The US Open is underway. No fans cheer from the seats of Arthur Ashe Stadium this year because of the pandemic.
Reading Arthur Ashe’s autobiography, “Days of Grace” is a bit of a deja’vu. Born in the segregated South, Ashe made history in as the first African-American to win the US Open men’s singles in 1968, a yesteryear of national civil unrest and when calls for social justice reform filled the air.
He finished the work in 1993, shortly before he died from AIDS, a time when another global pandemic when fear, compassion, and reason were often at odds and one when we lost too many too soon. The first time I read the book shortly after his death, I recall feeling cheated that our world had lost such a special person at only 49-years-old.
He was already a tennis champion, social right’s activist, devoted husband and father, bibliophile, philanthropist, and man of courage and integrity, on and off the tennis courts.
What a legend and What a legacy.
It is poignant, and especially timely, reading for this oddly parallel time and one in which most of us can use more days of grace.
“From what we get, we can make a living. What we give, however, makes a life.” – Arthur Ashe