September 13, 2024

REMINDER: YOUR SUBMISSIONS ARE ENCOURAGED AND WELCOMED

Overview for this week.

1. The final matches of the US Open were played last weekend. Taylor Fritz made a valient run at breaking the 23-year drought for an American men's champion of the Open, but it was not to be. I have a recap of both the men's and women's singles finals.

2. The Tucson Community Tennis Program has begun their fall 2024 in-school tennis sessions, and their first free Saturday clinic of the season kicks off tomorrow, September 14th. Stay tuned, I will be providing more updates on this fantastic program and the service they provide to the Tucson community in the coming weeks.

3. Next Tuesday night's full moon is the Harvest Moon and the second of four successive supermoons. There will also be a partial lunar eclipse later in the evening. I have details.

4. Tomorrow, September 14th is International Observe the Moon Night. Here in Tucson, the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium is having a special event where you will have the opportunity to observe the moon through telescopes in celebration of the day.

5. I have a new Reader Submission this week, a new poem from frequent Flock contributor Hayward M. Fox, Ph.D.

6. June's Little Genius, Carter Martin is back with his brother Caysen, father, Josh, and even some help from guard dog Jaxon to build some foundational engineering skills building STEM oriented Crate projects from KiwiCo. Grandma even chips in by taking pictures to document this family project.

7. Earlier in the week I found myself in a Banner Health clinic, they had some witticisms on their welcome board that I'm sharing with you.

8. Wednesday was Patriot Day with remembrance ceremonies at the sites of the September 11, 2001, attacks. It was nice to see the politics of the election season set aside to honor the memory of those lost on that fateful day.

Now, to this week's Flock.

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The US Open finals were held over the weekend, with the women's tournament final on Saturday afternoon, and the men's tournament final on Sunday afternoon. It has been 21 years since an American has won the men's singles title, when Andy Roddick in 2003. With American players making it through their brackets to both the men's singles and women's singles finals, there was great expectation among US tennis fans for Taylor Fritz to break this drought and for Jessica Pegula to repeat Coco Gauff's 2023 victory and pull off an American sweep of the singles tournaments. However, this was not to be, and American tennis fans will have to wait another year for the next chance at a singles title.

From: The Associated Press, By: Howad Fendrich, September 8, 2024

Jannik Sinner started slowly at the U.S. Open, dropping the first set he played after being exonerated in a doping case no one knew about until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows.

If that episode initially hung over him during the tournament, Sinner was able to put it aside while on court. Was he ever. The No. 1-ranked Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with his typical relentless baseline game to win the men’s championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, less than three weeks after word emerged of the Italian’s two positive tests for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid.

“It was, and it’s still, a little bit in my mind,” Sinner said. “It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on court, I try to focus (on) the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way. ... It was not easy, that’s for sure, but ... I tried to stay focused, which I guess I’ve done a great job, mentally staying there every point I play.”

Jannik Sinner vs. Taylor Fritz Highlights | 2024 US Open Final

From: CBS Sports, By: Isabel Gonzalez, September 7, 2024

Aryna Sabalenka earned her first US Open title after a 7-5, 7-5 win over American Jessica Pegula on Saturday. This is her third Grand Slam title, all three on hardcourt surfaces as she has won back-to-back Australian Open trophies. 

Sabalenka had made the semifinals at Flushing Meadows two consecutive years and was the runner-up last year, but vowed to do better this time around. Saturday was a rematch of the Cincinnati Open final, which Sabalenka also won in straight sets. She now leads the all-time series against Pegula 6-2.

Sabalenka found momentum early in the match and took a 5-2 lead in the first set. Her incredible power and aggressive style of play make it tough for opponents, but it sometimes also gets her in trouble. In the first set, she had 25 winners but also 23 unforced errors. It nearly cost her as well as Pegula broke serve to get back to even at 5-5 before getting broken just ahead of a potential tiebreak.

"I'm speechless right now because as you said, so many times I thought I was so close to get the US Open title. It was always a dream of mine," Sabalenka said. "And finally I get this beautiful trophy. It means a lot it was a very difficult couple of weeks. 

