A Pieced Together 75, A and B, and the Final Post of 2012

Also written on 12-8-12

    I played with Bruce and Reilly today.  I really wanted to play those holes I had missed, so I forced the issue with Bruce to see if he and Reilly would be game.  I told him I wanted to play a weird ten holes starting with #15 and going to #18.  After that, I wanted to go over to #4 since I was one under after playing with C.J. on Wednesday to see if I could finish that nine holes even or possibly under par.  They, of course, were fine with it.  They were...

Blues from the Blues and 2 on 1 Again

Written on 12-8-12.

    C.J. and I have played together a couple of times recently.  He beat me handily in a game I came up with this past Sunday.  Since I have been driving the ball so well lately, and I was originally going to play with Cameron from the blues (he couldn’t make it), I decided to see if I could beat C.J. from the blues with him playing from the whites.
    It was back and forth until the last two holes.  Playing from the blues is...

What the "Halo" is Going On?

Written on 12-6-12.

    The deal was that James would play golf with us (Bruce, Reilly and me) if I would play Halo with James against them later that day.  It didn’t pan out, though, and that’s a good thing.
    That evening, I texted Bruce to let them know we were “ready.”  James and I practiced while we waited. 
    What I was hoping for was a gentle tutorial.  I didn’t get it. James’s teaching style: Throw Dad to the wolves.  Trial by fire.  Live if you can for as long as you can.  The average was less than 30 seconds each time.
      How do I crouch down?  Okay, now may I please practice crouching until I can do it without thinking?  NO!  How do I switch weapons?  May I practice switching until it’s “automatic?”  NO!  That’s what it was like.
    I whined like a spoiled three-year old.  “Which button makes me run?  Stop shooting me!  This is no fun.  Would you at least give me a chance?”
    James would reply, “Reilly’s not going to give you a chance.  How are you going to be ready unless you learn it this way?”
    When James and I just played against each other, that was the worst.  He could finish me in less than 30 seconds every time.  It reminded me of the Office episode when Jim moved to another branch to get away from Pam since she was going to marry Roy.  They played a shooter game (James, I’m sure knows the name of it.), and Jim was a rookie just like me.  His character was stuck jumping helplessly against a wall when he was rudely blasted in the back of the head.  Sigh.  These games are so violent, but I wanted to honor my part of the deal.
    It got a little better when we played online against other players.  I could follow the other members of my team and help finish someone that a teammate had weakened.  They could protect me a little.  I could hide.  This part was not as bad, but Bruce and Reilly never got online.  We still haven’t played against them, but Christmas break is coming.  I am sure to be humbled again soon.

For Maggie

    This is difficult to write.  Maggie did not survive to see Christmas this year.  C.J. called me yesterday morning to let me know, and I knew what he was going to tell me when I took the phone from Belinda; he had never called me before on the morning of a school day.  I had also never heard him so upset, but it made perfect sense...Maggie was like an adopted daughter to C.J. and Lynne. 
    A darkness was already hanging over our family, our community, and our city because of the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and all of the national coverage that went along with it.  Hearing about Maggie's death dropped my spirits even lower and brought my thicker skin to the surface.  I had to go to school and face my students, set an example, be tough.
    I maintained my harsh exterior until I got home.  Danielle was working on her personal narrative.  I sat on the couch above her since she was sitting on the floor.  I rubbed her arm and thought about Bruce.  Guilt overwhelmed me.  Love for my daughter overwhelmed me.  I could not picture a world without my daughter.  Here she was alive, sitting right in front of me.  Bruce (and Diane) no longer have their daughter.  I am filled with sorrow. 
    My only optimistic thought is that I know they would not trade the time that they had together for anything.  They have that, and no one can take that away from them.  I am thankful for Maggie's life and for knowing her.  Maggie's wish was that her family would get together for Christmas.  It may not have turned out the way Maggie had envisioned, but in a unique and inexplicable way they did come together as a family this Christmas. 

    I immediately became a member of Maggie's blog when I heard she had died, and I left a comment for her and her family.  It is linked to this blog, and it will always remain there.  We will miss you, Maggie.    
         

4 Birdies and Reilly's First 44

Written on 11-28-12.

    Before November ends, I want to get these four birdies in here, so here I go...

Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #13-Birdie #38 of 2012  

    I was playing golf with my son.  He never really wanted to play golf with me when he was younger, and I was fine with that.  He and Danielle joined me a few times when they were little, but it never stuck with either one.  They had other interests, and I wanted them to do what they wanted anyway. 
    He really enjoyed basketball and he had incredible speed and potential, but...

Father and Son Day

I started to write this post on 11-22-12.

    When James and I played golf yesterday, it was dreamlike.  James was the inexperienced one among us, but he had a great time, and so did I, and he really had some excellent shots and putts...for someone who doesn’t play.

11-26-12

    We chose scramble match play to keep it low stress for James.  I thought it would be a blow-out with two golfers vs. one golfer and one non-golfer, but it was close and James helped, especially with his putting. 
    Bruce and Reilly earned a birdie right away on hole #1.  We tied it up with a par on #2.  On those first two holes we had used three of James’s shots already.  His blind pitch on #1 from 50 yards ended up two feet closer than mine.  His putt from around four feet...