answering the questions she had, time violations, talking over, under and around each other – but Ms. Page plowed on with admirable determination. Not a perfect scenario, but definitely easier to hear than the presidential debate last week which hardly qualified as political discourse.

    When the  black fly landed on Pence’s white hair, I thought it was a real fly on my television screen. For a few seconds, I waited to see if it would move. Nope. Still there. I got up from my recliner and hurriedly swiped at the fly on the screen with a napkin. Nothing happened. The absurdity of the random moment got me tickled, and I started laughing while I stood waving my napkin in the air at the fly that had actually landed on the head of the vice president of the United States during a historic debate for the 2020 election.

    Pretty, I yelled to my wife from our den, there’s a fly on Mike Pence’s hair!

    What? Pretty yelled back.

    I said there’s a black fly on Pence’s white hair, and it’s not moving, I shouted to her. I thought it was on the outside of our tv screen, I continued with a loud voice now mixed with laughter, but it’s a real fly on his head, and IT’S NOT MOVING. Quick – turn the tv on back there and look.

    Nothing from Pretty and then this: no need to turn the tv on, she said with equally loud laughter, it’s all over Twitter now.

    A star is born, I thought, as I clicked the remote to end the debate in our house and join Pretty in the bedroom. We were both still laughing as we drifted off to sleep.

    **************************

    Stay safe, stay sane and please stay tuned. Make a plan to Vote.

  • what a difference a year makes

    what a difference a year makes


    October, 2019

    two weeks old granddaughter Ella James stares at me 

    December, 2019

    Pretty and I take granddaughter on her first trip up the road

    February, 2020

    Pretty smiles at Baby Ella

    April, 2020

    Ella, her Mama and her Aunt Coco bring me scrumptious birthday cake

    June, 2020

    Summertime at the pool with NanaT

    July, 2020

    and she’s still staring – but standing on her own now

    September, 2020

    walking, trying to use remote for tv in our den

    October 01, 2020

    Happy Birthday, Ella James!

     Toni Morrison said, “you are your best thing” – and for your NanaT and me, as well as so many others whose lives you’ve touched in this brief first year of your life – you are our best thing, too.

    *************************************

    In these incredibly perilous times I implore you to stay safe, stay sane, stay tuned and VOTE.

  • say her name: Breonna Taylor


    The 2020 WNBA season consists of twelve teams living and playing together since July in the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for a shortened 22-game schedule followed by the traditional playoff series that began on September 15th. The bizarre season is notable not only for its Covid restrictions regarding players and personnel living in the Bradenton Bubble without any fan support during their games but also is notable for the players’ dedication of their season to Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was killed in a raid on her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky  March 13th. All the  players have worn Say Her Name Breonna Taylor uniforms in every game, had observations of silence to honor her memory before games, been vocal as a players’ association about police brutality in the systemic racism exemplified by the treatment of black women everywhere.

    Two days ago, a Louisville grand jury failed to indict any of the officers for criminal behavior resulting in the death of Ms. Taylor who was shot five times and received no medical attention for more than 20 minutes after she was struck according to reporting by the NY Times yesterday.

    Prior to last night’s playoff game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Seattle Storm, Lynx player Napheesa Collier read the following statement on behalf of all the players in the league (Jasmine Thomas of the Connecticut Sun read the same statement before their game against the Las Vegas Aces):

    “Our hearts are with Ms. Tamika Palmer. It has been 195 days since her daughter, Breonna Taylor, was killed. One-hundred and 95 days and still today, no one was charged for her death. We strongly support the sentiment expressed by the family of Breonna Taylor. The result is outrageous and offensive. No one needs to live in the commonwealth of Kentucky to understand this case. We won’t stop pressing for full transparency and full and complete justice. There are far too many questions left unanswered.

    “Justice is on the ballot. Please register today and vote on or before Nov. 3.”

    In another voice with a different platform Oprah Magazine explained the remarkable cover of Breonna Taylor for their September, 2020 issue as follows: “For the first time in 20 years, @oprah has given up her O Magazine cover to honor Breonna Taylor. She says, Breonna Taylor. She was just like you. And like everyone who dies unexpectedly, she had plans. Plans for a future filled with responsibility and work and friends and laughter. Imagine if three unidentified men burst into your home while you were sleeping. And your partner fired a gun to protect you. And then mayhem. What I know for sure: We can’t be silent. We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice. And that is why Breonna Taylor is on the cover of O magazine. I cry for justice in her name…”

    Congressman John Lewis issued a moral imperative for all of us. When we see something is not right, not fair, not just – we have a moral obligation to do something about it. I salute the courage of the players in the WNBA for doing something about the death of Breonna Taylor in their 2020 season, and I thank Oprah for the empathy she has for the family of Breonna Taylor in their unspeakable loss.

    Adding our voices to cry for justice in the name of Breonna Taylor – we are no longer lone voices crying in the wilderness of separation and fear. Together we stand for Breonna Taylor, her family, for justice.

    Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor and plan your vote for November 3rd.

    Stay safe, stay sane and stay tuned.

  • your protection has expired


    I can’t make this up.

    The first words I saw when I opened my laptop last night to read about the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were “your protection has expired.” Granted those words referred to my cyberspace security, but last night they spoke to the inner turmoil I felt at the loss of this “protector” of the rights of the marginalized.

    I fear the country I love, the democracy I cherish, is in more peril today than it was yesterday before the death of a woman who kept her oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States – a warrior who used the power of her dissent as a Supreme Court Justice to work toward promoting a more perfect union for every citizen.

    If there is a heaven somewhere, I hope Congressman John Lewis and Justice Ginsburg are together still trying to create good trouble on behalf of a nation mourning their losses.

    Ruth Bader Ginsburg

    (March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020)

    I will miss her.

    Stay safe, stay sane and please stay tuned.