Written on 9-19-15.
I am in the basement of a VRBO in Colorado Springs. We are here for Daryl and Katie’s wedding, which begins in a little over two hours. I have so much to write, so I will do a quick summary to help me get it organized in my head.
First, I want to recount how St. Francis kept showing up with my family. It happened three times, once in Albuquerque with Belinda and Danielle, once in Cuba with Belinda and James, and once more in Santa Fe when I went to church alone. The circumstances for each appearance were serendipitous, in my opinion, and rather amazing, too.
Second, I earned three birdies in my last few rounds. C.J. and I continue to play alone on Wednesdays, but on one Friday morning, we played with and against Mike and Pat for a best ball match play competition. Anyway, I have two from that round, one on #11 with the sprinklers going full blast and another on #14 that was inches away from an eagle. The other came more recently when C.J. and I played against each other with stroke play, he from the whites and I from the blues. I had a pitch-in birdie on #2 in that round to start out even on the first three holes. That was a close match!
Third, I have much to relay about...
this weekend. Belinda said a funny thing when James was leaving. His app said that it was 17 minutes to the church. Mine said 14. He left, but then he had to come back in and get something he forgot. Belinda said, “There’s your three minutes!”
Hopefully I will have more time to write on the way home. I better go. Off to the wedding!
Written on 9-23-15.
Today is the first official day of fall. I am so glad I was able to play golf. C.J. and I played eighteen holes, and it was gorgeous weather. Belinda and I talked about how great fall would be when we were retired, and today was the day to make that dream come true. It’s surreal. Belinda and I have a new term for our rewirement, the “Bipolar Express.” I am in no way making light or fun of anyone who really has Bipolar Disorder, but it illustrates a point, and it matches the way we feel at times. We can be overly joyful, almost jubilant at times, and at other times we can feel sad, depressed (just a bit), and confused. Neither C.J. or I had a single birdie today, but I really want to get those three birdies in here before I forget the details.
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #11-Birdie #31 of 2015
C.J. and I took on Mike and Pat in best ball match play on September 11th. It was a Friday, and we all agreed to play after The First Tee session on Thursday. We actually won! We started fast, going 4 up in the first four holes with C.J.’s bogey on #1 and three straight pars from me. We ended up winning 4 & 3. This birdie put us back to 5 up.
My drive flew over the cottonwood, and it looked fantastic! It had an opportunity to be in the bunker, but we wouldn’t know until we arrived. Mike was certain it would be in there. I saw a ball just outside of the bunker, less than a step out of it on its back side. It was a Bridgestone ball, but it had no markings, so it wasn’t mine, and then I did see mine just inside the bunker, less than a step inside.
The sprinklers had just come on, but I was more than willing to finish the hole. C.J. talked about moving on to the next hole, but after my approach I really wanted to finish, and since he was my partner, I know he wanted that, too.
My approach wedge clipped the ball neatly out of the bunker. It looked like dry mud in there, but it felt and acted more like wet clay. Either way, I caught it just right to get it to land right on the green, about twenty feet from the hole that was in the middle. I worked my way in between the sprinklers so as to not get soaked. I thought Pat was going to tend the flag for me, or at least leave it out of the hole, but he took off in a hurry. I think he thought I was already done, and I am betting he didn’t want to get soaked. I took it out myself (he apologized) and then rolled the ball directly into the hole. It was a straight putt, and with the wet green I put plenty of speed on it. It was an unlikely birdie, and it was fun!
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #14-Birdie #32 of 2015
This birdie kept us 4 up. Mike, C.J., and I all got birdies on this hole. The hole was cut in the bowl, so that helped. I nearly earned an eagle. My driver put my ball in a great position; this was one of the longest drives I have had on this hole for a long time, landing near the spot where I won the long drive competition years ago. My 9-iron worked out so well after that. It landed up on the top of the green, and then it rolled down into the bowl, but it had some speed on it, so it went well past the hole, stopping on the green, but it was twenty feet away again, just about the same length as the birdie putt on #11. As my ball rolled back towards the hole, it was looking really favorable. Mike even said as it rolled, “All American Eagle!”
It was not meant to be, however. It stopped just short, within an inch, an easy tap-in birdie.
Okay, I only have one birdie left to report. I’ll do it at a later date, though. It’s getting late, and I want to go to sleep.
