"Out of adversity comes opportunity," said Founding Father and multi-hyphenate Benjamin Franklin. Born a quarter of a millennium later, another renaissance man by the name of Nenad Bach (pictured, the good guy in the black hat) would likely concur with this conclusion. Bach, a Croatian-American composer, has faced all manner of adversity and responded with positive creativity every time. Bach was born in 1954 in the former country of Yugoslavia, in what is now Croatia. While Bach found success as a musician, Yugoslavia disintegrated in the horror of civil war. Bach responded by uniting a diverse coalition of musicians, from Luciano Pavarotti to U2, in a series of concerts for peace. Bach settled down in New York, but adversity again tracked him down. Diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease a decade ago, Bach lost the ability to play his cherished guitar to the debilitating disease. Then, one day, a friend asked him to play ping-pong. Thinking it little more than a temporary distraction from his troubles, Bach accepted. To his astonishment, his Parkinson's symptoms improved after playing. He played ping-pong again, and felt even better. Now, he not only plays a mean game of ping-pong, but can play his guitar again. In order to share the miraculous discovery, Bach founded a group called Ping Pong Parkinson. The club meets weekly at the Westchester Table Tennis Center (WTTC) in Pleasantville, where owner and New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz (pictured, left) is also the vice-president. Together, Bach and Shortz created the first-ever Parkinson’s World Championships. In October 2019, over 60 players from a dozen countries came to the WTTC to celebrate the healing power of ping-pong. The resounding success of the event demanded an encore, one interrupted only by yet another visit from adversity. This time, it came in the guise of COVID-19. With all organized table tennis events suspended for most of 2020, the future of the Parkinson’s World Championships languished in limbo. Then, Bach remembered that he is a born innovator and started making some calls. As a result, Bach's latest composition will debut this spring on a VR headset near you. On April 11, 2021, those who qualify may compete in the inaugural Ping Pong Parkinson's Virtual Reality World Championships. Eleven Table Tennis (ELEVEN), the subject of a recent TableTennisInfo article, is a wildly popular virtual ping-pong game. Bach contacted ELEVEN founder Roman Rekhler and arranged for players to compete from the comfort and safety of their own homes. "Coronavirus changed our lives for better and for worse," said Bach. "I'm dedicated to improve a virtual reality platform that will help, going beyond social distancing and extending friendships all over the globe." When the rest of the world sees a storm, they run inside and hide. Bach, however, sees an opportunity to test an idea. A metal key in his pocket, he boldly walks outside, kite in hand.

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