Happy Birthday, Dad! and the End of the Great Game

    Today is my dad's birthday!  Happy 76th, Dad!  We will have our usual fun celebration at Mom and Dad's tonight, complete with yummy White Fence Farm take-out, our annual "Joe Christmas," and the opening of some birthday gifts with Belinda, Theresa, and of course, Dad.

12-20-11
    Got the best Christmas gift I could get this year after visiting Dr. Maurin’s office today for a follow-up MRI visit.  I admit thoughts of possible doom entered my head before going, but all was fine when we saw him and heard the news, and the news is... great!  No problems and not another MRI for a year.  Belinda and I figured out that it was six months less one day that we got the other MRI, the first one that sent us catapulting into craniotomy chaos.  Merry Christmas to us!

12-24-11
    On the back nine of our competition (which really was the front), the United States was still one up, and I was...

13th Excerpt From My Original Golf Diary-Old Settler's and Indian Hills

     In this rather lengthy excerpt, I am ironically back in Yuma, CO, but for Old Settler's Day and not Grandma's funeral.  Grandma would have been in her mid eighties for this visit.  It was a much happier time.  Instead of my cousin Jeff standing to talk about his memories of Grandma at her wake and my reading her eulogy at her funeral, we are winning the coveted "Egg Toss" competition on Main Street in Eckley.  We also played some golf.  I wrote AM for Annmarie's name, so that is what that stands for.  I also turn in my first ever score for my handicap, and it is not good, which speaks highly of how far I have come.  

11-1-00
    Haven’t written in a long while.  Here is what I need to catch up on.  My tenth “real” birdie! Playing golf in Yuma again with Jeff, Guy, and AM. A long putt during practice with the Aztec Golf team.  And my lessons.

Pinon Hills-Hole 12
    This was the first time I really officially turned in a score for my handicap.  I scored a...

Christmas Wishes

   On my Christmas wish list are some new irons from Wishon.  Oh, and a new Wishon 4-iron hybrid.  Oh, and a new driver (also from Wishon), but that can wait until January and my birthday since they are coming out with a new model next month.  And, I might find a different driver more to my liking. In all, with special friendly coaching discounts from Don (last name), the cost will be $821.25.  That really is a great discount; thank you, Don.  These clubs would most likely be the last ones I ever receive, but they might not.  Never say never.
    Some new clubs would be fantastic.  I would like to have a complete set of Wishon clubs some day, and it will bug me until it’s done, but that kind of thinking seems silly and pointless since those are just things.  After my brain surgery, my perspective has not changed; I am still well-grounded, and I know what is important in life.  My trust in God, my time with family, and my career are my priorities.  My wish is for these things to continue, to have a wonderful life worth living.
    Speaking of my surgery, my new CaringBook book came in today.  The site has a link where a book can be made, so I ordered one.  It looks polished and beautiful.  I am happy to have a finished product with all of my chronicles from my caringbride.org site, one that I can hold in my hands.  That site was ideal for people to check in before, during, and after the surgery.  It was also a perfect place for me to vent, reflect, and figure out what was happening to me through my writing.  Here is address again: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickswope/journal.

The Great Game Continued and My 12th Birdie

    Hole #18 was incredible; we all got birdies!  Here’s how I got mine with a little bit about how they got theirs thrown in. 

Hidden Valley-Hole #18-Birdie #12 of 2011 and Eighth Post-Surgery Birdie

    I chose not to go for the fairway on #3 this time.  My drive ended up right, but I had a decent lie.  The problem was the trees were in my way.  My consistent ball flight is a draw or straight.  I rarely fade or slice, but now I was forced to try and do that, and I failed in an epic way.  I did everything I knew about slicing to try and get it to go that way.  I moved my left foot back, I made my swing more upright, I gripped the club tighter and I made a faster swing, but...

A Great Game Recently Played

    I want to recount the last time I played with Bruce and C.J. now.  It was fun, and I need to do this to help ease the suffering I’m going through.  It’s not so much about Grandma dying, but it’s that I have a cold, the truck just broke down, our master bath sink is leaking, and so is the pipe below the house for our tub.  I also misplaced my earmuffs.  They are in the van here somewhere, but with all the piles it’s too difficult to search for them now.  I spent hours in my classroom on both Friday and yesterday to get ready for a sub for the next two days.  I’m slightly miserable, so writing about this will help my mood.
    C.J. came up with the greatest game.  It was during the President’s Cup, so he used that for his inspiration.  For three holes, one of us was the International player and the other two were the Americans.  The International player got one mulligan per hole, and the Americans got to use their best score.  Every three holes, we would switch, so here’s how it played out.
    We started on the back nine, and...

Dedicated to Grandma Ruth

     My grandma died today.  I'm sad.  It's not just because she was my last grandparent alive (although that is a huge milestone), but she was a classy lady, through and through.  She was a teacher, my mom was a teacher, and I know I have their teacher blood in me.  I feel glum, too, because I missed her 95th birthday this past summer due to my surgery.  I justified it by saying that I was missing her 95th birthday celebration in order for me to have my own 95th birthday celebration when it's my turn.  I pray I make it as long as she did.  95 years!  What a wonderful, long life.  I dedicate this post to my Grandma Ruth.  I love you, and I will miss you and our weekend chats. 

     I wrote the following this past Saturday, the 26th.

     Belinda and I just had dinner at Applebee’s and dessert at Cold Stone courtesy of the varsity volleyball team.  I received a very nice card with two gift cards during the banquet this past Tuesday night.  Thank you, ladies! 
    Tonight was more of an anniversary than our actual anniversary.  On that night...

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

    I do not like to start this with sad news, and I am thankful for the 95 years my Grandma has given us so far, but this past week she had a heart attack, survived, and then she had a stroke. She is back in the hospital now (she went back to her home for one night between the two), and I am hoping I will get to talk to her this morning.  Mom and Dad are there with her, so they are not coming here as originally planned.  For a long time, I regularly called Grandma on the weekends.  Her memory has been nearly non-existent for years now, so I would tell her who I was and do most of the talking.  She is, as Mom would always say, though, "great in the moment."  The conversations were one-sided because I did most of the talking, but it was wonderful to hear her voice and visit with her.  This time, she will only be listening, though, and maybe not so well at that, so I am feeling a mix of thankfulness and sadness today.  She is my last surviving grandparent.  Sigh.  The rest of this post is from B's and my time up at the cabin, and as it turns out that was the last time we would get to go up there.  The cabin has been sold.  Sigh again.

    In other news, happy news, Belinda and I are celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary today, and Bev, Curt, Erica, and Emily made it here to celebrate Thanksgiving with us! 

11-12-11
    Had a great night’s rest up here.  Belinda and I have always slept (unless Amanda and Eric kick us downstairs) up on the loft where the hot air from the fireplace joins us when we first settle into bed.  As the night goes on, it gets cooler and even more cozy. 
    The big news up here at the cabin is that the cabin is...

When the Air Hit My Brain

    Belinda and I are up at the cabin... alone.  The fire in the fireplace is going, crackling.  The propane heater is aglow with a wavy orange “heat wave” look.  I am sitting next to the propane heater in a recliner.  B is over by the fireplace.  I’m listening to Telephone by Electric Light Orchestra.  It’s so peaceful.  No teenagers (no offense).  No students.  No work.  No stress.  Peace.  Quiet.  Calm. 
    It’s good for my brain.  Speaking of my brain, it continues to...

