It's been ages since I've been here...Andre retired from tennis...Roger is doing great with his racquet, and I'm back golfing...just came back from a great golf trip on Hilton Head Island...it's so beautiful there...maybe someday I'll live there...$$$$$...found a great lot on the ocean to build a house...more $$$$$...when I win the lottery!

It's too bad that there isn't some way of preventing the creeps from posting their own advertising on these blogs...don't they realize that they're wasting their time and they just get deleted...at least I hope that's what everyone does!

I was back in the Gulf last winter, but this time in Doha, Qatar, for the Asian Games...fantastic event...saw the beautiful Opening Ceremonies and some of the venues...love the Equestrian games...Doha really went all out...had to have used up a lot of that oil money to put the games on because they were great! Now the games move to China...I'm sure they won't be out done, either.

Don't have much to report...just waiting for Bush to get out of office...gawd, and I'm a Republican, too! Not much in the field to choose from for the upcoming elections...the news media makes it impossible for a good candidate...sure wish Bloomberg would change his mind...

I'll be back again when I have more...

The Height of a Good Tennis Match...

A friend from the Gulf recently emailed me these photos of a private tennis match between Andre Agassi and Roger Federer. I wish I could give credit to the photographer but as of this blog, he/she is unknown. While Agassi and Federer were in Dubai recently for the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open (which, incidentally, Federer won), they played tennis at the Burj al Arab Hotel, away from the crowds and noise of the stadium. In fact, they were away from literally everything...the "court" was the hotel's nearly 4,500 square foot helicopter pad, which sets near the top of the hotel tower, 692 feet in the air!

The Burj al Arab, one of the Jumeirah International Hotels, is one of the most fantastic hotels I've ever visited. It's unique exterior, designed by architect Thomas Wills Wright, imitates a billowing sail...it's lobby greets you with all the brilliance and warmth of bold Arabic colors, which are carried on into the suites. Contrary to what you may think, however, the suites are serene and relaxing, complete with amenities to meet your every need while you're in your temporary "home away from home" And, if something is missing, your personal butler, while out of sight so as not to intrude on your privacy, is close enough to satisfy your every whim. Before you fall asleep each evening, you can lie there, looking out over the Gulf waters, viewing the stars above. And, when you awake in the morning and look down from the edge of your bed, you see nothing but water...water, water...every where...what a refreshing way to greet the morning! This luxurious hotel is just a fantastic adventure in and of itself!

Jumeirah International has several hotels, and I've visited two others: the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, designed in the shape of a wave and adjacent to the Burj al Arab, but shoreside; and the Emirate Towers, offering a more business environment and located in downtown Dubai. But as wonderful as these hotels, and I'm sure their other sites are, the Burj al Arab is unrivalled, both in design and experience!

Hey, Agassi...

"Hey, Agassi...did you ever skip rocks when you were a kid?" Roger's turn to hit a ball...

No crowds at this tennis match...

"Where are the crowds?!" If you look closely, you can see Roger Federer and Andre Agassi playing tennis on the helipad "court" at the top of the Burj al Arab in Dubai...don't know who won!