Having grown up in the Seattle area, I was exposed to pickleball early in the 1970’s. There was a court in the neighborhood and my dad made us paddles out of plywood. Fast forward thirty plus years later after moving to Santa Monica, raising two boys, and working in engineering and commercial real estate, I was so pleasantly surprised to rediscover pickleball! In my newly retired life, pickleball, both the activity and the community, have quickly become a joyful priority in my life.