YOU HAD TO BE THERE TO BELIEVE IT! It started out as a regular Oak Harbor doubles tennis day. The Central Florida sky was blue, cloudless, with temperature hovering around 80 degrees. We were playing our usual relaxed senior games. Those of us sitting on the sideline were chatting aimlessly, watching the game in front of us with only slight interest--not expecting anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, action on the court became heated. Joe Thomas rushed the net after a low ball that had just cleared the net. He stretched out and touched the ball--returning it just barely back over the net--clearing it by inches! "A sure winner," we thought! Then suddenly, Fred Lee, raced full speed from his baseline position toward the sinking ball. "No way he's going to get that!" we groaned. Fred covered the distance in seconds. "I knew I could reach Joe's drop shot," said Fred later, "but could I make a play on it without crashing into the net?" Fred was forced to slow down on his approach. "I put my racket under the ball expecting, at the most, to have it pop straight up and drop harmlessly on my side of the net for a point for my opponents." But by some miracle unseen in tennis history, not only did Fred reach the dying ball, but he also tapped a return drop shot winner without either the ball, his racket, or his body touching the net which was only inches away when he made the amazing shot! YOU HAD TO BE THERE TO BELIEVE IT!