Picking up where I left off on 11-8-11...   

    Next time I write, I want to relay how I earned two birdies during Bruce’s legendary round of 71.  Those two birdies helped me shoot an adjusted 83.

Until next time...

11-11-11 (aka next time)

Happy Veterans Day!

Hidden Valley-Hole #7-Birdie #11 of 2011 and Sixth Post-Surgery Birdie


    Whoa!  I am writing about my eleventh birdie this season on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 2011.  Cool!  Not often I get a birdie on this hole either.  I bet it’s not often anyone gets a birdie on this hole.  I remember Matt (last name) getting a par on this hole after striking his drive out of bounds, and I’ve watched many players sling their balls over that fence, too, me included.  Then he crushed a monster of a drive, made an approach that landed his ball within putting distance and made the putt.  Wow!  Basically, he eagled it after making one bad swing.
    For my birdie, I went left on my drive.  Then I stayed on the left side again, but ended up...

Another Volleyball Update

11-8-11
    I am sitting in our living room watching The Biggest Loser.  I was going to go to the church tonight to learn about the changes in the mass.  I went to the garage, however, opened the door, and saw that I had no vehicle.  Oh yeah, Belinda took the van to her class’s play tonight, and she left early to prepare.  Then Danielle took the truck to go watch that same play.  So, James and I just finished cleaning up the kitchen, and since I am stuck here I’m watching my favorite show and catching up on some writing.
    First, another volleyball update.  It’s all over now, including varsity’s season.  I am so proud of those girls.  They ended their season in style, taking a rival to five games in the district championship match, the first time they were able to do that (take them to five games) this season.  They also, (and this is the best part) embarrassed...

Bruce and the Promised Land

10-29-11
    Bruce, C.J., and I played again today.  My seasonal membership ends on Halloween, so this is the last weekend I can play for “free," but the weather is getting colder, too.  We got in eighteen holes, and the weather was decent.  It got cooler and brrreezier as the round came to an end, but it was nice.  The leaves are falling off the trees more and more now.  Some are halfway done, some are nearly done, and a few are only beginning to change and start dropping their leaves.  While walking along the fairway on hole #14 looking for C.J.’s putter cover, I saw a fun sight.  We were playing #15, but we detoured to go look for it, and C.J. did find it.  The fun sight was...

Volleyball and Marbles

10-25-11 
    

    We had our best match of the season (in my opinion) against a team that the girls said they really do not like, a team that they kept reminding me when they played against them it was “personal.”  We had lost to this team twice already this season, once in the varsity tournament that our two JV teams were allowed to play in.  The other team got to play in it since it was their varsity tournament, and we got to play since a varsity team from Colorado had dropped out. We beat a varsity team in pool play there (we split and won by one point), but Anna and I both agreed to let JV play in the lower/silver bracket since we might end up playing against our own varsity.  It turned out we played our "little rival" JV team in that bracket, and we lost.  Then we lost to them again on our home court when my mom and dad came to watch.  Aaarghh!
    When we played them the last time, though, ah, it was sweet.  The girls played well, they played together, and they got the job done.  All season they steadily improved.  Becca even set one on her knees at one point and that resulted in a kill.  Danielle was her usual consistent back row self, completely dependable and unwavering in her play.  I realized how badly we wanted to win by how much we celebrated when it was over.  I jumped off the bench like a giddy girl myself!  That is what someone told me, anyway.  I don’t care.  Winning that match was a sure sign of improvement.  I was so proud.  I still am.
    I told the girls early on in the season, soon after we had beaten that varsity team in pool play, that winning against a team like that is like “a marble in the bus.”  That comes from my classroom.  We have a tin school bus that students put marbles in for good behavior.  I’ve had those marbles since I first started teaching.  It hasn’t always been a bus, though; I’ve used mugs, glass vases, and other containers before.  When a marble goes in the bus for a student’s good behavior, it gets to stay in the bus.  It does not come out until the prize for the entire class is won.  Then I empty out the bus and we start over, but not until it’s completely filled.  Winning that match was definitely a “marble in the bus.”  Nobody can take that away from us.

Watching Dan the Man

    Eric invited me to come watch Dan (last name), his brother-in-law, play in the New Mexico-West Texas Mid-Am Golf Tournament at Pinon Hills.  We met him in his cart as he was driving down to the range.  Eric’s father Craig came along, too, and he even rode in the cart with Dan while he played.  It was Craig’s 80th birthday recently, so Dan gave him a dozen golf balls and some golf hand warmers/muffs.  He even gave me two sleeves of Taylor Made golf balls.  Nice of him!
    He had already played one round the day before where he said he shot an 85, but that must have been a practice round.  He said the greens were giving him fits.  I just checked the online results, and he ended up tied for sixth with a total score of 150, a 78 and a 72.  The day we watched he was playing in a group that included the defending champ and some other really good golfer who was wearing corduroys. 
    What I noticed was...

*Club Champ = Me

     Earlier this month, Bruce, C.J., and I got together to play nine holes on a Sunday.  It was the first time I got to play with C.J. again since the surgery, and it was wonderful to see him.  We had our group of three back together again for the first time in a long time.  I’ve heard that three is not a good number for groups since two usually pair off eventually, but we get along just fine.  Eric is talking about wanting to play again sometime soon, though, so I hope he’ll be joining us in the near future.  Maybe next season?  Since it was the Club Championship weekend at Hidden Valley and none of us decided to play in the official one (all too busy), we said it would be our own little nine hole club championship between us, handicaps included.  At the end of nine holes, we would simply subtract 4 strokes from Bruce’s score, 10 from C.J.’s and 8 from mine.  The low score would be the champ. 
    Bruce got a birdie on hole #3, and then I followed up with a birdie on hole #4.  This is how I earned mine.

Choices, Sacrifices, and Priorities-Enough to Hurt My Brain Again?

From the end of my last post a little more than a month ago...

Until next time...

    We do have a BWP Leadership Team meeting this Saturday.  It will be my first involvement in Bisti since the surgery.  I will give details after it is over.

10-23-11

    Okay, I read the end of that last entry, and it reminded me that I did not make it to that meeting.  I chose not to go.  I was on my way, driving through my neighborhood when I just stopped and called Vicki.  My weekend was just starting, and I was overloaded with stress.  My parents were coming to visit and watch a Tuesday volleyball match, the vehicles were not lubed (something my dad is guaranteed to make a comment on), the house was not clean, the yard needed work, we had winterizing to do, and the two or three hours of schoolwork that Belinda and I always go in for was not going anywhere either.  I was swamped and something had to give.  Vicki was very understanding. 
    I am no longer the tech liaison for the Bisti Writing Project; Melissa is filling in until further notice, and it’s a relief.  I don’t remember who I was talking to, but I said I only have enough energy for full-time teaching and coaching volleyball right now, and sometimes not even enough for both of those.  Anything above and beyond might cause some new swelling in my brain.  Okay, not really, but it feels like it might.
    I am not regretting this decision to coach volleyball again, though.  It has been tough on me, but when I look back on this time years from now, I will be happy to say that I got to coach my daughter and my niece.  Sadly, it’s almost over.  This Thursday is the last match for JV.  It has been all of these things: miserable, fun, stressful, exciting, challenging, exhausting, and great.  The girls learned and improved.  What more could a coach ask for?
    It was a sacrifice, though.  I did not play nearly as much golf as I normally would.  I was going to play yesterday after parent-teacher conferences, but we had practice at 2:30, so I ended up not playing at all this weekend.  That’s a good thing, though, because I am using some of the time to catch up on my writing.  I am also not as involved in the Bisti Writing Project as I was before the surgery.  At least I continue to write.