Jessica Pegula vs. Aryna Sabalenka Highlights | 2024 US Open Final

I am a big fan and supporter of the Tucson Community Tennis Program. TCTP is a Tucson based non-profit that brings the sport of tennis to under-served children in our community. Utilizing their team of coaches and volunteers, through local elementary schools TCTP brings the sport to 4th and 5th grade students. These sessions not only provide physical activity and an introduction to a sport that may have otherwise been unavailable to the students, students learn valuable lessons about sportsmanship, teamwork, strategic & tactical thinking, all while building up their own self-esteem as they make progress on developing new skills. TCTP's programs are not limited to their in-school sessions for 4th & 5th graders, they also offer Spring and Fall Saturday clinics open to all children aged 6-17 , host a Summer Camp, and sponsor a year-round junior tennis team for high school players. In the coming weeks, I'll be including more information on TCTP, so keep your eye out for updates. Below are a couple of upcoming events.

From: Tucson Community Tennis Program

Saturday Clinics

The first Fall 2024 Saturday clinic is this Saturday, September 14 at Pueblo High School and is open to all youths between the ages of 6 to 17.

Pueblo High School

3500 S. 12th Ave.

Tucson, AZ 85713

Pottery Sale 

TCTP will be holding a Pottery Sale fundraiser at the Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club on November 16th, 2024, from 9am to 1pm.

Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club

4001 N. Country Club Rd.

Tucson, AZ 85716

Next Tuesday evening, September 17th, welcomes September’s full moon, the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon will be the second of four supermoons in a row, and if you stay up a bit later you will see a partial lunar eclipse as the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun.

From: The Old Farmer’s Almanac, By: Catherine Boeckmann, September 4, 2024

The full Moon that happens nearest to the fall equinox (September 22 or 23) always takes on the name “Harvest Moon.” Unlike other full Moons, this full Moon rises at nearly the same time—around sunset—for several evenings in a row, giving farmers several extra evenings of moonlight and allowing them to finish their harvests before the frosts of fall arrive. Read more about the Harvest Moon!

While September’s full Moon is usually known as the Harvest Moon, if October’s full Moon happens to occur closer to the equinox than September’s, it takes on the name “Harvest Moon” instead. In this case, September’s full Moon is referred to as the Corn Moon.

From: NASA Science, By: Gordon Johnston, September 11, 2024

The Next Full Moon is a Partial Lunar Eclipse; a SuperMoon; the Corn Moon; the Harvest Moon; the Fruit or Barley Moon; the end of Ganesh Chaturthi and the start of Pitru Paksha; Madhu Purnima; the Mid-Autumn, Mooncake, or Reunion Festival Moon; Chuseok; and Imomeigetsu or the Potato Harvest Moon.

The full Moon will be Tuesday night, September 17, 2024, at 10:35 PM EDT. This will be on Wednesday from Newfoundland and Greenland Time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line. Most commercial calendars will show this full Moon on Wednesday based on Greenwich or Universal Time. The Moon will appear full for about three days, from Monday evening through Thursday morning.

This will be a partial lunar eclipse. The Moon will start entering the Earth's partial shadow at 8:41 PM EDT. The slight dimming of the Moon will be difficult to notice until the top edge of the Moon starts entering the full shadow at 10:13 PM. The peak of the eclipse will be at 10:44 PM with only the top 8 percent of the Moon in full shadow. The Moon will finish exiting the full shadow at 11:16 PM and the partial shadow on Wednesday morning at 12:47 AM.

What's Up: September 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA

The Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium is having a special event in celebration of International Observe the Moon Night Saturday, September 14th. The event will include indoor and outdoor moon activities, the chance to observe the moon through Dobsonian telescopes on the UA Mall, a tour of the Steward Observatory and its 21-inch telescope, and much more.

From: Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium

Join Flandrau and friends from the University of Arizona's Lunar & Planetary Laboratory (LPL), Steward Observatory, and NOIRLab's Kitt Peak Observatory to observe and celebrate Earth's natural satellite, the Moon. This evening will feature free-standing telescopes, tours of Steward Observatory and the Raymond E. White, Jr. 21" telescope, science demonstrations, a lecture on the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory's moon research history, and planetarium shows. 

