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Blog archive

November 2024

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

Ping Pong Pals

By Sue Addelson
Posted: 10/23/2023
Tags: small group gatherings, sue addleson

Be warned. If you walk into the Village conference room on a Monday or Thursday between 2:00 and 3:30, open the door slowly. Some of our Ping Pong Pals (I promised not to name names) have been known to ricochet balls off the table, ceiling and, yes, even the doors.

The doors are surprisingly soundproof; but open one just a crack and you’ll hear the rapid-fire POP! POP! POP! of the ball hitting paddles; soon followed by the softer PING, PING, PING as the ball bounces across the floor. Then comes a chorus of loud cheers, or groans, or both, from people playing as well as the players in waiting. Throughout all this, there’s endless friendly banter among the group —a mix of teasing, joking and encouragement. 

Lately, as many as nine, 10 or more players come to play. They play doubles and rotate partners, so everyone plays with everyone else. They play to 11, so the games go fast and everyone gets as much playing time as they want. 

When Toni Johnson plays, which is as often as she can, she grabs a black marker and lists all the players names on a sheet or easel. She adds checkmarks to track the number of games each person plays. They don’t track wins and losses. It’s not about winning. It’s about having fun. 

That doesn’t mean they aren’t playing to win. Teri Schwartz brings her own paddle and takes lessons from time to time. Tom Polenzani spins his serve; Dave Folz has a trick serve—hard to return—when he gets it on the table.  

However, serving and returning serves doesn’t seem to be the biggest problem. The rule in doubles is that the two partners take turns hitting the ball—no matter where it lands on the table. The serve switches back and forth between opponents, and there’s a specific rotation between partners for serving. The four players are in constant motion. The hardest part of the game, and the only cause of disagreements, is remembering the score and whose turn it is to serve.

One of our founding Villagers (I was sworn to secrecy) donated the table soon after the office opened, against the better judgment of other Villagers (not telling) who insisted the room is too small. The room definitely is too small for a serious game of ping pong, but just the right size for a not-at-all-serious afternoon of exercise, friendship and laughter.

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