For the Rest of My Life

“I Will Take You and the Memory of You for the Rest of My Life.”--Andre Agassi, in his comments to a roaring crowd at the U.S. Open Tournament, Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York, Sunday, September 3, 2006.

Panni always said you were special. As she was hard to please, she must have seen something in you, even when you were brash and young. A bit of herself, perhaps, except that you were able to play yours out. All I knew, for a long time, was that you were some tennis player who'd married--and then divorced--Brooke Shields. Huh?
As Panni's rest of her life shifted gears to become the rest of my life, I began to pay attention: not all that hair, anymore. Actually, a shaved head (with little bits of gray showing through). Those big eyes--muy emotivo--that filled with and gushed forth into a fountain's full of tears earlier today. That smile, instead of the surly pout of youth, even when you've been racked with pain. You've learned a lot, young Andre. Don't forget you're still very young, with a wife who shares your passion and vision, and with two little ones who know you as, "Daddy."
"On our shoulders?" Well, yes, but that goes both ways.

For Panni, and in my own right, I will take you and the memory of you for the rest of my life. God bless you.