Sunday, the Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva lost in the final of the Charleston Open to the American Jessica Pegula. Curious about the loser, I googled her and found, among other things, a video in which she was stopped on a street in New York City and asked what she did for a living. The interviewer was surprised to hear she was a professional tennis player; she looked like a lot of young women in New York, nicely dressed and carrying a book. She gamely answered questions about her outfit; there were none about the book. Because of the way she was holding it, I could make out part of the title and the name of the publisher: Knopf. Googling again, I learned the book was Strong Roots: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Ukraine by Olia Hercules. Yuliia Starodubtseva suddenly rose in my estimation. And of course I wondered how I could get Falling into Place: A Story of Love, Poland, and the Making of a Travel Writer into the hands of Iga Świątek.
Halfway through the game last night I realized I was in an impossible position: I wanted Michigan to lose, but I didn’t want Connecticut to win. So I turned it off and went to bed.
Today is Dyngus Day in Buffalo, NY - a celebration that contains elements of St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, and Mardi Gras - while being firmly rooted in Poland. I was there last year for it and wrote a story that is now up on the website of The Timbuktu Review.
The New York Times Book Review used to run biannual roundups of travel books, and often the reviewers would remark on the fact that the books included had nothing to do with vacation. Curiously, they seemed under the impression that travel for travel writers is the same as it is for other people. Sunday, the New York Times Magazine came out with its biannual Voyages issue, which included a story by a writer who took her son to the Bahamas for vacation.
I watched the Artemis II rocket launch on TV yesterday and, even though I’m not quite sure of the purpose of the mission, I found it thrilling. For stories, I’ve gone tarpon fishing in the Keys and done a slog to a cypress dome in the Everglades – two quintessential Florida experiences. To add to them, I want to watch a space launch at Cape Canaveral. And attend a University of Florida football game in The Swamp.
Five years ago today I had surgery to remove a tumor at the back of my tongue. Cancer is always harrowing, and it was especially so during Covid; I spent five days in the hospital without any visitors. My release, I seem to recall, came on Good Friday.