It's Ugly Out There

A well known and much beloved, soon to be Clinical Psychologist gave me a song - the main theme was - "I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?" How could I not blog last week? The e-mails and calls inquiring about my health, concern expressed about my lying in a hospital room, suffering from amnesia - for why else would I not do my weekly bog. Your concerns have put me to shame. "I KNOW WHAT I WAS FEELING - I was lazy - BUT WHAT WAS I THINKING? - I guess I needed to hear that this weekly blog is for many the same as reading the Sunday Paper, or watching 60 Minutes .... something that is looked forward to - with eager anticipation all week. I apologize -- and I will do pentance - having just come back from donating 8 cartons of books to Goodwill. My being lazy is not acceptable - I've taken on a responsibility - not unlike the Voice of America - during the Cold War -- (will one of the historians please explain the similarity) -- to provide information and insight to many people who have come to count on this blog as their way of making sense in this 'crazy world.' Where we have one Governor who sings the song "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" while supposedely hiking the Appalachian trail, and another one who is trying to get the kids in the sandbox in Albany to stop acting like 2 year olds and end this 'parallel play' and learn to share. My blog has become a 'beacon of sanity' in a crazy world. When a pop icon can suddenly die and an Angel becomes one -- I restate my pledge to you to blog on - energized by the expressed needs of you, my loyal readership.

Last Sunday (June 21st) - we woke to the sounds of rain -- nothing unusual since we live in a tropical rain forest and while I was dressed for golf and ready to go - I got a text from Barry -- he's opting out. I called Richie who had previously referenced needing scuba gear in addition to golf clubs, who was also willing to 'call - game rained out.' Only Les expressed some disappointment --- but we did not play. Could we have played - sure - but it was UGLY OUT THERE.

Les and I played the following day in a charity outing organized by a law firm in Westchester (PMT) where the "P" is our friend. PMT deserves this 'free advertising' for they organize an annual charity event - a golf outing - at a beautiful country club in New City, NY for a local charity. They cover all expenses as well as inviting/soliciting their clients to attend. This year's charity was Breast Cancer Research. "P" invited Les and I to be his guests -- and we were quick to take him up on the offer. The format was a 'scramble' - and perhaps our resident golf pro in Miami will give you the rules for this game. Les and I were paired with 2 of "P's" son's fraternity brothers --- and I'm proud of us --- we didn't completely embarrass ourselves .... and even contributed to our total of 'par golf' with more than a few good shots of our own. These guys were 'killing the ball' - so on the occasion where we would hit a drive 200 yards (as Les did) - he was beat by 100 yards. The course was great - greens were so challenging and adulating (not sure if this word is being used appropriately, so I will defer to the English professor at Rutgers who used to be a regular contributor to weigh in ... I learned to appreciate the skill set of the two "Absolute Girls" - dressed in white short shorts and a white halter tops - who encouraged the golfers to quench our thirst with some 'eye candy' and an "Absolute" and a mixer. Congratulations to PMT for performing this community service ... and for this round it certainly wasn't UGLY OUT THERE.

Today was a no-brainer for golf-- it was NOT raining - actually somewhat sunny and hot. The fab four was out by 7:10 and much to the dismay of Captain Rich -- finished the round in what he deems a slow and unreasonable 4 hrs and 40 minutes. Rich figures the reason for this slow round had little to do with our play or the numerous lost balls that were hit in the fairway but given the overgrowth, couldn't be found.....yes - I said overgrowth in the Fairway. Rich figures that people were complaining about the amount of water on the course - given that it rained every day for a month - and the people who maintain the course responded by getting rid of what they deemed excessive water in the only way they could --- they made sure there was NO Water for drinking in any of the large jugs that dot the course and golfers come to expect. The course itself was UGLY OUT THERE ... largely mud, standing water, and rough that was thicker than the fog that rises off the Scottish coast. Essentially, the course has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the starter distributes malaria pills along with a score card.

Barry found himself in the middle of an ethical dilemma, even before he got on the course. He was paying for his round when the assistant golf pro, who takes the registrations, told a woman who called in to ascertain whether she could make a reservation and come out to play -- that there was a waiting list and a long line to play the back 9 (which was the front 9 - but that's another blog). Barry - who is the most ethical person I know, commented that there only appeared to be four names on the waiting list - and no-one waiting to play the back 9. The Assist. Golf Pro said without embarrassment - that he recognized this woman's voice and 'trust him' - you don't want her to play here - hinting that she is horrible and would detract from everyone who either played with or followed her. Barry questioned the 'ethics' of this assistant golf pro -- on the surface he was being highly unfair ... it is a county course and everyone should be able to play. However -- if you think of pro as looking after the best interests of the hundreds of golfers who would be impacted by her 'poor play' then whose needs take precedent? I'd like to ask our resident educator to comment -- should the needs of one individual in a classroom supersede the needs of the class .... I'm afraid this affected Barry's game - although he was driving well and put together a number of pars in a row. I encourage my readership to 'weigh in' on this very charged matter.

And if you think it's UGLY OUT THERE on the golf course -- it's guerrilla warfare in the gym. In order to guarantee a bike for the spin class - you need to get to the gym the day before and wait on line for 20 minutes (4:40 AM) to be on the safe side. The person taking the spin reservations has to balance the needs of those 15 + people who wait on line and are signing up (since you can sign up for one other person - it's the norm for the class to be filled by 5:03 just by the people on line) and then what of the people who call in (by phone - no texting, tweeting or e-mailing) and are 'put on a waiting list' .... even though they started calling in at 4:55 AM.
It's UGLY OUT THERE -- when there is at least one gym instructor (read security agent) at the door signing you in and every instructor spends the first 5 minutes reviewing the policy of not reserving bikes, coming 5 minutes before class begins. There are fights breaking out for bikes - 'bad energy.' You know things are 'off' when I look forward to getting to work so I can 'relax.' Barry had another 'ethical dilemma' -- there was a substitute spin instructor taking the place of a beloved leader .... He was awful -- and the only thing worse was his choice of music. People were leaving in the middle of class ... forget 'bad energy' - this was worse that a funeral ..... and Barry's issue - does he complain to management ... and possibly contribute to this guy losing his spinning job. Once again - the need of the individual vs. the rights of the group. Please log on and let us know your thoughts.

As I bring this blog to a close - want to thank a very special person and his collaborator, whose 'birthday blog' makes me realize that the 'child' has surpassed the 'parent' in so many ways, including blogging. With permission of the author - and if the readership wants to read this 'personal blog' - (please indicate your interest by texting YES) then I will ask my computer consultant how to cut and paste this work of art.

- I will continue blogging on as long as there is a reader out there -- thirsty for the knowledge they drink from my musing.

Keep those drives long and those putts short.

Chipster - over and out.