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I will always cherish the most recent time I saw Andrzej, which was in Shanghai. We found several opportunities to visit. It was great to see him named to the ITTF's Board of Directors, yet another of of his many accomplishments in the table tennis world. Over the decades, a favorite expression that he liked to quote was, "I'm still in business," meaning that he was able to evolve in a professional capacity throughout the years.
For so many of us, sadness will take over as we reflect on the loss of many more years of friendship denied to us by his cancer. In Shanghai, he started following up with me on some previous discussions we had had. I said, "I wrote to you many times, but I didn't receive any answer back." He looked at me so sincerely and simply said, "Sorry." I could tell that there was something troubling him. "That's okay," I answered. And, he said, "You know I had some health problems and was just not able to get to my e-mail." Then he flashed his Lance Armstrong wristband and everything he had suffered became so clear in an instant. So, obviously our conversation shifted to his health, his prognosis and his gutsy exuberance for living life fully.
We enjoyed visiting about his new role as an ITTF Board member. We started talking about all of his experiences and how he could uniquely contribute in this new position. He said that he was so pleased to be a an ITTF Board member, but that he had intentionally not participated in the discussions because he wanted to take a meeting just to see how things were run and get the feel for the group dynamics. Then we started talking about the role of former athletes and how the sport is changing. He wanted to tell me about something that he had been involved in years ago. It will be my favorite story of his that I will forever remember.
He and another player (who it was slips my mind today -- maybe Kim Taek Soo?) were selected to demonstrate the sport of table tennis for Juan Antonio Samaranch in connection with table tennis being selected as an Olympic sport. After the exhibition, the group was sharing dinner with then-ITTF President Ogimura. Over the dinner discussion, Mr. Samaranch, Grubba recalled, bluntly stated, "Green tables don't look very good. Have you ever considered using a different color?" And Mr. Ogimura responded, "I never really thought about that before. What color do you think would look good?" "Blue," was the reply. As Grubba was telling me the story, he said that Mr. Ogimura was very deferential and said that he would look into this right away. And, he said, "I just sat there laughing to myself and thinking, 'Mr. Ogimura is doing such a fine job of diplomacy, just listening so well and being so agreeable.'" He said some time passed after that. Then he said, "All of the sudden, everywhere I went, all of the tables were blue! I couldn't believe it." So, he recalled, as he wrapped up the story, I was there for what turned out to be a historical turn in our sport.
Later, so charmed by Grubba's story, I was recounting it for Koji Kimura. He said, "Yes, after that meeting, Mr. Ogimura came back and announced that we should look into the color of tables. We tried many different colors on tables. There were pink ones and all of the colors. But finally we settled on blue as being the best looking color. Mr. Samaranch was right."
Surely we will all miss Andrzej! What a charming and utterly sweet man.
sursa Sheri Pittman, ITTF Board of Directors member; www.ittf.com
For so many of us, sadness will take over as we reflect on the loss of many more years of friendship denied to us by his cancer. In Shanghai, he started following up with me on some previous discussions we had had. I said, "I wrote to you many times, but I didn't receive any answer back." He looked at me so sincerely and simply said, "Sorry." I could tell that there was something troubling him. "That's okay," I answered. And, he said, "You know I had some health problems and was just not able to get to my e-mail." Then he flashed his Lance Armstrong wristband and everything he had suffered became so clear in an instant. So, obviously our conversation shifted to his health, his prognosis and his gutsy exuberance for living life fully.
We enjoyed visiting about his new role as an ITTF Board member. We started talking about all of his experiences and how he could uniquely contribute in this new position. He said that he was so pleased to be a an ITTF Board member, but that he had intentionally not participated in the discussions because he wanted to take a meeting just to see how things were run and get the feel for the group dynamics. Then we started talking about the role of former athletes and how the sport is changing. He wanted to tell me about something that he had been involved in years ago. It will be my favorite story of his that I will forever remember.
He and another player (who it was slips my mind today -- maybe Kim Taek Soo?) were selected to demonstrate the sport of table tennis for Juan Antonio Samaranch in connection with table tennis being selected as an Olympic sport. After the exhibition, the group was sharing dinner with then-ITTF President Ogimura. Over the dinner discussion, Mr. Samaranch, Grubba recalled, bluntly stated, "Green tables don't look very good. Have you ever considered using a different color?" And Mr. Ogimura responded, "I never really thought about that before. What color do you think would look good?" "Blue," was the reply. As Grubba was telling me the story, he said that Mr. Ogimura was very deferential and said that he would look into this right away. And, he said, "I just sat there laughing to myself and thinking, 'Mr. Ogimura is doing such a fine job of diplomacy, just listening so well and being so agreeable.'" He said some time passed after that. Then he said, "All of the sudden, everywhere I went, all of the tables were blue! I couldn't believe it." So, he recalled, as he wrapped up the story, I was there for what turned out to be a historical turn in our sport.
Later, so charmed by Grubba's story, I was recounting it for Koji Kimura. He said, "Yes, after that meeting, Mr. Ogimura came back and announced that we should look into the color of tables. We tried many different colors on tables. There were pink ones and all of the colors. But finally we settled on blue as being the best looking color. Mr. Samaranch was right."
Surely we will all miss Andrzej! What a charming and utterly sweet man.
sursa Sheri Pittman, ITTF Board of Directors member; www.ittf.com