Kenny Wong emailed with his own story about Dennis Ralston, the Bakersfield-born tennis great who died last week. Kenny’s dad, Kenny Sr., was sometimes the team doctor for the Davis Cup team.
“Denny only got upset with me once. We were having dinner together and somehow the topic became his serve and the problems he was trying to resolve before going to play doubles on the grass circuit in England,” Kenny recalled.
“I mentioned I noticed a flaw with how he tossed the ball. Denny silently thought about what I said, and then asked, 'How long have you noticed this?' When I responded, 'About two years,' he grumbled, 'Why didn’t you tell me then?'
“My response was, 'Coach, what player of my caliber in his right mind is going to tell a Wimbledon champion and Davis Cup coach how to correct his serve?'"
Ray Hedrick remembers Denny:
“While we practiced tennis back in the '60s, we would pretend to be great professionals. I would always pretend to be 'Hot Ralston.'
“Today no one would know that that term referred also to a breakfast cereal.
“I think I have an old wooden racquet, still in its press.”
Brett Schmoll writes: “I think you know my brother Jeff (yes, Jeff was one of the greatest athletes ever to grace Highland High). We lived next to the Ralston family on Silverado for a couple of years, before they moved to Palm Springs. They brought me a big Toblerone from Wimbledon once and I thought it was heaven! I mean, who had Toblerone in like 1979?
“I had a crush on Angela, the oldest daughter. I drove with the grandparents to visit them in Palm Springs once and remember stopping at this store in LA and I thought that too was heaven — it was Toys 'R' Us.
“I recall running around and skateboarding on the tennis courts at Highland HS with Mike Ralston and watching as Dennis practiced serves. At the time, his picture was in Sports Illustrated on a big ol' ad for something and 'The Top Ten Serves in Tennis' plastered across the ad.
“I remember him yelling out, 'Boys, watch where you run. If it hits you, it’s gonna hurt!' It never did, thankfully, but I remember thinking, how could anyone return those bombs he was serving?”
Mike Huckert wrote in response to the column about smoke alarms having their own minds.
“Had to laugh out loud reading your story. This was me a few years ago. In my case however, the alarms always went off in the middle of the night. Unimaginable panic waking from a sound sleep thinking your house is on fire quickly morphs to seething anger when you realize it’s another failing smoke alarm. Figuring out which one is the real challenge followed by trying, TRYING to get back to sleep.
“I resolved the issue when I found battery-free detectors at Lowe’s. And they had a 10-year guarantee."
I had a good conversation with former tennis great Chris Evert about Denny. Chrissie, and she said I could call her Chrissie, put a real spring in my step. That’s what talking to a famous person will do to you.
I have decided I will only be talking to famous people in 2021 and so please get famous. Not borderline famous, or well known for around here, but really, really famous. You’ll feel better and so will I.
I have a recommendation for a cookie: Stroopwafels, made of toasted waffles filled with caramel. My friend Sally, who discovered this cookie, suggested putting one on top of your cup of coffee in order to soften it, letting the steam do the work. I did, and the cookie fell in and the coffee nearly ate my cookie. You might want to measure the diameter of both the cookie and the cup of coffee before you do it.
Great cookie, with heft. Costco carries them.
Musical recommendation of the week from former Bakersfield resident Jeff Pickering is Dolly Parton's “When Life is Good Again.” There is a lot to love about Parton — her strength, independence, talent and she's famous — and this song is right for the moment. It may start slow, but finishes on a high note. It's up now on YouTube.
December 15, 2020 at 02:23AM
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HERB BENHAM: It's about fond memories, new foods and fame - The Bakersfield Californian
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Herb
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