Until next time…
I am in the basement of a VRBO in Colorado Springs. We are here for Daryl and Katie’s wedding, which begins in a little over two hours. I have so much to write, so I will do a quick summary to help me get it organized in my head.
First, I want to recount how St. Francis kept showing up with my family. It happened three times, once in Albuquerque with Belinda and Danielle, once in Cuba with Belinda and James, and once more in Santa Fe when I went to church alone. The circumstances for each appearance were serendipitous, in my opinion, and rather amazing, too.
Second, I earned three birdies in my last few rounds. C.J. and I continue to play alone on Wednesdays, but on one Friday morning, we played with and against Mike and Pat for a best ball match play competition. Anyway, I have two from that round, one on #11 with the sprinklers going full blast and another on #14 that was inches away from an eagle. The other came more recently when C.J. and I played against each other with stroke play, he from the whites and I from the blues. I had a pitch-in birdie on #2 in that round to start out even on the first three holes. That was a close match!
Third, I have much to relay about...
this weekend. Belinda said a funny thing when James was leaving. His app said that it was 17 minutes to the church. Mine said 14. He left, but then he had to come back in and get something he forgot. Belinda said, “There’s your three minutes!”
Hopefully I will have more time to write on the way home. I better go. Off to the wedding!
Written on 9-23-15.
Today is the first official day of fall. I am so glad I was able to play golf. C.J. and I played eighteen holes, and it was gorgeous weather. Belinda and I talked about how great fall would be when we were retired, and today was the day to make that dream come true. It’s surreal. Belinda and I have a new term for our rewirement, the “Bipolar Express.” I am in no way making light or fun of anyone who really has Bipolar Disorder, but it illustrates a point, and it matches the way we feel at times. We can be overly joyful, almost jubilant at times, and at other times we can feel sad, depressed (just a bit), and confused. Neither C.J. or I had a single birdie today, but I really want to get those three birdies in here before I forget the details.
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #11-Birdie #31 of 2015
C.J. and I took on Mike and Pat in best ball match play on September 11th. It was a Friday, and we all agreed to play after The First Tee session on Thursday. We actually won! We started fast, going 4 up in the first four holes with C.J.’s bogey on #1 and three straight pars from me. We ended up winning 4 & 3. This birdie put us back to 5 up.
My drive flew over the cottonwood, and it looked fantastic! It had an opportunity to be in the bunker, but we wouldn’t know until we arrived. Mike was certain it would be in there. I saw a ball just outside of the bunker, less than a step out of it on its back side. It was a Bridgestone ball, but it had no markings, so it wasn’t mine, and then I did see mine just inside the bunker, less than a step inside.
The sprinklers had just come on, but I was more than willing to finish the hole. C.J. talked about moving on to the next hole, but after my approach I really wanted to finish, and since he was my partner, I know he wanted that, too.
My approach wedge clipped the ball neatly out of the bunker. It looked like dry mud in there, but it felt and acted more like wet clay. Either way, I caught it just right to get it to land right on the green, about twenty feet from the hole that was in the middle. I worked my way in between the sprinklers so as to not get soaked. I thought Pat was going to tend the flag for me, or at least leave it out of the hole, but he took off in a hurry. I think he thought I was already done, and I am betting he didn’t want to get soaked. I took it out myself (he apologized) and then rolled the ball directly into the hole. It was a straight putt, and with the wet green I put plenty of speed on it. It was an unlikely birdie, and it was fun!
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #14-Birdie #32 of 2015
This birdie kept us 4 up. Mike, C.J., and I all got birdies on this hole. The hole was cut in the bowl, so that helped. I nearly earned an eagle. My driver put my ball in a great position; this was one of the longest drives I have had on this hole for a long time, landing near the spot where I won the long drive competition years ago. My 9-iron worked out so well after that. It landed up on the top of the green, and then it rolled down into the bowl, but it had some speed on it, so it went well past the hole, stopping on the green, but it was twenty feet away again, just about the same length as the birdie putt on #11. As my ball rolled back towards the hole, it was looking really favorable. Mike even said as it rolled, “All American Eagle!”
It was not meant to be, however. It stopped just short, within an inch, an easy tap-in birdie.
Okay, I only have one birdie left to report. I’ll do it at a later date, though. It’s getting late, and I want to go to sleep.
Until next time…
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