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...
the green and was putting for an eagle. Yes, an eagle! I ended up with a birdie, and I did write about that already (see above). What I haven’t written yet is that the very next time we played #11, it didn’t go as well at all. My drive was a low hook, and it didn’t look like it even would clear the wash. C.J. and I spent more time than was normal looking for it in the weeds that line the ditch, but it refused to be found. So, my thought was, “With golf, one day you’re putting for an eagle, and the next day you’ve lost your ball in the weeds.”
The other thought came more recently, and it comes mostly from things C.J. has said and observed. He commented on how he had changed his mind on a read, and this proves my point about how fickle golf can be, because he had a bad result. He grumbled about how he should have stuck with his first read. We’ve also talked frequently about how the second swing is always better. If, for example, I’ve hit a bad drive, my provisional drive is always longer and more accurate. So, I came up with, “In golf, first instincts and second swings are always better.”
As Dale would have said, “That’s worth about a cup of coffee.”
Speaking of Dale, we have scheduled his life celebration for Saturday, September 15th at 4:00 at the Aztec Museum. That’s a very fitting location due to the hard work he put in to keep that place going. We continue to mourn. If I begin to think about it, like I’m thinking about it now, I feel sad, tired, and depressed. It’s hard to say and believe that I’m fine when I’m really not.
On to golf…
I will distract myself by getting those three birdies in here. This first one came when C.J. and I played with Don Greenwood. The last time we invited Don, he had back issues, so he couldn’t play. We were happy he could join us this time. We played the points game, and this helped boost my score at the end of the round, and that was great because Don turned it up a notch on the back and really challenged me.
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #17-Birdie #34 of 2018
Don had earned multiple points on the first four holes, and his game was really coming together. I had earned 38 on the front, but after those first four holes, he was up to 35 already. He actually took the lead after earning six more points on hole #15 with a pop. He takes the same pops that C.J. does to make it fair and competitive.
I chose my 9-iron, and it was a loose and relaxed swing. It surprised me that it made it to the green, but it did, and I was left with ten feet or so for my birdie. That putting carpet I use for practicing has really helped my putting recently. I see the lines clearly, and it was the same for this one. With a short backswing, I put my ball on the line I see, and it usually works. It did for this hole. I won ten points with this birdie. When it was all over, the scores were Pat: 54, Don: 41, and C.J.: 21.
Then C.J. and I played alone a week ago on Thursday, and we chose the G.I.R. game. It was extremely competitive, and once again it came down to the final hole. This birdie gave me the lead for the second time on the front nine.
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #5-Birdie #35 of 2018
I sure wish I could play this hole in this same manner every time. My drive landed in the middle of the fairway near the 200-yard marker. My utility club landed my ball just short of the green on the shorter grass. I pitched on with my approach wedge, and I nearly made an eagle. It rolled just past the hole on the right side and stopped a foot away. The putt was simple; I just put it on the right line, since it was a bit downhill. After this birdie, the score was Pat: 11, C.J.: 10. It remained close throughout this round.
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #12-Birdie #36 of 2018
I should’ve waited to tee off on this hole. I saw two people getting ready to start on #11, so I really shouldn’t have swung. I did, anyway, because I thought the odds were slim I would hit it their direction. I was wrong. C.J. and I hollered and hollered, “Fore! Fore!” But they just stopped and stood there. They didn’t duck. They didn’t cover their heads. It was strange.
When I walked over to them, their body language showed me that they were tense and upset. I apologized. They said they were terrified. I said I understood. I apologized again. I really think they didn’t know what to do when someone shouts, “Fore!”
So, I told them. I said they should duck and cover. She accepted my apology, but the man was silent. Oh well.
I had to wait a long time to play my second shot. C.J.’s tee shot was well back and behind the trees, but I didn’t want to go help him; I wanted to stay away from that strange couple. After they left, though, I did go back and helped him find his ball after his second shot.
When it was my turn, I used my sand wedge to launch my ball toward the green. It was about 60 yards away, and I was on the short grass of the teeing ground where the couple had just teed off. My ball headed right at the flag, bounced just before it, turned left a bit, and stopped about six feet from the hole. My putt was a left to right putt with about a cup of break in it. It rolled in to help me get six more points, but C.J. had earned six for his birdie on #10. It was close after this hole, too. The score after my birdie was Pat: 24, C.J.: 20.
I really had an opportunity to seal the deal on #18. I had driven it past the corner and the O.B. (luckily and thankfully), and I only had my 9-iron to make my approach, but it was a poor swing, and I ended up having to pitch on from about 40 yards out. That sounds easy, but the green is so much more narrow now, so it ended up going long. I could only earn two points at that point by getting up and in for my par from off the green. I was behind by two points, so I really needed to get the full three points with a green in regulation, the par, and the win.
C.J. ended up getting two points, though, by making an amazing putt from off the green for his par, and that was after his ball had gone in the ditch. The final score was C.J.: 40, Pat: 36. I love how competitive it’s been between C.J. and me lately, especially because Bruce has not been playing as much due to his new job.
Enough for now. Belinda and I are driving to Pagosa Springs with Kody for dinner tonight. We are leaving in eight minutes. Looking forward to seeing our daughter again, although it will be a really fast visit.
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