Until next time...

12 Excerpt from My Original Golf Diary-The Indoor Putting Match

10-23-11

      In this excerpt, one of my favorites, I tell the story of an impromptu indoor putting match that took place one night at Dave and Julie's house down in their basement.  I won, but some of the other guys had some amazing shots.

      In other news, I became the unofficial club champ in a match with Bruce and C.J. recently,  Eric and I go watch his brother-in-law Dan (about a 2) at a tournament at Pinon Hills, our JV volleyball team wins an incredible match against a rival, and most importantly, Bruce shoots an incredible eighteen holes at one under par!  Furthermore, I have three birdies I need to catch up on, one when I won the unofficial club championship and two more when Bruce had his best round ever.  My goal is to catch all of this up before Halloween.  

9-16-00
    I have caught up this diary completely on the laptop now.  I haven’t written in a while; so let me catch up even more.  I’ll start with a great putting match at Dave and Julie’s house.  They had a party before school started and

First Post-Surgery Victory and 100th Post!

Written on 9-20-11

     It’s later now, 10:08, and we are driving through Kirtland.  We just dropped off a player who lives out here.  All three teams won, and they did it in the fastest way possible, two out of three for C and JV, and 3 out of 5 for varsity.
    I forgot to mention that Troy’s son Angelo is a gifted athlete.  Troy and Terry were both so proud of him.  As a sophomore, he is a force.  He ran through and around Piedra Vista.  He was slippery, and they could not stop him without great effort and skill.  On one play when he was on defense, the ball popped out of the hands of an opponent like a watermelon seed from someone’s mouth and right into Angelo’s hands as he was running the other way.  He ran it in for another score.  We will be hearing more about Troy’s son Angelo in the future.
    I did manage to beat Bruce somehow one time recently.  It was

Coaching Volleyball Again Brings Back Memories

    I am good at golf, and I have improved so much, but I know volleyball, and it was great to be reunited with Anna as her assistant coach again.  We work well together, and it brings back great memories of taking state in ’92 and taking third in state the year right after that, and all those great girls we coached all those years ago. 
    It has also brought back wonderful memories of...

That Feeling in My Head and Back Where I Belong

     Okay, I feel caught up on the whole golf scene now, but one more thing I have been thinking about is the Club Championship.  I talked to Bruce about this, too, and he said he would consider playing in it if he is playing well enough to have a shot at that time.  Honestly, I don’t know when it is.  It might be this coming weekend, and that would be bad.  I remember it being the first weekend of October one year.   I would like to play, but my life is busy right now.
    For example, I am...

Catching Up With Troy and Meeting Terry

     I played the par threes on the front well with a birdie and two pars.  On the back, I had a triple on #7 and a double on #15, though.  Bruce was steady, but he did not play as well as he had when he had played with C.J.  He shot a 76 with C.J. and an 82 with me with matching 41s on the front and back.  We played well enough to help us tie the Bogey Man at +4 on the round.  He had a really good look at a birdie to beat that mean old Bogey Man on #18, but he missed right.  I was proud of my scrambling par on #18, and I ended up shooting an 87 with a 43 on the front and a 44 on the back.  So, we tied him.

    Like I had written earlier, Troy called me on the Friday of Labor Day weekend to let me know...

Two More Post-Surgery Birdies!

     I earned two more birdies when playing with Bruce, and they did help us in our challenge with the Bogey Man.  Here’s how they played out...

A Few More Details

9-20-11
    Okay, it has been way too long since I have written, at least by my standards.  I have a ton of stuff to say, so here I go.
    I played with Bruce a couple of weekends ago.  We played the Bogey Man, and the goal was to allow no more than +2 on the front, and no more than +4 on the round overall.   It was Labor Day, I believe.  Bruce kept score this time, so the date was not written down, but that’s right; it was Labor Day.  He had played with C.J. earlier that weekend, but C.J. chose not to come this time because Bruce said his back was hurting.  Since the surgery, I still haven’t played with C.J. yet.  Hopefully soon.
    I got a few more details from Bruce about his part in the “clubs in the irrigation ditch” adventure.  First...

The Adventure of Bruce and C.J. or What I Missed

9-4-11

    It’s Labor Day weekend.  Bruce and I are going to play tomorrow for our Labor Day eighteen holes.  I played with Troy (last name) and Terry (last name) at Pinon Hills on Friday.  Troy left a voicemail on my cell (it is set to silent when I teach), and just a few hours later, I met up with them on hole #7.  Troy and Terry were in town to see Troy’s son, Angelo, a sophomore at Montrose High School, play football against the Piedra Vista team.  Troy has the tendency to be spacey at times, so he fully admitted the only reason he contacted me was because his wife Jill reminded him that I live near Farmington.  Thank you, Jill.  I had a wonderful time.  I played well, and it was so fun to hang out with them.  I made an evening out of it by going to the game, and Belinda even came to meet us there.  The timing was really good, too, because we had an early release day due to homecoming.
    I can add more about that later, but my next writing assignment (self-assigned) was to write about what I missed this past summer when I was out of the action, a funny story about Bruce and C.J.
    C.J. called me after the surgery, maybe a week or two after.  He had a funny story he just had to relay, and I was his perfect audience.  He told me that...

Post-Surgery Birdies #1 and #2!

     It took a while, but I earned my first post-surgery birdie this month, and then just the other day I earned one more.  It was such a relief, and I had told Bruce as we walked along during these past several times we have played that I was working hard to get it (my first birdie after surgery).  

     I had come close on a few holes.  I remember...

Grand Lake Boys and Saved by Lightning

*written in early August

On to golf...
   
    Golf was great today.  I not only got to go with Guy and Dad again this time, but Daryl and James joined us as well.  Daryl was the one we paid for to play, but he and James ended up playing their own scramble together.  Please don’t tell the head pro!  Nobody noticed or cared, though. 
    I played well on the front, but I could have played even better.  My full swing was very good, but...

Different Times and Places

     Well, school is in full swing now.  We have had our first five days of school as of today, and so far, so great!  I am coaching volleyball again after not coaching it for sixteen years, right after Danielle was born. I will be the JV coach again, but so far we have mostly done try-outs and I have helped all players at all levels.  It felt wonderful to come back on that first day.  I enjoyed coaching golf when I did that (three years total with two years before my Masters and then last spring with Don), but I really am better and more confident at coaching volleyball.  Also, I would always rather be playing golf than coaching it.

     This next post came from a different time and place.  Reading it again is surreal because it seems so long ago, but it was only earlier this month.  I had just showered after playing golf in Grand Lake, and I had found a perfect spot for writing.  This is what I wrote on our last full day at the cabin...

