James and His Magical Tee Shot on #17 at Grand Lake

Written on 7-19-13.

    C.J. and I played today and two days ago.  Bruce is out of town in San Diego, so it was just the two of us.  We had a wonderful time, and midway through our round two days ago I was reminded of summers when I was a child.  As we walked up #1 starting our second nine holes, I remembered the carefree feeling of summers long ago, playing games out in our front yard or our back yard, the smell of humidity and summer fragrances (green trees, fresh grass, fresh breezes) mixing and abounding.  I remembered playing in the gutters with sticks, homemade boats, or fabricated toy plastic boats in our sidewalk gutter gushing with water.  It had the smell of hot blacktop and quickly evaporating water.  It was that fun!  Ain’t summer grand?
    I earned two birdies during our first round, and then I earned two more today, but before I write about those, I wanted to get James’s “tee shot” on #17 at Grand Lake in here.  It was a highlight of the round, at least for me, but probably not for James.
    It looked to me like he was standing closer and closer to his golf ball near the end of the round, but that was not helping his swing; quite the opposite.  A few times before this tee shot, the heel of his club had come into contact with his ball causing it to shoot out hard and to the left, sometimes in close proximity with his left leg.  That’s what happened on this shot, but it was amplified.
    A group was on the green on hole #2, which was to the left and behind this teeing ground.  I don’t know how James did it, but...

Bad Back, Berryhill Reunion, and the Power of Writing

Written on 7-7-13.   
   
    The volleyball girls held a benefit car wash for their head coach and my good friend, Anna Strauss, today.  It was a huge success.  We worked for about five hours, cleaning cars and trucks steadily the entire time.  Many friends showed up to give their support, having heard about it on Facebook.  She’s had some health issues, so she is on her way back from the Mayo Clinic in Massachusetts.  I am glad she is taking the time to get it all figured out, and I pray she will be healthy from here on out.  I hope they discovered what was ailing her and that once it’s treated, she will be as good as new.
    I am not as good as new right now, however; I hurt myself.  It was my own fault.  During open gym last week, I bent down to pick up a volleyball standard that was a bit too far away from me, lifted while reaching forward and tore my lower back out.  Actually, as painful as it still is, I wish I could “tear my back out” right now.  The fire and the stinging sensation that came instantly caused me to drop the standard, and I nearly fell forward.  I recognized the familiar agonizing feeling immediately since I had done it more than a few times before.  I am still in agony as I type this.
    I’ve been stretching, resting, heating and walking to get it straightened out, but it is a slow process.  I missed out on playing in the Red, White, and Blue Tournament yesterday, so I could not defend my title.  Chris and I won it last year.  I was slated to play with “Wyoming Terry,” but I called the morning before to let him know what had happened and to give him a chance to get another partner.  He was watching the fireworks show in Silverton. 
    I am sad and angry, but it is what it is.  Working at the car wash was difficult, but it felt good to be a part of something where I could help somebody else for a change.  It was Becca’s idea, and it was a fantastic one.  Eric allowed us to use his parking lot at Big-O Tires.  We earned a ton of money considering we were only out there for about four to five hours, and it was a team bonding experience as well.  We might do it again as a fundraiser for the team next time.

Written on 7-10-13.

    We are staying at the Apple Orchard Inn again, but this time it’s for the second Berryhill Reunion.  The last one was eight years ago in Aztec.  Jess (my mother-in-law) and John (her older brother by twelve years), and I were discussing this very journal after I read from some of the letters she had brought (multiple green binders full of them), letters written by her mother and father (and some others) from the mid-thirties to the early fifties.  I suggested the possibility of Jess summarizing them and putting the content in a blog of her own.  My feeling is once on the internet, forever preserved for future generations. 
    I feel so strongly in the power of writing, the ability to capture time through words.  Who knows who the audience will be.  Did John and Jess’s parents ever think that their letters might be read out loud in front of their children by a future son-in-law at a family reunion decades later? 
    No.  No way.  I am sure they did not, but because I read certain sections about the two siblings, memories were triggered and ensuing conversations were started.  If the letters were gone or destroyed, if Jess hadn’t saved them and organized them, it never would have happened.  Jess has threatened her three daughters that it will be written in her will that they will be explicitly forbidden to throw the letters out.  I might end up being the one who saves them.

Cobble Creek Road Trip!

Eric, Myself, Bruce, and C.J. on the #1 Tee at the Cobble Creek Golf Course in Montrose, Colorado

    I earned one birdie, and we all had a blast at the Cobble Creek Golf Course, where my buddy Troy's the head pro.  We were there the end of June and the beginning of July weekend, and we plan on making it an annual trip from here on out.


Cobble Creek Golf Course-Hole #15-Birdie #18 of 2013 

    This is a short par four.  I remember reading the hole by hole descriptions online before we left.  This hole was described as “a true ‘risk/reward’ golf hole.”  It is the easiest hole on the course, and I can see why.  Big hitters can drive it, which is how I chose to play it.  It has a long rock wall with large flagstone-looking rocks protecting the front of the green, and a little creek runs along the front, too.
    I used a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, honestly thinking that my inappropriately titled golf balls would go too far.  It worked out just right.  Somehow my ball landed in the thicker grass just to the left of the green, missing the rock wall and the creek. Phew!  I used my new open stance chip shot to get my ball within twelve feet and below the hole.  The putt was mostly straight, and I got my one and only birdie of my two rounds at Troy’s golf course.
    During the next day’s round, I attempted to drive it again, but my ball must have gone in the creek; I earned a bogey that time.  Risk/reward.

Driving With Confidence

And now for my most recent birdie at Grand Lake...

Grand Lake Golf Course-Hole #17-Birdie #16 of 2013

    I don’t like to brag, but I am going to do it anyway.  I drove the ball better than I ever have in my life during this round.  Not all were fantastic.  I had some lame drives on #1 (past the fairway and in the rough), #2 (worst drive of the day, pulled well to the left), #5 (long, but on the wrong fairway), #6 (long, but in the rough on the right side) and #7 (too far right), but I had some incredibly long and accurate drives on holes #9, #10, #12, #13, #14, #15, #17 (this hole), and #18.  Putting those numbers in shows me that....

Ultimate Frisbee and My Best Shot of the Summer...So Far

Written on 6-25-13.

    Daryl, James, Guy and I played at Grand Lake Golf Course this morning, and it was a blast!  I was hoping to play a different golf course this time, but it didn’t work out.  We wanted to play early enough to not miss out on afternoon family activities, and Grand Lake was the only golf course we could afford before any of the later twilight fees.
    I scored two birdies, and I believe those were the first birdies I have ever scored there.  I think we’re about to leave to go downtown, though, so I’ll record those later, along with some other funny and fun parts of our round together.

Until next time...

Written on 6-28-13.

    It’s my second birthday today!  Two years ago I had my brain surgery.  Now, I tell everyone who asks it’s as if nothing happened, but I know something did.  I am a changed and better person now.  My perspective on life was always fine, but now it’s even more appreciative.
    I am in Farmington.  We are here to watch...