Walter Dean Myers writes of Joyce

My mother walked into my room in our Harlem apartment and found me on my knees, praying. When I had finished and came into the kitchen she asked what I had been praying for.

“The Dodgers,” I replied.

What else was there to pray for? As I grew older I found that my allegiance (okay, devotion) to my favorite sports teams made some people uncomfortable. No, they didn’t want to talk about the Knicks and no, they weren’t really worried about them, either.

And then I met Joyce Simon. Joyce was worried about the Knicks and we spent many anguished moments together wondering if they would ever get a point guard who would actually give up the ball on a three on two fast break.

When I thought of basketball I often thought of Joyce so it was natural when Seymour asked me what I was working on one day I mentioned that I was going to Prague to see how they played ball there for an upcoming book. Seymour was stunned and asked me if I had told Joyce. I hadn’t.

Suddenly a whole new side of Joyce Simon was revealed to me, her amazing generosity. It turned out that she was an expert in art glass of which Prague is one of the world’s centers. She was kind enough to call me, advise me as to where to stay, what to see while I was there and, best of all, even arranged an interview with a local Czech artist.

I did go to Prague, stayed where Joyce Simon recommended, and had a delightful lunch with the artist. I used the artist’s background for the mother of the player in my new book.

This kind of generosity comes along rarer than a point guard who gives up the ball on a three on two fast break.

Walter Dean Myers