Meeting Interesting People While Playing Golf

Written on 9-17-26.

Right to the golf…

I played at Hillcrest with Herman (not his real name).  He invited me to play, since Ashley (not her real name either) was playing at Escalante Middle School. I found the scorecard, and it was a while ago.  He only played until hole #12, and then he left to go watch the match.  I started strong.  I got a bogey on the mentally tough first hole.  I muffed a chip, and that was why.

Then the lightning came.  And, the rain.  I left my clubs under a tree near the teeing grounds.  I left my umbrella up to protect my clubs from getting soaked, too. 

We were playing with two older guys, and Herman knew one of them.   I think he invited him.  I remember the other one was Michael, but I can’t remember Herman's friend’s name.  Maybe it was Phil.  I will use that for this writing.  Both were friendly.  Michael was from Texas, but he had played at Hillcrest before.  They have a camper, and they were on the road.  He was generous enough to give me a ride in his cart down to the shelter/bathroom near the teeing ground on #3.  

We hung out for close to an hour.  We talked.  Herman mostly looked at his phone, but he participated when asked a direct question.  He used my phone to text his wife to let her know what was happening, because she planned to get a cart and follow us.  He couldn’t get a signal with his phone.  We met the guy who was playing ahead of us.  The guy playing with him decided to keep going after the lightning alert went off.  Michael and I planned to tee off after it went off, but the ranger came over and commanded us to not take another shot.  

Anyway, the guy ahead of us was a braggart, mostly about his son.  He told us he was one of the best in the world in downhill biking.  Okay, I just saw a video, and his name is Asa.  He truly is awesome!  He is a youngster racing with adult men, and he has done very well so far.  He has done some dirt bike racing near Aztec, too.  His dad’s name is Josh.  Josh also knew Lori (last name), because of her husband, Dale, who works by setting up events for Red Bull.

Asa races all over the world (another thing Josh made sure to tell us while we waited for the lightning delay to end), and the video I watched showed him racing in Wales last year.  Here is the link to the video.  It’s really cool.  He has no fear.  Rather, he has fear, but he faces it very well.

How I Captured Darth Vader

Written on 9-9-26.

I am at the Montessori school in Durango waiting to go to a cardiologist appointment after a shift.  I had an echocardiogram recently, so I am going to follow up on that.

Belinda went to Albuquerque to watch Rowan yesterday. She and Amanda worked together, and the pictures I saw really reflected how much fun they were having.  She plans on coming home this afternoon.

I got an estimate for installing our new heavily discounted gas fireplace (60% off) yesterday from Ashes Away.  We are going to hire them, and we should have it installed by the end of this month.  That will be great before the...

Dual Trading Cards: Hayden Christensen and David Prowse Autographs

Written on 8-30-26.

        Wow!  It’s been a month since I last wrote in here.  I am just not playing golf as much I usually have.  Let me gather my thoughts to figure out what I have been doing instead.  I am watching golf this Sunday, so that’s what reminded me. 

First, I missed posting about my 15th “birthday” on Caring Bridge, or more specifically, the 15th anniversary of my brain surgery.  I just let that date slip right on by.  Just spaced it out.  That was June 28th, nearly two months ago, and it wasn’t even a thought until a few days ago.  I looked on my calendar and my To Do List to research what I was doing at that time, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.  It was a Sunday, too.  We didn’t go anywhere.  I saw I was working on submitting...

I Help My Friend

Written on 7-31-26.

        It’s the last day of what has been a very busy July.  It all started with the death of our dear friend and dog, Kody.  We still miss him very much, and we still see reminders, although they have become fewer.

We had our "summer camp" with Rowan and Benny near the end, and that was fabulous.  I told Belinda to soak it in.  He would climb up on her lap, and he would cry sometimes when she would leave the room.  When he would find her in another room, he would cry louder and hold his little, chubby arms above his head.  Adorable.  He is in the “crawl up on our laps” phase, and we will miss it like we miss Kody when it’s gone.  

Belinda and I are up at A’s and E’s cabin.  They are coming here tonight, so we will have some overlap.  I didn’t have to go to work yesterday, and I had already planned to play golf with Herman (not his real name) and Greg after work.  It was swell to have the whole day, and I was able to get to the course earlier to warm up a bit.  It’s so beautiful and relaxing here.  B took a picture of two bright orange butterflies on some of A’s flowers this morning.

I want to continue writing about...

A New Routine

Written on 7-26-26.

        We just took Rowan and Benny back to James in Cuba at the Del Prado Restaurant. That’s part of the new routine.  Belinda and I used to meet Bev at a small park in front of a bowling alley in Alamosa to do our exchange with our kids.  

Here are the details of our new routine: Matt and Becca will bring them to Cuba and drop them off with Eric and Amanda.  Our part is to bring them back, and that is what we just did.  It was great to see James, albeit briefly.  

Rowan and Benny were both such good boys this weekend.  Rowan is really growing and comprehending more.  One moment that was really funny to me/us was when I asked Rowan if he had seen the small, red car, and he shrugged and put his hands up in the air.  He also pretends to blow his nose.  He’ll hold the tissue up to his nose and make breathing noises.  It’s adorable.  He did that at church with me last night.  

We are looking forward to many other such Aztec Summer Camps here in Aztec.  That’s what we are calling them.  

On to golf…

Herman (not his real name) reached out to me last week to ask what I was doing.  I said I could play either Monday or Tuesday evening.  He replied, “That’s great, and I will play with you anytime, but I was wondering if you could work with my granddaughter on her volleyball skills.”

Oops!  I didn’t read his message very well.  Anyway, it worked out that I could help her on Tuesday night at San Juan College.  He had asked if I would be willing to work with her before, and I always said yes. 

She is a shy 8th grader (about to be), and her name is Ashley (not her real name).  I didn’t know what to expect, but she was a great listener, and she had a wonderful work ethic.  I put her through her paces, and I got an idea of what she needed to work on.  It was typical stuff for that age group: serving tosses, passing, and setting technique.

She said her mom played in Farmington, and she had learned some of her skills from her.  At the end, we played the ‘pepper game,’ because it’s a fun way to tie everything together.  We started playing it as a game with points when Kelly and I ran our Spike Doctor Clinics.