Sports careers are rare and valuable. They are hard fought and occasionally won, involving years of tedious and often lonely practice. And they are fragile, susceptible to the ravages of age and injury. Most athletes, for these reasons, tend to treasure them. I certainly do.
John
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“If you would like not to be forgotten as soon as you are gone, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing."
- Benjamin Franklin
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Sharing our stories is essential.
“verba volant, scripta manent”
What is spoken flies away, what is written endures.
- a Roman maxim
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Writing is the revisitation and re-revisitation of memory.
- S.V. Perigryn
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"Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny."
- Aristotle
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All:
After my challenging bout with leukemia (a malady that wasn't discovered until stage 4 with a 25% rate of survival!), I'm fortunate to be alive. Plus, after surviving a stroke a few years later - I was comatose for a month - I found myself embroiled in an overtime match that had reached 2-2, set 5. As a remedy, I am finding therapy, reward, and satisfaction writing this blog.
Recounting my life’s story and discovering my legacy through the written word has filled me with a sense of gratitude. It’s my attempt to re-ignite my life by putting myself on a path of reflection, perseverance, and improvement. When we were so much younger, our raison d’etre was certainly not focused on a vague sense of worldly appreciation but to gratuitously live for the moment and always being on the lookout for what was around the next corner. With that being said, I’m still trying to show the wonderment of a young man and am still searching for the next fancy. Here’s hoping that the following narratives ring true and prove illuminating after you’re done reading a few posts; thereby expanding as well as challenging your beliefs.
Nobody’s time on this earth should be swept away into the dust-bin of history.
Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (22 Feb 1788-1860) had said that the first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it.
Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you—
Then, it will be true.
from Theme for English B - Langston Hughes
Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, artist (22 Dec 1960-1988)
And storytelling is how we decorate our legacy - John Lau,
Dec 2022
The universe is made of stories, not of atoms. - Muriel Rukeyser, poet and activist (15 Dec 1913-1980)
Fellow Jester, Jack Bickel, wrote to me awhile ago with this -"A soaring spirit brings good health with it". Thanks, Jack.
Experience is life’s greatest teacher.
Language is a barometer of emotion.
Let us always remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: ‘‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
And with that, even in these troubling times, I’m back in…all in!
John
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HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY CLUB
Chapter 1 - UClub Squash through the ages - the 70’s - before John Lau arrives, was there really squash?
Chapter 2 - UClub Squash through the ages - the beginning of the heyday years
Chapter 3 - UClub squash through the ages - the momentum years guided by the new pro
Chapter 4 - UClub squash through the ages - memories
Chapter 5 - UClub Squash through the ages - more memories
Chapter 6 - UClub Squash through the ages - the transition years: designing, building, and opening the new facility - with a second doubles court!
Chapter 7 - UClub Squash through the ages - where are we going?
LESSONS & INSIGHTS FOR THE SQUASH CURIOUS
A new season will be upon us - Time to sharpen your game
The Myth of 10,000 hours
Are we ready to RUMBLE!? Also, an ESSENTIAL Doubles lesson
Squash Racquets in Brief by Jack Barnaby
Jonathan Power breaks down Hardball technique
PLAYER PROFILES
NorCal Squash Hall of Fame
The Myth of 10,000 hours
Are we ready to RUMBLE!? Also, an ESSENTIAL Doubles lesson
Squash Racquets in Brief by Jack Barnaby
Jonathan Power breaks down Hardball technique
DOUBLES SQUASH
PLAYER PROFILES
NorCal Squash Hall of Fame
The Legacy of Dick Crawford
NorCal's National Champions
A Squash Memory by David Tepper
For Floyd Svensson Life Begins at 40
NorCal's National Champions
A Squash Memory by David Tepper
For Floyd Svensson Life Begins at 40
Diehl Mateer, 84, squash legend who learned his craft at the Merion Cricket Club
YOURS TRULY - THE GLORY YEARS
John Lau Retires from the University Club of SF
Squash is not just a game - it is LIFE!
Winning the Cowles, Jacobs, Barnaby in N.Y
Squash is not just a game - it is LIFE!
Winning the Cowles, Jacobs, Barnaby in N.Y
Squash Magazine Top 50 of 2014
Stanley D. Woodworth Award
The more things change, the more they remain the same
Last Will and Testament of John Lau
Wishing Everyone a Merry Xmas - Video of John Lau's 1991 Nat'l Singles Championship. Thanks, Jack!
TOURNAMENT RESULTS
John Lau - 1991, 1992 US National 35+ Hardball Singles Champion
1998 National Veteran's Doubles Champions
Left Coast Doubles
NORCAL SQUASH DURING THE HARDBALL ERA
GENERAL INTEREST
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