More Normality-Our Stableford Game

     As I already mentioned, we (Bruce and I) played again on Saturday, a full eighteen holes this time.  I felt well enough to play eighteen on our first outing, but we chose not to push it.  I had enough energy that day, though, to do an upper body workout when I got home.  I knew I could do eighteen again, and I did.  I was tired when it was all over, and the next day was rough, but I did it.  I did feel tired the next day.  Was it the golf, the full eighteen holes?  Maybe.
    Bruce chose the game this time, and he chose our unique Stableford.  We always make it our own.  Eagles were worth 10, birdies 5, pars 3, bogeys 1, and anything higher -2.  Winning the hole also earned one extra point, and in the event of a tie, the points for winning holes were pushed.
    The final stroke play scores were Bruce: 85, me: 87.  The final game score was Bruce: +34, me: +33.  I rallied on the back (which was really the front nine since we started on the back nine), and Bruce slipped a little, but not enough to allow me the victory.  I had pars on holes #1, #5, #6, and #7 on the front.  On the back (which was our front nine), I had pars only on #1 and #16, the two par three holes.  On #10, I hit the green for the first time ever since it was changed to a par three.
    We played with a guy named Brent.  His score was better than both of ours; he shot an 83.  He had a nice temperament, and he fit right in as if we had played together for years.  He had a very nice swing that started with a consistent routine.  His last nine holes were looking great right up to hole #8 where he got a double.  He shot a 42, 41 for an 83.  Wouldn’t mind if we played with him again.  He knew Pat (last name) somehow.

Picture This

I did not realize how much I missed golf.  I did not practice before I called Bruce to see if he could meet me.  C.J. was out of town.  I was afraid to practice and go play again.  It was the “not knowing” that was scary.  What kind of shape would my game be in?  How well would I do?  Shouldn’t it be better?  Would it be better?  Certainly golf without a brain tumor would be better than golf with a brain tumor, right?  It turned out that...

My Scary, Helpless Dreams Just After Surgery

7-31-11
    Okay, wow. Where to start?  I have been through so much with this whole brain surgery thing this past month and a half.  I’ll begin with this... 
    I’ve started playing golf again.  Bruce and I played nine holes last Thursday, and then we played a full eighteen this past Saturday.  It went...

Coming Back Soon!

    The tumor has been removed (phew!), and I am on my way to a steady, but full recovery.  I am still not allowed to drive yet, and I have only just begun to exercise again this morning.  I rode our stationary bike today for about 25 minutes only, but I plan to continue to get stronger and healthier.  My goal is to get out on the golf course again as soon as possible, maybe this week.  It might be ugly, but who knows until I give it a go? 

    If anyone would like to follow the story of the brain tumor's discovery, removal, and eventual recovery, the link to the caringbridge site is here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickswope/journal.

Until next time...

Unexpected Post

    I did not expect to be writing something like this, and it really makes me sad to do it, but something has come up.  I have a brain tumor (not malignant!), a pretty big one on the right side of my brain.  After a final meeting with the surgeon yesterday (surgery is set for Friday, July 1st, but might be Wednesday), he recommended I not play golf, but I was thinking about it.  It would be too strenous, especially in the dry heat we are having in this area right now.
    So, this blog is shutting down for a while.  Don't know how long.  When I read other blogs here, I always check the date first.  If it is not recent, I usually don't want to read it.  For more recent news about my surgery and condition, I have set up a blog at caringbridge.org.  Just search for my name there: patrickswope.  Or just click this link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickswope.  My plan is to be back and playing golf and writing about my post surgery golf game as soon as possible.   Thank you for reading!

Until next time...

11th Excerpt From My Golf Diary

    In this excerpt from my original golf diary way back in 1999, Belinda and I are still on a plane to New York to go visit my brother Guy.  I record my tenth birdie ever (if I include the one at the simulator at Dave and Buster's), and I am figuring out the things that Mike, my pro, is teaching me.  Near the bottom, I have an epiphany of sorts.  I figure out...

I Get Sick, Tom at Golf U.S.A., a New Golf Push Cart and Escalating Skins with Bruce and C.J.

6-6-11
     It is lunch here at the CTX.  I have already eaten, so I am taking some time to write.  Okay, that first sentence was from yesterday.  Soon after that, I got a headache that was so bad it caused me to get sick in the bathroom, call Belinda, and go home to take a nap. 
    Now, it’s the 7th, but I have already eaten again, and I am taking time to write again.  This time, I hope I don’t get sick!  It started with

Let the Summer Institute Begin!

6-4-11
    We have completed days 1 and 2 for this year’s Bisti Summer Institute (or SI for short), and we are off to a great start!  We have a super group, a small group (7 women), but a super group, and I look forward to their writings and their progress and discoveries about how they see themselves as writers as we go along.
    Yesterday, we completed the downtown Farmington writing marathon day.  When I participated in my SI in ’07, that was my favorite day.  Oh, we get to say we are writers even if we don’t think we are?  We get to just walk around in downtown Farmington and write about whatever we see?  Cool!  Fun!  And it was cool and fun when we did it this time, too.  It was even better than the first time because I had a better idea of what we were supposed to be doing.
    Surprisingly, the place that got the best writing out of me (in my opinion), was the Spa and Salon.  In 2007, I wrote a poem about a little boy I saw there, and it was the poem that was published in that year’s anthology.

Cutting from One Post to Make Another

I cut this excerpt from my last post in order to get five posts for the month of May.  Since this is the last day of May, I wanted it to say five before it was too late.  Silly, I know, but May was a very hectic month with the end of school, planning for the BWP summer institute, and other stuff.

The Bisti Writing Project summer institute that I will be the co-director of this time around begins this Thursday.  I am so excited to be a bigger part of it!  Last year, I was a tech helper, but this time, I will play a bigger role! 
    I am also hoping that it will help me get into a routine of working out and eating better again, especially for golf.  The plan is to get up and work out every morning before I go.  After the institute, it would be great if two times/week I could go practice some short game or go to the range at Pinon Hills.
    If I want to break 80 this season, I must play better!
    Everyone has left the cabin now except Char, Belinda, Amanda and me.  That’s a combo we have never had here before.  I think Dale had a great birthday.  Last night we had steak, potatoes, salad, and Dale had a gin and tonic (or two or three) with Eric and Anna and Char. 
    The girls and I just got back from an hour long walk through Ground Hog Vista.  It was a nice walk with cool breezes and conversations about teaching and students who misbehave.  Char, although not a teacher, does a fine job with all this teacher talk.  The twins have now washed their hair and they both feel like new women because of it. 
    We have a fire going.  I am writing and the girls are chatting by the fire.  I just texted James and Danielle to see where they are at and what they are doing.  James is the first to reply so far.
    It’s almost 9:00.  I am tired after our walk, and I am having a beer.  It’s making me even more sleepy.  I should proofread Tom’s book some more, but I feel like veggin‘ out and watching a movie.  I might do that instead.  Not in the mood to work or even write right now.

Until next time...

Back at the Cabin and 5th Birdie This Season!

5-16-11
    I am sitting in our truck at the Vanilla Moose waiting for family.  We are celebrating James getting a job with the YCC (Youth Conservation Corps) this summer.  It’s a big deal; this will be his first real job.
A group of teenagers just showed up with James.  They are a busy bunch, moving around, talking, laughing, acting “cool.”  James asked me where Belinda was.  I said I didn’t know.

