A bit of baseball trivia for my readership -- Wally Pipps was the first baseman until he was out sick and an 'unknown' took his place and never relinquished the position .... (for a chance to play with us on Saxon - and a bite of B's bagel (although for the record - it was a banana today .... who was this unknown?)
A great commercial recreated this historic moment -- when someone calls in sick to his boss - who responds - "Don't worry - Bob from Account Temps is here." And how quickly the person on the phone recovered so as not to be replaced.
We met our own Wally or if you'd want to be contemporary - our own "Bob." His name is Bill and he replaced Les this week. Bill is GREAT! He is a very courteous golfer - always first on the tee and hits without a warm up swing. Moved the game along so we played in a record 4 hrs and 20 min. He has a very good sense of humor and entertained us with stories. Bill is also an excellent golfer who is very self-effacing (good SAT word). Bill's from Chappaqua - a tad older - a grandpa - and a true pleasure to play with. I introduced myself as 'Chip' and for the first few holes - that's how he referred to me ... although B kept calling me by my 'old name.' Bill said with a 'hurt expression' - I guess your friends get to call you Bernie while strangers call you Chip. By the 9th hole - he too was calling me Bernie. At the end of 18 - we were very sorry to say good-bye to our Buddy Bill and I gave him my business card - asking in a hopeful voice - that maybe he'd like to play with us again. Within 2 hours I received an e-mail from him - saying he'd be delighted to play - anytime we needed a 'sub.'
Les - be forewarned about scheduling business trips and B - so you really want to miss every Sunday in July to go on some 'vacation.' I'm guessing that Bill will be back - and probably will be hosting the annual b-q at the end of the season. (Demographic information - Bill lives in Chappaqua since 1975. He is a commodities trader when he's not hitting the links. He will definitely be joining us for annual birthday celebrations (a bit of a redundancy don't you think) and family events - weddings, graduations .....
Perfect weather for golf -- started off a bit buggy, but as soon as the sun burned through the mist, it was a 10. That was also the score I got on every hole - and ended up with 180 which may be 'lucky' in the Jewish religion but was by far my worst outing. Bill was understanding and very supportive. I'd say honors went to Rich -- who was belting the ball, as well as making some great putts. (He's obviously taking to heart by weekly 'sign off.'
OPPORTUNITY .... thanks to Judi, we took advantage of what was likely to be a 'last opportunity of a lifetime.' Judi encouraged/insisted that we should take my father (89 y/o ) to the Bar Mitzvah of his sister's grandson. (can a genealogist please tell me what that relationship is -- a 'grand uncle?') My mother would not be able to make the trip - so we had to coordinate and get Charlene (their other daughter) to stay with her. The Bar Mitzvah was at Brandeis University, (Judi's Alma mater ... and we did get to walk the campus) - 4 hours away - and we were going to do it in one day. (Especially now knowing that Bill is just waiting to do a Lou Gehrig - good thing I was back in time for golf.) We picked my father up at 8:30 am ... and only made 2 pit stops (I would have bet many more) ... got to the hotel where my Aunt was staying at 12:30. It was a Kodak moment when my father saw my Aunt (his younger sister - 82 y/o and the only remaining sibling -- there were 4 of them). My Aunt is in a wheel chair - living in a nursing home in Philadelphia and unfortunately has many serious health issues. The smiles on their faces when they saw each other for the first time in 2 years -- only to be topped by their breaking into Yiddish songs - which is something very special between them since they were kids . They spent a few hours alone (with her aide - sharing lunch, looking at the 'stuff' my father brought with him, and reminiscing. The unspoken was that this is very likely the last time they'll see each other -- and what a wonderful memory for all. We left the house at 7:30 am and got back close to 1:00 am the next morning .... and Judi -- THANK-YOU. We can all write our own a moral to this story.
So as Rich has learned to do -- hope you all can keep your "Drives Long and you Putts Short."
Chipster out.
3 comments:
First - very much improved grammar and spelling; Second - you and Judi both are to be saluted for doing such a Mitzvah for your father; Third - I recently purchased my own business cards on the internet from a company called Vistaprint. They have many designs to choose from, you type in your information in the designated slots and they show you an immediate proof. Within a week I had my cards. The best thing is that 250 cards are FREE - it only cost me $5 for shipping. If you are going to continue to use a false name on the golf course, since you never know when you might make a true friend, a business contact or whatever, you might consider having some "Chip" Kimberg cards made up - just in case.(though everyone knows there could never be a real name like Chip Kimberg). OR, perhaps you can now see just how this habit might come back to bite you and lay it to rest. Imagine if your new friend had his own blog and was commenting on this name thing that happened to him today!
Kudos to Judi and Bill for making this such a memorable weekend for Chip and his father
Chip:
You leave the golf course and meditate on important matters like family and war. I leave the golf course and obssess about giving up my driver for a three wood. I am ashamed to call myself a member of the human race . . .
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