Wimbledon is not to be taken for granted

Through an American TV screen on July mornings of childhood, Wimbledon always seemed some sort of Oz -- unreachable, far-flung, with a moat and magic air and this curious creature Bud Collins materializing like some singular human treasure.

That's why it's tricky if you become an adult and actually wind up moving into Wimbledon, renting a flat in Wimbledon, going to the grocery store in Wimbledon, paying hefty council tax in Wimbledon, fretting about getting by in Wimbledon.

This wonderland you saw on TV suddenly sits pretty much down the street, and any wonderland down the street sheds its wonder pretty rapidly.

So when living in Wimbledon the town and covering Wimbledon the tennis, it's important to relish the details and remember it's not ordinary.

Value the fresh layer of buzz on the sidewalks. Savor that the gumdrop Wimbledon Village has taken on a fleeting international bustle. Make sure to converse with Latvians and even Iowans. Note the queues for the taxis at the Wimbledon train station. Remember it's a rare place where a pub would have cartoon caricatures of Venus Williams and Roger Federer on the window.

With the used-bookstore all gussied up for tennis, make sure to look through the window daily, ritually, to spot the book cover with the incomparable and beaming bald head of the late Ted Tinling, the late dress designer, tennis historian and peerless wit.

Walk by the ticket-seekers in sleeping bags at least once. Remember to remember that tennis on grass looks heavenly at first sight, and that purple goes pleasingly with green.

Try like heck to recall how you saw Wimbledon through the TV screen on the July mornings of childhood. Employ an excellent life device for all familiar places: Try to remember how you perceived them when you first saw them.

Keep in mind that for one thing, Wimbledon ranks among the few places whose reality keeps pace with how you imagined, and for another, this Bud Collins, whose ample decency surpasses even his bountiful talent, really is a singular human treasure.