5-29-11 Memorial Day Weekend
    We are back at the cabin for the first time in a long time.  It’s a big group.  Char, Dale, Anna, and our regular two families came this time.  We are mostly here for...

First Day Back after a Hiatus

I played with Bruce and C.J. today.  It was a beautiful day!  Birds chirping.  Green grass, green trees, green greens.  Sadly, the golf was bad for me.  I was wiped out when it was over.  I am not in good golf shape.  It made me want to play more, though.  I thought I would be able to shoot an 89 without much effort.  Instead, it took a bunch of effort to shoot an adjusted 98.

How the Match Turned Out

5-13-11
    When I teed it up, I was more focused on my routine than on my “I hope I win this thing” attitude and nervousness.  It was not the best tee shot, but I understand why playing often helps improve my game, more than going to a range.  I pulled it, but I had done that many times on this hole in the past.  My ball ended up on the front right corner of the closer teeing ground on hole #12.  It was on the corner so much so that I could only take my normal stance without falling over backwards and no more.
    I had a clear shot between the tall trees over there, and I guesstimated my yardage at around 160 yards or so.  I used my 7-iron, and I was reminded that a lower score is only one good swing away.  My ball shot between the trees and landed just to the right of the hole, short, but also very close to the green.  It took two putts from there, one from off the green a few yards and one gimme from about a foot to earn my par.  Mike ended up with a putt for par from much closer  than my first one, but he left it short.  Carl got into even more trouble, so he did not come close to a par either.  I had won.  I had held them off.  It was a nice victory.  Carl did not talk much when it was over.  I think he was upset, and that he really wanted bragging rights over a coach.   I was glad that I was able to disappoint him.
    Okay, one day I felt a pang of regret for helping with the golf team, but only one day and really only for a moment or two.  Don had to be somewhere else for his Wishon club-fitting business, so I was the only coach at practice.  As I was driving off in a cart to go over to the makeshift practice area behind hole #7, kids walking ahead of me with bags over their shoulders, I saw Bruce and C.J. heading off to go play. 
    My sister and my brother and I quote movies often, so a quote came to mind.  It comes from the third Indiana Jones movie where someone chooses the wrong Cup of the Covenant at the end of the movie.  He takes a drink from the Cup, shrivels up, his face contorting and aging by the second, and then he dies in a poof of dried up skin and bones, the blonde German helping lady shrieking and screaming the entire time.  Then the knight who watches over the Cups says, “He chose poorly.”
    This is after he had told Indie and the group, “You must choose wisely.”
    So, of course, my thought about myself as I saw Bruce and C.J. heading off to play as I was heading off with a bunch of teenagers was, “He chose poorly.”
    My mom, my dad, and my nephew Daryl are here this weekend for James‘s Confirmation.  Sadly, this is also the weekend for the annual Robbie Ward Memorial Tournament.  Bruce had asked me to play via e-mail earlier this week, but I declined, of course, stating I had company this weekend and I could not possibly play. 
    During a game of Sequence tonight, though, I half-jokingly, half-seriously asked my dad if he would want to go with me to the golf course for five hours tomorrow.  I would not be able to play with Bruce and C.J. probably, but I would be able to get on somebody’s team.
    It was dropped.  One look and a comment from Belinda and I knew I had no hope, no chance.  I have a ton of stuff to do at my school anyway and... my family is here!  Priorities, Pat.  Will I ever get to go play golf again without stress or guilt?  Heck, will I even be able to go play golf even with stress and guilt?  I have not played near enough since the weather has gotten nicer.  Arrgghhh!  As I write this, I am still secretly hoping that it might happen tomorrow.  Can I still pull it off?  No.  Forget it.  Next year, it should be a done deal, though.

Match with Two High School Players

5-4-11
    May the 4th be with you.  May day!  May day!  May day!  We are in crunch time at school.  It’s report card testing, end of year field trips, and stress, stress, stress.  I can do it, though.  We will do it.  It will all get done.
    I have finished Chapter One of Tom’s book.  I sent him the first part of Chapter One to see if what I had done was what he had in mind.  I will send him the rest of Chapter One tonight when I get home.  Danielle and I are in my classroom.  It’s 7:32.  She has homework to do, and it has to be done on a PC because she is using Publisher.  Also, when she is done, she needs to print to a color printer, so here we sit. 
    No news from D.K.  I have it in my mind to e-mail her again.  I want to ask her to please give me her permission to do an article and to give me an idea A.S.A.P.  May really does get busy with school, so I need as much time as I can get in order to do a quality article.  Also, the summer institute is starting here at the end of May, so once again the sooner the better.
    As I mentioned in a previous post, I escaped with a victory

A Series of Quick Updates

Let’s see.  Lots to write about again.  First, we were perfect at Moab; we lost every game.  We were, however, possibly the most popular team there the entire weekend.  No way to really measure that effectively, but we did have many people pulling for us.  It might have been because they would have gotten to play against us if we won, but I think they liked our spirit.  No other team got as excited as we did about a block, a long rally, or any good play.  After one fun rally, I chose to call a time out because we were so excited and laughing and winded.  It was great fun!  I am used to winning, but I also know that we all have to start somewhere.  That’s another reason I think we were so well liked.  People saw how young and raw we were, and it might have reminded them of how they were when they started playing. 
    In other news, Tom, head pro Tom at Hidden Valley here, has asked me to proofread his book about working with golf prodigies.  I started tonight.  It’s good, but it does need some editing.  I had higher hopes of starting this past Easter weekend, but we were busy and then we were busy relaxing and enjoying the holiday weekend.
    On Thursday last week, I played match play against one of the high school players, and then it turned into a match against two of them.  I prevailed, but they had a nice charge there at the end and almost got me. 
    Speaking of the golf team, I had one pang of regret on one afternoon that I could tell about.  It went away as quickly as it came, though. 
    I have not heard from D.K. yet.  I plan to e-mail her soon to hopefully give me an idea as soon as possible.  With May coming up, I am going to be extremely busy.  The more time I have to write and research, the better.

10th Excerpt From My Golf Diary

In this excerpt, I write while on an airplane with Belinda to Virginia (and later to New York) to visit Guy.  This was the trip we went up to the top of the World Trade Center the summer right before 9/11.  I discuss how much we feel guilty about being away from our kids, and then I switch quickly to golf.  Not guilty enough, I guess.  I also write about the lessons I had already had with Mike and the things I was learning about and working on including my full swing, my chipping, and my putting.  I even see a comment from June of 2002 about where my putting was at that time. 

7-1-00
We are on an airplane to New York right now.

