Two Fall Birdies

Written on 9-22-18.

     Belinda, Kody, and I are sitting out on our front porch, “Haven.”  I am about to go barbecue some chicken.  I can hear our neighbor, John, talking on his phone with a friend in the background.  Belinda went on a hike today out past Purgatory and Cascade Village with some of her school friends, and she saw some wonderful colors; it’s that time of year.  I relish this time of year.  C.J. and I got to go play golf in this fantastic weather this morning, and it was wonderful.  The high was in the mid-’70s.  Gorgeous golf weather right now.

     I earned two birdies during today’s round.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #4-Birdie #37 of 2018             

     We were playing a version of a points game that was slightly different.  I believe it was 3 points for a G.I.R., 3 points for a par, 5 for a birdie, and 7 for an eagle.  Getting up and in from off the green for a par was worth 2 points, and fairways were worth 1 point.  

     On four par three holes today, I hit my tee shots thin, causing them to fly lower and farther than I wanted.  This was one of those holes.  The white tees were in the middle, and the hole was down on the bottom.  My thinned 9-iron put my ball just off the green and below the hole.  I chose to putt from there, and when my ball was three feet away, I thought it was going to stop, but it just continued its slow march until it dropped in gently, not even tapping the flagstick.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #11-Birdie #38 of 2018             

     Our front nine scores were embarrassing.  We did not play well at all, except for my skulled birdie on #4.  That’s why it was so gratifying to turn things around and play up to my potential on the back nine.  

     For this birdie, I drove my ball over the wash where it settled into the bunker on the far left side.  The hole was cut on the far right side and near the middle.  C.J. got up and in from just off the green on the right side for his par.

     My second shot was the most difficult and the most impressive.  It was a long bunker shot, and the lie was not great.  My ball was sitting down on a small track, and that made the contact much more difficult, but I splashed my ball out just like a pro!  It popped up, landed on the green near the hole, and stopped on the far side.  The putt was not an easy one either.  The greens had been aerated, so I was putting through a bunch of tiny holes.  Just before I putted, I could clearly see six inches of break from right to left, so I just put my ball on the line that I saw so clearly in my head.  It worked so well.  My ball curved and dropped right in the hole. 

     When it was all over, the stretch of the first four holes gave me enough points to hold on until the very end of the round.  The final score was Pat: 40 to C.J.: 30.  I shot an 85, and that was with a 37, just +3, on the back nine.  

Until next time…

Bruce Takes a Break

Written on 9-11-18.

     I can’t type that date and not think of its significance.  I’m one of those who will never forget.  We had a delay at school due to electrical problems that day.  Belinda and I watched it all as it unfolded on the Today Show while we were waiting for the two-hour school delay to end.  We chose to go to school after the delay, but very few students were there.  It ended up being a wasted day.  Many parents, afraid that something might happen at school, chose to keep their children at home.  That was 17 years ago.  

On to golf…

     C.J. and I are going to continue playing without Bruce for a while.  When I last texted Bruce, he said he had several other projects he is enjoying right now, so I don’t know when he will join us again.  We miss him, certainly, but C.J. has taken over beating me lately, so I’m having no problems remaining humble.  

     We played nine holes on Thursday last week, and then we played the other nine on Friday.  I chose to play only nine holes both times mostly due to our new puppy, Kody.  I didn’t want to leave him alone for such a long time in our backyard.  Today, however, I felt he would be okay for an entire round of 18 holes, and he did...

Our New Puppy Kody and Much More

Written on 9-1-18.

     We have a new pet.  We have talked incessantly about possibly getting one since we “rewired” four years ago, but we went all in and picked up our new pup, now named Kody, yesterday.  He was originally and temporarily named Kyle because Kyle was the first one of the Swopertons to hold him when we first visited when the puppies were just two weeks old.  So, Dixie started calling him Kyle.  Danielle came home two days ago when we brought him home for an orientation, and we were actually able to keep it a surprise right up until the moment Danielle plucked him out of the pen from his siblings.  I said, “Okay, let’s go.”

     She didn’t believe me at all, but Belinda and I persisted and convinced her that he was definitely ours.  Now, he’s playing with Belinda in our living room.  We have not had a dog since Zen, and the timing really couldn’t be better.  We need a new hobby, a distraction, and an object of our affection.  We still have Pikachu, and I love Pikachu.  I will always love our Pika!  Kody is adorable, however, and he is quite bright, in my opinion.  He slept in his bed/crate from 10:00 last night until 6:00 this morning without a single accident.  He already knows how to sit, stay (a bit), lie down (kind of), and he goes into his crate without hesitation (mostly).

Written on 9-2-18.

     It’s the day before Labor Day, and we are relaxing on a Sunday.  Belinda and Kody are out front.  She is reading in her lounger, and he is passed out on the front porch under one of our blue cushiony chairs.  I’m half-writing, half-watching the Dell Technologies Championship in our computer room.

On to golf…

     I have a couple of new thoughts on golf and three birdies to catch up on.

     I’ll start with those two new thoughts.  The first came after two days of play on hole #11.  It’s just so typical of how fickle golf can be.  On the first day, I had driven...

Sad and Shocking News

Written on 8-28-18.

     I’m thankful for golf for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that it gets me and keeps me writing.  I haven’t wanted to write lately, and that’s because my father-in-law, Dale, died on Thursday, August 16th.  It was a shock, and we’re still reeling and recovering.  Belinda and I hugged and cried again just yesterday.  We cried because I went to finish up the narration for the Red Cedar Gathering Company with Daniel and Anna, the job that Dale hired me to do. The first time I did that work ended up being the last time I got to see him alive.  When I told Belinda how Anna exuded sadness and was obviously still struggling (understandably so), we both broke down.  It’s so quiet there now.  It’s just Anna and Daniel, the two introverts.  The flamboyant, friendly, “Hello, Ramsey Realty!” Dale is no longer there. 

     Writing about it now is giving me a headache similar to the one that I felt the evening of the day he died.  It’s been painful.  He died of a heart attack, and he had just finished his lunch at Blake’s.  We guess he blacked out after putting his car in reverse, because the car ended up in the ditch across the road, pointing up at the sky with the back of the car completely smashed and the back window knocked inside.  Ten or so people came to help and/or watch.  Adam, one of the cooks from Blake’s, climbed into the car through the back where the window was to help unbuckle him.  The first responders were able to get his heart going again in the ambulance, but only faintly.  The last-ditch effort of a pacemaker failed at the hospital.  

     I left the dentist right after my cleaning, completely avoiding my exam, and drove directly to the hospital, not in a really safe way.  When your wife wants you right away, you get there right away.  That’s when I found out he didn’t survive.  That’s enough for now.  I’ll catch up with more later.

     I played golf today, though, and that’s why I’m writing.  So, thank you, golf, for forcing the issue.

Until next time…