Mr. Morro Bay turns 99, still slings it

July 21, 2024

By DELL FRANKLIN

Editor’s Note: The following series, “Life in Radically Gentrifying Cayucos by the Sea,” to be posted biweekly includes the notes, thoughts, and opinions of an original American voice: author Dell Franklin. 

Franklin’s memoir, “The ballplayer’s Son” is currently on Amazon.

I emailed Bill Newman when I heard he’d just turned 99 and wished him a happy birthday and urged him to “keep slinging that tennis racket!” He emailed me back and urged me to “keep slinging.” And the following morning he showed up when I was playing in Morro Bay to again thank me for the thought, and we had a little hug, for Bill is not only an inspiration as a tennis player and miracle of endurance and performance, but a person to be revered as somebody as genuine and trustworthy and valuable as anybody in the area.

Bill, a WWII Navy veteran, was an educator, school superintendent and a dedicated public servant some time ago, but always an avid golfer and tennis player as well as an ardent reader, a man who simply allowed his body and mind to stay stimulated and frisky and, over the years – and I mean close to 40 years – Bill’s only real sign of aging was his hair turning whiter. Otherwise, he was never close to developing a paunch.

A casual observer could decipher that there is a symmetry to Bill, a balance in both his temperament and physical stature, and that he has a solid base and legs, the kind of legs that bend but don’t break or wear down, possibly because he keeps moving and knows when and where to turn it on and off.

Bill belonged to a golf gang and shot a hole-in-one at the vaunted Morro Bay golf course after turning 90 and would still be playing if his gang hadn’t all passed away.

Bill still belongs to a tennis gang that has played together at the Monte Young courts for decades, and he is their mentor, their source of inspiration as both a player and a person. He is their best friend. And of course the question among all of us who know Bill and have seen him compete, is what his secret is to be so mentally acute and physically spry at such an advanced age.

Well, I have never seen Bill get upset when he makes a poor shot on the tennis court. Nothing seems to rile Bill. It’s as if he knows he’s a good player and the good shots will make up for the occasional muff and everything will even out.

As if he knows life has its ups and downs and he takes them in stride.

Bill seems devoid of anger and negativity and has an ever present sense of humor and the ability to laugh at himself.

Bill doesn’t seem plagued by surgeries of hips and knees and shoulders and never malingers or discusses health issues or, most importantly, complains; possibly because he comes from an up-against-it generation unspoiled by affluence and entitlement and has developed spine and an iron will.

Bill is a person obviously devoted to education and involved in social and political issues.

Bill has never shown signs of flabbiness or obesity, which means he probably has the kind of common sense where he knows how to simply take care of himself without turning into a health nut gobbling multitudes of pills and studying everything he eats.

Bill is a model of consistency and cheerfulness who, if he has any problems, moves on and refrains from troubling other people with his woes, which we all have.

Bill is not obsessed with himself.

Bill seems to enjoy just being a good guy who looks at and listens to you when you are talking.

Bill very possibly sleeps well at night because he has gone 99 years incapable of an indecent act.

I am just making these observations as reasons for his longevity from usually running into Bill at the tennis courts or in the market. We don’t run in the same circles. But, that he would make it a point to show up at the tennis courts to thank me for a happy birthday email says it all.