75th Post! Driving Back to Moab on Memory Lane

4-1-11
    We are on our way to Moab!  James is coming with us.  That is a long story in itself.  We didn’t think he would be able to go due to retreat for his Confirmation.  Then we got a replacement for him after he decided not to go.  The replacement, Chase (last name), said at first that he could go, but then he said he couldn’t.  Then he said he could again, and then he said he couldn’t.  It was just before that we found a substitute retreat for James.  I have to go with him, and that is fine with me, but on the 29th of this month, he and I will go to the Monastery of the High Desert for a one night stay and retreat.  Anyway, it worked out.  I believe in the power of prayer.   
    Danielle got her official temporary driver’s license today, and she is driving from Monticello to Moab as I write.  It was a challenge, but we got it done.  We had to drive all the way back home (from Farmington) to get her certificate of completion for her driver’s ed course, but we all agreed that we didn’t need to do that.  She only needed it to get her permit, which she already had with her, so we are pretty sure it was a wasted trip.  The lady who helped us, Melissa, however, did let us come back to her line after we made it back without getting a new number. She said we had to be back by 10:30.  We didn’t make it, but we got back at 10:45, and she still took us back.  Thank you, Melissa.  Then we went to State Farm to include Danielle on our insurance.  That’s done.  She will get the Steer Clear discount as long as she continues to get good grades and has no accidents and no tickets.  My baby has her driver’s license!  Ack!
    We are all so looking forward to playing in Moab.  B and I were reminiscing as we were driving along.  It’s been fifteen years since we last played in Moab.  Danielle was one year old, and James was three years old.  Danielle cried and cried in the hotel room late that first night.  I took her for a drive outside of Moab since we knew she had to be disturbing the other guests, heading towards Monticello.  It took about twenty minutes or so before she finally konked out. 
    That might happen again tonight.  She was so tired, and she felt so sick last night (with the same cold I have had, the one that includes a stuffy head and painful headaches, especially at night) that it might happen again this evening.  I don’t know if a twenty minute ride will help her this time, though. 
    It took us about four times to finally win at Moab way back then, but once we broke through, we won four or five times in a row.  Ah, good times.  Glory days.
    This is especially fun to go back with our children, to see them learning and playing the game that brought us together.  It’s going to be a special weekend!  More to come later...

Goal Tangent and Mom Was Surprised

Just a quick tangent here, but Bruce wants to shoot a round in the sixties this season, or at some point.  He has yet to shoot even par for eighteen holes, but he has come close.  He’s done it for nine holes before, and he has been under par for nine holes, but not for eighteen yet.  I told him I want to break eighty this season.  That would be fantastic, to have a round in the seventies, something he has already done twice this season.
   
3-27-11
    We are headed back home now.  Danielle is driving.  B is talking to A on the phone in the front passenger seat.  James is playing GameBoy Advanced sitting behind Danielle, and I am behind B.  We are almost to South Fork. 
    It was a great few days there at Mom and Dad’s.  Mom was caught completely by surprise.  We said that the goal was to make her cry, but that’s not hard to do, and, of course, she did.  Mom always puts her emotions right out front where everyone can see them.

And Now for the Birdie Catch-Up

3-24-11

And now for the birdie catch-up.

Hidden Valley-Hole #13-Birdie #2 of 2011 
    I thought I had more birdies already this year, but this is only #2.  I played by myself last Friday, the last day of school before spring break.  Bruce had already played a full eighteen holes since he got out early due to his parent-teacher conferences.  He had played with C.J.  When he finished, I was on #11.  I called him to tell him goodbye and to see how he’d done.  He had played well, but I forget what he said.  I continued on by myself.  On #12, I earned a par by getting up and down from the left side of the green.  On the birdie hole, #13, I took my driver to go over the wash, but I failed.  My drive came out low, and my ball dove in.  I thought it might be on the far side, and it was, but it was still in the wash.  It had found a small island down there, though.  My ball was on a small patch of tall yellow grass.  I chose my pitching wedge, pitched out and ended up just a couple of feet below the hole.  The putt was a formality.  Hooray for my second birdie of this season.

    Bruce, C.J., and I got together with Chris to play a full eighteen holes this past Sunday.  It was Chris’s first time to play since he had ripped his Achille’s.  He was walking pretty well, though.  We decided on match play, Bruce and C.J. vs. Chris and me.

Back Nine Movie

On Netflix tonight, I found a golf movie.  Mostly, the movies about golf on Netflix are not so good, but this one interested me.  It's about a 40-year old guy, Jon Fitzgerald, who has a family and a career, and he also wants to compete professionally in golf.  He wants to see how good he can get at his age.  It was an astounding movie/documentary, and it made me think of my own blog and dreams.  I watched it from start to finish.  It's a great springboard for writing, so I will watch it again, include the parts that were interesting to me here, and make comments on them, too. 

In other quick news, we are headed to Moab tomorrow to play in the Moab co-ed volleyball tournament.  We are returning to where we started twenty years ago when Belinda and I first played together on our own co-ed team called the Griswolds (I was Clark aka "Sparky" and she was Ellen, of course).  This time, we are going as the Swopertons, the name coined by my nephew Daryl on the Christmas cruise.  It will be the Edgertons (Kyle, Amanda, and Becca) and the Swopes (James, Belinda, Danielle, and me).  It's going to be fun.  I'll be posting as we go along, and I'll be writing more on the road, too.

Also, no news from D.K. yet after I e-mailed her my ideas.  

A Bit More About the Golf Team Kids and Match Play with Bruce

When I’ve played with the kids on the golf team, they don’t all know how to mark their golf balls properly.  They don’t know to be ready when it’s their turn to expedite play.  They don’t know that they can use their putters from just off the green if they want to.  Putters are for putting surfaces only.  Anything off the green must require a wedge, right?  It’s things like this that help me to realize how far I’ve come, and yes, I am not a club champ or a scratch golfer yet, but I’ve learned so much, and I have come so far.  

*Danielle just took over driving at Saguache.  She said she was tired, but I told her to tough it out.  I did say, however, that if she really is too tired to drive to please let me know.  We are close to the spot where James fell asleep with his eyes open in our old silver F-150 and almost went off the road.   James is taking a break now.
   
    Bruce and I had a great match on a Sunday recently.

Spring Break and Comparing Golf to Volleyball

3-24-11
    This spring break has not been as fun as others.  We have mostly stayed at home and worked, but that changed today.  We are driving to Lakewood to surprise my mom for her 70th birthday. Guy is flying out from Virginia with his family, and Bev is picking them up at the airport. 
    James is driving, and I am sitting next to him in the passenger seat, a prime writing place for me.  Danielle drove from our house to the top of Wolf Creek where James took over.  It was snowing!  Visibility was terrible, especially when James was driving.  We almost stopped to help some people in what looked like a silver Crown Victoria, but when we started to slide, we changed our minds.  Usually it gets better the farther we go down, but it was getting worse.  It didn’t really get clear until we got to the parts next to the river after the second/new tunnel. 
    Now, we are on the cut-off called 112 after Del Norte heading towards Center, the Gunbarrel, and 285. 
    I have a bunch to write about, including three birdies, losing to Bruce, beating Bruce, helping with the golf team, and more.  So, here I go...
On to golf...

