Some Thoughts on Belief

God’s mystery shouldn’t ever stand in our way from my own view. Science cannot prove non-existence.

Millions of people believe in God. There is abundant evidence of God’s footprint in every corner of the earth, including ancient documentation.

We believe in things we cannot prove with certainty. As Bob Dylan suggested lyrically, “We all serve someone.” God has been demonstrably effective with the drug and alcohol addicted. The medical value of prayer has been demonstrated by scientific study. Frances Collins, MD who heads the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington has written about his deep belief in the Almighty.

It is a rich, deep experience to follow God that transforms lives. Many of us have seen that transformation in others.

You might want to watch and listen differently if you have not been touched by God in your personal experience.

A Frederick Buechner Thought on Love

“Of all powers, love is the most powerful and the most powerless. It is the most powerful because it alone can conquer that final and most impregnable stronghold that is the human heart. It is the most powerless because it can do nothing except by consent.”

Frederick Buechner, ~originally published in Wishful Thinking and later in Beyond Words

A Video on Holy Matrimony

Thankful

I am thankful at 75 I got up this morning. I am thankful that Jesus Christ has saved my soul. I am thankful that my wife has stood by me for 42 years, 11 months and 5 days.

I am thankful my adult children are loving and well employed. I am thankful my grandsons are healthy. Those little guys are loads, and heaps, and oodles of fun. I am thankful for the gift of laughter we share.

I am most thankful for the gift of love. When I was 32 I remember a Thanksgiving by myself with a t.v. dinner. Now I am surrounded by friends and loved ones. What once was one is now a family of seven. I love them all with all my heart. God bless ye one and all.

H. Robert Rubin, memoirist and author of Look Backward Angel, How Did I Get Through This? and Please Save the Third Dance for Me, two of which have been Amazon best sellers. All three are available on Amazon.

Zverev Overcoming

Sascha Zverev at only 21 has won several masters and the year-end ATP final, all best of three contests. He has yet to win a major, but neither did Federer by age 21. Rafa, a freak of nature on clay, didn’t win a non –clay major until he was 23.

Sascha is maturing in his ability to tolerate the pressure and the strenuous nature emotionally and physically of key matches against top ten players. He just beat Fed followed by Djokovic to win his recent event. His next step is to maintain that level in best of five matches at the majors.

I think between the Next Gen Finals and the ATP Finals we saw the future key rivals at the majors, Zverev and Tsisipas. The future looks bright for those of us concerned with the gradual loss to Father Time of the Big Four, arguably Five, who are all in their thirties. What an elegant sport.

H. Robert Rubin, memoirist and author of the Amazon, best selling,  Look Backward Angel and the newly published, How Did I Get Through This? both available on Amazon

Are Power and Wealth Worth the Effort?

The 11/14/18 article, attached, from today’s NYT got me to thinking.

Power and wealth seem so important to the folks at the top. Look at all they have to deal with. At a minimum their “trusted” employees spoke anonymously to the world’s highly circulated NYT behind their backs. At a maximum they could be seriously prosecuted or even endanger their own health. Mr. Zuckerberg and Ms. Sandberg, is it all worth it? At least to me, it is like my late mom often said”, You can only put on one suit at a time.”

H. Robert Rubin, memoirist and author of the Amazon, best selling,  Look Backward Angel and the newly published, How Did I Get Through This? Both are available on Amazon.

Rogers, Bannister and Federer

Rogers, Bannister and Federer were born 52 years apart. They shared a gift for the extraordinary as well as first names.

Roger Bannister in 1954 sought the first four minute mile in his early twenties. The feat required enormous fitness.

He was in his medical training with patients, lectures and exams to deal with. He had arguably a sleep deficit given his two loves, medicine and miling.

Nevertheless, on one momentous occasion 27 plus years before Roger Federer’s birth, he “birthed” the first sub four minute mile ever. He did so at Oxford in a dual track meet.

From all that I have read the late Dr. Bannister became an excellent neurologist tending to patients and creating new knowledge in his field.

Today’s notable Roger, a tennis player with extraordinary grace and power is doing something exceptional now. He has defied all odds at 37 years of age.

He won the Aussie Open, a major, less than a year ago. He stays match tough despite a significantly abbreviated schedule. He defies logic in a sprinter’s sport. Tom Brady may be older and highly effective, but his need to sprint at quarterback is far, far less than Federer’s.

How did the two Rogers surprise so many sports writers and fans? There are no easy answers. They have helped sport to transcend the mundane for all of us.

H. Robert Rubin, memoirist and author of the Amazon, best selling,  Look Backward Angel and the newly published, How Did I Get Through This? Both are available on Amazon.

Fed and Thiem

At noon Pacific time ( in about one half hour from this blog) Roger Federer will face potential elimination from the Nitto ATP Finals in  London. He must face a superb young player, Dominic Thiem.

Thiem gave Rafa all he could handle at the US Open losing by a hair a magnificent five setter which ended with a tiebreaker. I thought it was the greatest match I had watched since the 2008 Wimbledon Final between Rafa and Fed.

Thiem hits his groundies with tremendous strength of shot. He also has a powerful effective serve. In some limited ways, particularly with his one-hander, he is a young Federer.

On the other hand, Fed instinctively knows how to win. He should be even more fierce with his back against the wall. Finally he has won this indoor event six times, the first of which was 2003.

I think it will go three sets. I give the match to Fed in a very close contest.

H. Robert Rubin, memoirist and Amazon, best selling author of two books available at amazon.com, Look Backward Angel and How Did I Get Through This?

 

What Happened To Fed V Nishikori On The 11th?

Fed looked graceful. He looked aggressive. He just couldn’t quite get it done.

Kei on the other hand stayed closer to the baseline and hit his ground strokes just a bit harder than in his last two unsuccessful matches with Roger. The combination kept Fed on his heels often.

Kei’s great gifts: wonderful hand-eye coordination; brilliant speed and movement on defense as well as Michael Chang’s new strategies versus Fed turned the tide after six straight losses to Roger.

Michael Chang had advised the stronger ground strokes and closer proximity to the baseline. Knowing this was an indoor court where serving could be more effective and knowing it was a court with low bounces he also advised more frequent serve and volley for Nishikori. It was the final step in a beautiful combination of coaching skill and a healthy, calm, determined Kei Nishikori.

Congratulations Kei. You defeated perhaps the greatest player who ever stepped on a tennis court in this key year-end event. Kudos to your coaching staff as well.

H. Robert Rubin, memoirist and Amazon, best selling author of two books available at amazon.com, Look Backward Angel and How Did I Get Through This?

 

Alzheimer’s and Its Impact

What a horrible disease. It takes the very essence of our being from us.

My mom and I were very close until her mind began to drift. She died at almost 91 with that hideous disease. I had to experience the loss of that deep friendship while she lived. It was very, very painful.

Wouldn’t you think with the enormous potential profit for an effective drug, by now we would have had one? Life is full of mysteries and occasionally lots of pain.

May God bless those seeking a medical solution to this widespread problem.

H. Robert Rubin, a best-selling, Amazon writer and author of Look Backward Angel, How Did I Get Through This? Please Save the Third Dance for Me (memoirs) and The Bloom is on the Rose (novelette), all available on Amazon.