Mother's Day Golf

Here's a shout out to my blogging family that is growing exponentially. A point in fact is that I received a text message at 7:15 PM wanting to know where the post was for today. It took me 15 minutes to figure out I had a text message and another 5 minutes to figure out how to access it. So my loyal bloggers -- All I am Saying is Give Me A Chance .... Every where I go -- at work, on the golf course, out with friends, dinner with my parents --- all I hear is "blog, blog, blog...." I know how John felt, how Bruce, Bob and Mary J. feel ... the pressure to live up to the expectations of loyal fans is at time 'overwhelming.'

Sunday Morning - earlier tee time - 6:52 am and promises of the best day of weather we've had. This was particularly important to me since the only good thing about my game was my attire -- I dressed in shorts -- anticipating that the short term 'discomfort' would be worth it as the day progressed. (In fairness to our readers who look forward to the fashion report --- Dan was decked out in a blue striped (horizontal stripes) shirt and a very fashionable blue sleeveless sweater vest. Richie was wearing a non-descriptive beige outfit while Barry was making a statement with a bright orange sweatshirt. Much to the disappointment of many, Barry was NOT wearing his red sweatpants today.)

The game could be summed up on the first hole -- 3 balls on the fairway and one in the grove of trees. (can the reader who is the spelling police - tell me if a 'grove of trees' is redundant?)
Fortunately, 'orange man' was driving the ball while 'beige man' and 'best dressed man' played solid golf and I dragged my butt and my cart waiting for my game to turn around.

While golf conversation continued to cover the gamut - from Dan's description of making his own gorp - and that dried fruit encouraged bowel movements - to talk about graduations -- the 3 golfers are celebrating children's graduations this year - and we'll send a "hearty congratulations to Sam, Amanda and Mark -- For the readership interested in food -- in addition to Dan's Gorp (he did offer us some -- refer to prior blogs), we had Richie's Bagel -- a change for him; Barry's Challah and Butter -his favorite- and my Peanut Butter on an english muffin -- Comments on the nutritional value of each players choice of food is welcomed.

There was a "NEWS FLASH" on the fifth hole. We had last heard that Dan was in a moral and legal quandary about the Country Club he 'quasi' joined. For first time readers -- Dan had joined a Country Club to augment his golf with us. To his consternation (SAT word) - he heard mumblings that the course was going to be sold to a developer. Luckily for our hero - he had yet to pay his initiation fee -- and was in negotiations with the owners. They were reluctant to waive the fee for Dan - knowing that in short order the domino theory (Vietnam History Buffs will remember this) would take effect and the demand for pro-rated initiation fees would cripple the club. Richie asked what was happening with his Country Club saga -- to which Dan gave a circuitous response that included Linda going to Richard Gere's home to install an entertainment center with their friend's son .... which while interesting and something that our 'inquisitive minds want to know more about' - didn't respond to the Country Club question. It turns out that Dan has leveraged his Country Club initiation fee into a rental on a house on a lake in Putnam County, fulfilling a life's dream of his. On a serious note - I am happy that Dan will be able to 'throw a line in' -- we've heard that there are Bass with Attitude (big mouth bass - credit to Richie for this quip) just waiting to be caught. I hope that he'll find a way to fish Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons because his absence on the course will be felt by all who love him. However - this certainly positions Richie to be named 'best dressed' at the banquet at the end of the year.

I realized that my golf game suffered from a mental breakdown. One of our world leaders (readers - help me out with this one) said - and I'm paraphrasing now --- "If you don't learn from history -- your doomed to repeat the same mistakes." I was so focused on my 'golf history - my past mistakes' that hole after hole - I overcompensated -- mostly pulling the ball to the left out of a desire NOT to slice the ball to the right. I did not have the mental acuity (another SAT word) to both learn from but not over respond to the lessons of the past.

Since this Blog is BK Golf and More -- let me focus on the "MORE" ... Perhaps as I am about to celebrate being 1/2 century old, I'm getting more reflective - after all - I'm on the back 9 - no matter how many mulligans I take -- Mother's Day took on more significance this year.
I read the lead article in the Westchester Section of the Times that described the value of a support group, especially on Mother's Day, for adults who have lost their mothers. Two of our foursome - and my better half - don't have their mothers to celebrate this day - and I'm sorry that I wasn't more aware. A colleague and friend from work suffered the loss of her son this past year - a tragic and unexpected loss - my heart goes out to her every day and especially today. On the other end of the continuum - I never expected to celebrate this Mother's Day either - and yet, my mother is an example of someone whose will to live - whose good spirit and kind nature is inspirational - reminds me every day that miracles can happen - and gives new meaning to the word "courage."

Here's wishing you a week of long drives, sure putts, and no sand.

Peace Out!