Bitter, True Pill from Belinda

3-19-11
    Well, she e-mailed me!  D.K. wants to know what my ideas are, and she said they probably won’t have the first issue of the new New Mexico Golf Magazine out until June. 
    So, what are my ideas?  I have a few.  First, I wrote that I would really hope/love to have my own regular column.  I would inform, entertain, instruct, etc.  I could travel (expenses paid, of course) to area golf courses and write about them and my experiences.  I could link the articles to my blog somehow by saying something like, “for more information, photos, etc., check out swopeofthegreen.blogspot.com. 
    I talked to B about this idea, and she gave a very bitter, realistic pill for me to swallow, but I agree with her.  My best writing has been (in my opinion, too) when I have kept my part out of it all.  Sad, but true.  I have not won any championships on my own, so why would anyone want to read what I have to say.  I’m no expert.  I am in some ways, and it is no more apparent than when I have helped out with the golf team a couple of times (more on that later).
    Another idea I had was to write about Billie Morgan, the club champ here at Hidden Valley for the past two years in a row.  Who is this guy?  What’s his golf history?  How does he get his ball to go straight with such a flat, baseball type swing?  Will he win again?
    Yet another idea, one that I had pitched to D.K. once before, would be to write about the Four Corners Club Championship.  How did it start?  Why did it start?  How did the first one go?  When is the next one?  How do clubs qualify?  How do players qualify?
    My reply is saved as a draft in my e-mail program right now.  I plan on getting rid of the part about my having a regular column and pitching for the other two.  (I did change it and send it, and I got rid of the 'hope' part as of today 3-21-11).  Maybe she has an idea for me.
    I am actually writing in my truck at Hidden Valley’s parking lot right now.  I came over here to pay my g.h.i.n. for this year and watch C.J. and Bruce for a few holes.  They are playing together in the best ball tournament today. 
    I am killing time until James runs in his track meet today.  He qualified for both the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles, both a first for him.  When I saw him run yesterday, I was impressed!  What a difference a year makes.  He is faster.  He is smoother. 

    He took seventh out of seven in the 100 hurdles.  He was disappointed, but I was so proud.  Last year, he would not even be in the finals.  I go back at 2:30ish to see him run the 300 hurdles.  I am back home now, watching PGA Golf on television while I lie on my bed and write.  For his sake, I hope he does (in his eyes) better.

Bruce and I Play Nine Holes on a Sunday

3-14-11

Bruce called me right after I had finished a late lunch yesterday to ask me if I wanted to play.  Should I?  Had I done all my schoolwork?  Yes!  Was the family off doing other things?  Yes!  I told him I would be there immediately.  Did I have a cold?  Yes, that was true, too, but I decided to suffer through. 
I called ahead to have someone go get my golf clubs as I was driving over.  They are generously storing my clubs in a shed out back since I am helping with the golf team.  They do that for the "kids," too.
We played match play.  It was Bruce's idea, but that sounded fun to me.  I was only going to play nine holes in order to finish in time for church at 6:00.
I'll fill in the details later, but it was a really close match that went to the very last hole. 

Track Meet, Bisti Meeting, and Older, but Big FCGM News

3-12-11
    I am sitting in my truck at Farmington High School at one of James’s track meets.  He runs in about a half hour.  I just finished writing my newsletter for school.  I love this MacBook Pro, and I have switched my journal/diary over to Pages now instead of Word.  It’s easily the best laptop I have ever owned/used. 
    This morning, I attended the Core Bisti Writing Project meeting/brunch at Vicki’s house.  It was a successful and energetic meeting.  As the new tech liaison, I have a big job and a big responsibility.  I got some great ideas for our new Bisti Writing Project web site from the members who attended.  I am excited to get it going. 
    I am also the co-director for this year’s summer institute, another huge responsiblility.  I look forward to that as well.  Without the Bisti Writing Project, I would probably not be writing this.  I would not see myself as a writer, and I would definitely not have submitted articles to Four Corners Golf Magazine or asked to help edit that magazine.
    Speaking of FCGM, they have made a “progression.”  They are combining with the PGA/AGA in the Sun Country Section, and they will have two new magazines: New Mexico Golf Magazine, and West Texas Golf Magazine.

Here is the info from D.K.’s e-mail announcement.

Weather Interrupting and a Tough Easy Choice

3-8-11

Well, with only two possible days of golf practice so far, we have ended up practicing zero days.  The weather has been sleety and windy and cold, so this Thursday might be the first day I actually get to help out this season.

On another note, I passed up playing golf (on purpose, which is amazing) on Sunday.  Both C.J. and Bruce were going, so it should have been a no-brainer, but I had just finished teaching a one graduate credit class for the Bisti Writing Project the day before on, of all things, technology and writing, so I chose to take the time to get caught up in my classroom instead.  I had my lesson plans to put together, my newsletter to write, and progress reports to complete.  If I had played, I would have regretted it and this week would have been tough. 

Big Spring Golf News

3-2-11

I have not posted in a while.  I can sense when it's been too long.  I average about seven posts/month.  That is pretty good considering I am also a full-time teacher, and I got in six for February, a short month.

My big spring golf news is that I have been asked to help with the high school golf team again, and I accepted, but on a part-time volunteer basis only.  I told head coach Don (last name) that I would help out twice a week, and I will go to one tournament when he will be gone.  I am looking forward to it.  I feel a little selfish and guilty for not helping out more, but I also want to play and I have other teaching responsibilities going on this spring.  More to follow...

On another note, I heard from a fellow golf blogger, Richard Mangalone, who e-mailed me to check in.  He was one of the first bloggers (golf bloggers) whose blog I found that was similar to mine when I first started.  Sometimes when I read his posts, it sounds like I am reading something I have written.  It was good to hear from him.  Check out his blog at http://www.sportsfaniq.com/the-golf-blog/.  You can also find him in the list of "blogs I read" on the right side of my site here.

 Until next time...

9th Excerpt from My Golf Diary

In this excerpt from June of 2000, I continue to write about some golf memories that stood out to me.  I almost get blasted by a sprinkler when playing with Eric at Pinon Hills, and I am unexpectedly asked to come play through over a canyon on a different day on hole #4, also at Pinon Hills...  Have I really been playing for almost eleven years now?

First Birdie and 9 Holes of 2011

2-19-11
    I played my first nine holes of the season this morning.  Bruce called; he wanted to beat the bad weather that was heading this way.  It’s here now.  I am on my bed, and as I look out the sliding glass door I see gray skies and rain. B and I planned on doing our taxes together, but when faced with doing taxes or playing golf before the weather gets bad, I choose golf.  She didn't mind.  She had some other stuff she wanted to do.  C.J. joined us, too. 
    I played well.  I am trying something new this season.  I am trying to shorten my backswing.  Watching videos that Guy took of my swing with his iPhone at Grand Lake, especially the ones facing me, I noticed that I go past parallel on my full swings.  What feels like a full swing is really an overly full swing.  I just watched it again, and my clubhead falls well below my left shoulder as I load up, just before I change the club’s direction on the forward swing.  I think I am giving up accuracy when I do this, so my swing thoughts today were to do a three quarter swing instead, and I am betting that even though it feels like three quarters, it’s probably closer to parallel. 
    I shot a 43 today, and it was not ideal conditions.  I also earned my very first birdie of this season!

8th Excerpt From My Golf Diary

Happy Valentine's Day!  

In this excerpt from June of 2000, I write while at Najajo Dam.  A typical scene from my diary includes the twins talking, the kids having fun playing some game together, and Eric off swimming.  This was the first one of many of those scenes.  For golf, I record my eighth birdie ever, too.  It's funny to me that I say I hit my 5-iron from 150 yards.  First, I say "swing" now instead of "hit."  Second, that seems like too much club for 150 yards.  I use my 8-iron from that distance now under "normal" circumstances.  

6-11-00

   We’re at Navajo Dam right now.  Amanda and Eric have their new/used boat and we’re trying it out!  We are all relaxed and having fun.  We wish we had brought dinner, so we could stay longer.

