Look on Marty’s website (www.martydevlin.com) or listen to Marty at home or on the tennis court. What do you hear? A stream of “Martyisms” peppering his conversations and his teachings on the court.
- “You did a goofer!”
- “Cheese and crackers!
- “Have you been drinking?!”
- “You could run a pork chop past a wolf!”
I could go on…but the one sticking in my mind is one of Marty’s less colorful sayings: “No big deal” or “No biggie.”
I’m working with Marty and Ann LoPrinzi on Marty’s memoir. One definition of a memoir is “a person’s own account of his or her life.” But what of how others see that life? For Marty, something that’s “no big deal” is often a big deal for the people around him. It’s in hearing from those whom Marty has touched—and there are many—that I’ve come to understand this.
Marty has influenced—and continues to influence—so many lives with his positivity, energy, and love for life.
One example is Dana. In his book, Marty recounts how he gained the help of an engineer from Prince who fashioned a bracket to attach a racquet to Dana’s prosthetic. This enabled Dana to join her mother and brother in playing tennis. Marty also describes how he arranged for Dana to join him on the ski slopes in Vermont to experience the thrill of the mountain. But it was only in meeting with Dana and her family that I learned of all the things that Marty tried before hitting on the solutions that made these experiences possible. Of how Marty went to Philadelphia to help with refitting Dana’s prosthesis. That he did this while working and raising a family with Mary Ellen. For Marty, it was “no big deal.” To hear it from Dana and her family, the support from Marty and his family was indeed a big deal.
Another example is Marty’s massively successful intramural program at Rider. As intramural director Marty expanded the program, providing opportunities for thousands to participate in life-changing fun social and physical activities.
There are other examples in the book—but it is the stories from you, those who Marty have enjoyed and benefitted from his wit and wisdom, that truly show what a “big deal” Marty is to so many people.
Keep those stories coming…
Cathy Kreyche