Telescope viewing is dependent on weather and cloud cover.

Saturday, September 14, 2024

1601 E University Blvd.

5:30PM to 10PM

This week I have some new poetry from The Flock's favorite teacher, Dr. Hayward M. Fox, Ph.D. from The Institute of Personal and Transpersonal Knowledge. It's been a little while since I've posted some of Dr. Fox's poetry and I'm happy that he was kind enough to share his writing with us this week.

Be not attached to the thought you just lost.

It was always of no substance and never designed to last.

Realize that your self concept is an idea without gravity or ability to hold.

A memory of another time and place and not the self of this moment.

This moment the mind and body are designing for stillness.

When rocking, lean not too far forward nor too far back.

Sit in the center; poised, balanced and still.

The aliveness of your being does not depend on your doing.

The aliveness of your being does not depend upon your achieving.

The aliveness of your being is available, unbidden as full support.

Do not fear dying, for you were never born separate, nor are you destined to die alone.

Never separated at birth, a living current always formed you as emergent.

Never before quite like this and never again. Nothing to hold, never established.

Nothing dies because nothing was ever born.

Now is the time to shed the bonds of your history, the story you have lived.

Now you can rest fully in the aliveness of being.

Without recorded past or anticipated future, the aliveness of being this moment.

 – Hayward M. Fox Ph. D.

Let me introduce you to the Martin family. Regular readers may remember Carter Martin, who I featured earlier this year along with his grandpa Don as June's Little Genius for his skills with Lego mini builds. Here the whole family works together on two KiwiCo STEM Crate projects. Carter works diligently on constructing a working pinball machine, while his brother Cayson assembles a labyrinth marble maze. Dad, Josh, supervises the work and lends a hand when needed. Grandpa Don is somewhere avoiding the construction zone, while Grandma Lisa takes the pictures. Even Jaxon, the star of The Flock's 2023 St. Patrick's Day issue is in on the fun.

Carter preparing the components of his pinball machine.

Caysen assembling his labyrinth maze.

Guard dog Jaxon patrols the construction site.

Carter's pinball machine is ready to go.

Cayson with his completed labyrinth.

I found these witticisms on the welcome board at Banner Health. I hope they brighten your weekend.

I met some aliens from outer space.

They were pretty down to Earth.

Before my father died, he worked as a circus stilt walker. I used to look up to him.

Where do fruits go on vacation? 

Pear-is

What's blue and not heavy? 

Light blue

What do you call a snail on a ship? 

A snailor

Why did the lion eat the tightrope walker?

He wanted a well balanced meal!

This past Wednesday, September 11th, was Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, this date has been observed annually since it was designated by a joint resolution of congress in December of 2001 to recognize those lost in the attacks on September 11th, 2001. This year there were official events in New York City, Shanksville, PA, and at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA.

From: CNN, By: Michael Williams and Ken Liptak, September 11, 2024

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance are commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks, appearing to put political hostilities on the back burner for a moment as the nation remembers the tragedy.

All four were in New York on Wednesday for a commemoration event at Ground Zero in Manhattan. Trump and Harris, just hours past their first in-person meeting at the presidential debate Tuesday night, shook hands ahead of solemn commemorative ceremonies after Harris turned toward Trump and both extended a hand. Vance and Harris did not appear to interact.

Harris and Biden then traveled to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Flight 93 memorial. At that ceremony, Biden placed his hand on the wreath as the small group he was with bowed their heads. The president and vice president also stopped by a local Shanksville volunteer fire station that served as a key gathering point for families in 2001.

Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during a remembrance ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center at Ground Zero, in New York City on September 11

These Flock regulars are always here for you:

In coming weeks: we'll be sharing more investigative articles from our roving reporter William George, original writing from Flock favorite Dino DeConcini.

Don't Be Shy: Share Your Stories!

I'm looking forward to sharing more of your personal stories - oral, written, or otherwise, as we enter our third year. I'd so love to present them to The Flock, hit a mailbox below to share your story.

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