Snow Day!

2-8-11
    Well, this is weird.  We had a snow day today, but as I look out my computer room window, it’s only partly cloudy, frosty looking, and breezy.  It was snowing lightly earlier, but it has since stopped.  I’ll take it, though.      

   I am uploading pictures to MobileMe, pictures from four years ago.  I hope to get most of them uploaded and organized.  What a great feat that would be.  I look ahead to the future when I am gone from this earth, and...

7th Excerpt From My Golf Diary

   In this excerpt from over ten years ago, I have my first golf lesson ever with Mike Stark, the head pro at San Juan Country Club at that time.  This was an exciting thing for me.  What amazes me, reading this again, is that I am now back to a neutral grip, my head holds still, and I have come so far in the past ten years. I shoot much lower scores after all these years with all of my lessons, practices, and playing.  I was thirsting for knowledge and quick improvement back then, but now, I am not in such a hurry.  I do play better now, and that helps, but I am also more patient.    

6-10-00

   It’s official.  I have had my first lesson with a golf pro, Mike Stark.  We were originally going to work only on putting, but...

MLK Jr. Weekend-Happy 75th, Dad!

1-14-11

    We are headed to Lakewood for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.  The plan is to celebrate my father’s birthday, his 75th birthday, the one we missed because we went on a cruise instead of going to Lakewood for Christmas last year.  Dad’s birthday is really December 28th.  We have a surprise guest on the way, too...

My Conversation with Toby-Last Entry of 2010

    Speaking with Toby after my round was nice.  He did not own a dog like the starter at the beginning of my round.  He was very pleasant and full of information.  I wanted to find out the English translation for Estrella del Mar, and this is it: The Star of the Sea.  Estrella meaning star, of course, and Mar meaning sea.  Good name.  Very fitting.

   He also told me he likes..

Estrella del Mar Skinny Guy

 

Enough of that.  On to golf…

   I ordered a sandwich on hole #14, but it didn’t get to me until hole #17, which was silly really.  I could have just waited to finish and then ordered a sandwich, but I was happy to have it when it arrived.  I ate it between shots as I finished my round.  The fries were as wet and wiggly as worms and the sandwich had bacon, but that didn’t stop me from eating them. 

   When I was done playing, I looked for a shirt in the pro shop, but I had no desire to buy one after looking at them all.  They were nice enough, but I felt I had spent my quota on golf for this trip already, and the guilt about Belinda’s birthday was still affecting me.  I heard later she had to kayak with a stranger.  I am sure she was mortified.  He was nice enough, she said, a cop or a naval guy or both, but that must have ruined her birthday as quickly as our money was spent on this cruise ship vacation.  James thought about being the odd one out (not riding with cousin Kyle) since it was his mom’s birthday, but he just couldn’t do it.

   I also missed out on...

Trying to Get Away on a Getaway

12-24-10

   Merry Christmas Eve!  I am on Deck #11, I think.  I am at the back of the ship.  The sun is to my right.  The churning water from the ship’s engines mellows and fades away like a cone as the ship moves farther away from the tip of the cone.  I see a stray ping-pong ball hiding below the windowed railing.  It looks like a mouse scurrying back and forth afraid to be discovered. 

   I thought for sure I had found a place I would not be discovered by my family, but as soon as I sat to write at a table...

The Mexico Christmas Golf Effect

   It took me three holes before I caught up to the next group, Rick’s group.  They asked me if I wanted to join them or play through.  I did not hesitate this time; I told them I was going straight through.  Rick’s brother was smoking a big ol’ cigar, so that made that decision even easier. 

   I am out on our balcony again.   It’s almost 2:00 "ship time."  Kyle was going to take a short nap, but then A and B decided to nap, too, so we are staying on the boat a little longer while they rest.  It’s giving me plenty of writing time, so I am happy. 

   I am in Puerto Vallarta for crying out loud!

Is it a Small World?

   Starting out at Estrella del Mar, the other six who came along did what I did.  I must look like a really great golfer, which is good, but I really wish I was a great golfer, and not just have the appearance of one.  I wanted to warm up for a long time, and then go play by myself.  Both Eric and Curt chose not to go with me to play golf on this trip, so I selfishly hoped not to play with anyone this time. 

   We had one guy from Las Vegas.  He said he shot an 86 (when we were back in the van ready to go back to the ship), which he also said was not good for him.  We also had Bill, Brad, and Jason from Phoenix.  Brad was Jason’s stepson, and Bill was Jason’s best friend.  The other two were brothers who were from, get this...

Estrella del Mar

 12-23-10

   We are resting a bit before we head off the ship to Puerto Vallarta again.  We already did some shopping at a nearby flea market.  Everybody bought something.  I bought two new belts and a money clip.  Walking out of the ship, we saw a mariachi for picture opportunities, a small donkey (for the same reason), and a long sidewalk lined with various tours we could have taken.  For example, ATV tours, tequila factory tours, city and shopping tours, and jungle zip-line tours.  That’s the tour the Lamberts are taking today, the zip-line one. 

   The golf was swell, although it was tainted by the drive over.  I felt like I was a privileged, wealthy snob.  It was a most uncomfortable feeling since I am not that way at all.  I am a humble teacher, a servant really.  It’s not my style to be catered to or to be in such posh surroundings.  This whole vacation I’ve had to convince myself that we deserve this, that I deserve this.  It has not been easy.  

   When I played hole #13, some boys, maybe 13 or 15 years old, were trying to sell me some golf balls.  I had to say no.  We (our three families) all learned to say no over and over again, "No thank you. No gracias.  No, no thank you."

   “Pro-V,” they would say!   

   I didn’t want any golf balls.  I have plenty.  My first shot went out of bounds, a bad hook, and the boy near the green found it and gave it back to me.  I thanked him because I had a small thought that he might ask for money for my own ball. He didn’t.  He then applauded when I got my fourth shot close, and then once more when I finished the hole, so I nodded and touched the bill of my hat.  I asked him, although it was pretty obvious that he did not speak English, if he had ever been struck by a golf ball.  I motioned with my arm to mime it out for him.  He shook his head.  He asked me again if I wanted to buy some golf balls, but when I said no this time, he said, as I was walking away, “Money for food?” 

   He did not smile.  I felt a pang of guilt.  I told him I had no pesos, but I really meant I did not have any pesos, not that I didn’t have any money.  I think he thought I meant I had no cash at all.  Either way, our brief encounter ended at that point and the awkward silence caused me to walk away.  What else could I say at that point?  I felt bad, but for all I know he could be a "minor" scam artist.  Or maybe not.

 

One Good Birthday Choice and One Bad One

12-22-10

   Today is Amanda and Belinda’s 43^rd birthday.  I gave Belinda a brand new Canon digital camera before we left for this vacation.  I let her pick it out for herself from Best Buy, so I know she is happy with it.  It’s another Canon (her last camera, the one the children dropped and broke at Grand Lake was also a Canon), a slick black one that’s not too small or too big.  She likes those.  I am proud of myself.  She used it again today, and she told me she got some clear pictures of the kids parasailing.  Danielle’s pictures, she said, are the best because Danielle went last and the practice she had taking pictures of the others helped.

   I am sitting on the balcony again.  This is becoming my favorite spot for writing on this cruise.  It’s private, it’s cooler...