The Journeymen Part 3

[bottle]

The sensible thing to do is quit and get on the hamster wheel of normal life.

I'll probably cross somebody (unintentionally) by saying this, but this is the most intelligent response to the series.

Making it on the tour-- no possibility for me nor ever was-- but having a success of esteem in writing fiction-- a lot of very good people have told me not to give up. I wonder how many of them really knew the odds, even William Golding who took LORD OF THE FLIES to 40 publishers before he got it accepted and eventually won the Nobel Prize for Literature, may not have known the odds against me personally having the success of esteem he wrote to me about (he used the French-- succès d'estime). I'm sure some of my declared enemies here could give reasons whether accurate or not. But I do live LORD OF THE FLIES now three days a week as a substitute teacher, and I don't write one novel after another the way I used to and push it out there to the crass nitwits who don't even want to read anything and actually hate writing that might become good and just want to make money period. Anyone genuinely interested in this topic should read the publisher-written essay MAX PERKINS, HE DEAD. Or talk to Annie Dillard, who only won a Pulitzer Prize and once wrote across the top of her website: "I am not aware of any American publishers taking on new writers at this time."

No, Chris Lewit, I haven't given up on my kick serve. And no, the ghosts of John Hawkes, Edwin Honig, Nancy Hale, Tillie Olson and William Golding, I haven't given up on my writing of fiction. I just do it much more slowly and sporadically, which could be bad or good. At least, though, and this seems so important, I feel that I am on "the hamster wheel of ordinary life." Great phrase!

[stotty]

You kind of wonder why they're doing it. It's humorous but they are clearly beaten down and never going to get up or have any self-belief. I can understand why Mark makes light of it, but why is/was he still doing it? The sensible thing to do is quit and get on the hamster wheel of normal life.

I have met a couple of players over here who just keep going to the very end, beyond the point where they can possibly get any better. They love it but also, sadly, cannot figure out anything else to do.

I met an Austrian five years ago who spent 8 years trying to make it on the tour. He spent a good deal of that time in the high 200's but quit after calculating he had been running at 700,000 USD loss, and his sponsor no longer wanted to pick up the tab. I mean, he was a darn good player yet he was making a loss of 87,500 a year.

It's a tough gig out there.

[nickw]

I agree, worth having a copy. It's on its way.

[klacr]

Nick,
Do yourself a favor and buy the original. These clips are great but seeing the entire movie as a whole you really start to build a strong relationship with the characters and get a sense of the urgency and chaos when you watch it continuously. Its well worth whatever you can get it for.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[nickw]

I absolutely love this series! Had never seen the original DVD, so all new to me. Not only a great insight to how tough being on tour is, but also such a refreshing take on life as a pro tennis player. It should be fun, and it should be memorable, but clearly these guys weren't cut out for giving everything to be the very best they could be. That just makes them normal guys, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[klacr]

Never easy playing Jim Courier. Condolences to Geoff Grant after that beatdown.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan was made for Mark Keil. It's a wild wild west of Asia. Probably why Mark made the finals of that event. I have this DVD but haven't watched it in years. Glad to be reminded of just how special this documentary was.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[johnyandell]

Let's get your thoughts on Geoff Grant and Mark Keill's documentary "The Journeymen Part 3"