The Essence

I feel a little badly...this is the third time in the last five
minutes or so I've taken my perch at the keyboard - and
each time poor Jazz has curled up at my feet - she loves
to be close...she's not there now - probably gave up on the
idea that I was going to be here long enough to make chasing
me around a worthwhile prospect...oh well...puppies, like
putting strokes and inspiration, come and go. ( at least she's
now consistently going outside .)
I played golf today - not particularly well - and in fact at one
point caught myself musing whether this pastime was anything
more than a colossal waste of time...I made some good shots - in fact
I parred the first two holes - missed biride butts - but played the holes
the way I intended - hit the ball where I wanted it to go.
Then on the third hole - I turned my back on the good , controlled
swing that had kept the ball in prime positions, in the fairway, where
life is uncomplicated, relaxed and satisfying...nope - that's apparently
for better golfers ! The evil Don took over - as he is want to do -
and I stood over a tee shot about which I was anything but comfortable.
I have never read anything in any golf publication that recommends
swinging hard in any situation about which you are unsure....but that's
what I do ! Imagine - I've played this over in my mind several times
in the hours since it happened - standing over a shot...first thought is -
you're standing far too far from the ball...you're leaning over way too far..
there's no way you should be standing like this...and then instead of
standing back up - backing away and starting the address process
over again - you conclude - close the clubface - and swing hard - that
should fix it...this is where the game of golf becomes a mind-altering
drug....we found the ball in the trees - from which I had to pitch out
sideways....200 yards plus to the green - sidehill lie - ball above my
feet - with a fully mature tree 30 yards away...what kind of a lunatic
would decide that the same guy that was incapable of hitting an 80
yard fairway - could hit a high draw, around the tree and expect to
get anywhere near the green...that lunatic is the evil Don...lost the
ball even deeper in the trees right...oh well...bogeyed the next
hole without making any terrible mistakes - parred the next par three,
and then on one of my favorite holes on this golf course...a straightaway,
tree- lined par four, I drove three balls in the woods right...
I made some decent shots - made some really good shots - made some
very solid pars - the rest of the way - but continued to interrupt any
possible lengthy runs of competance with dumb mistakes...
Finally on the 18th tee, I relaxed- totally....drove a ball up the tree line
on the right....pinched a little nine iron to four feet from the back pin -
and made the putt...the only birdie of the day. That felt good !
Interesting though...I'm not sure I would have felt a lot different
if I'd missed the putt...It's mid September - the sun was shining -
it was lovely and warm - and I was with three good guys whose company I
enjoy - we all made some nice shots, made some poor shots, did a little
cussing at appropriate intervals - and shared some laughs...
For the recreational player - golf is the journey - and the folks you
meet along the way - it's not the destination...
Whether I was 77 or 87, 97 or 107, I will try just as hard the next time
to play error free..to make my way through the 18 hole maize without
mind spinning mental cramps, enjoying the good shots and trying to
forget the bad...and I know when I come home it'll be to a wife that
loves me - and when I sit down at my computer Jazz,
who just peed on the floor, will curl up at my feet.....
Life's not all bad.
Don

Beware the Handsome Stranger

We have a stream beside our house...not a big stream - and it only
stretches from the culvert out on the street to the where it winds to
the back of our property ....initially the stream, was a ditch dug to
allow standing water in the ground in one half of our lot to run off.
It was supposed to connect with some proper drainage between the
properties behind us that runs into a lake several hundred yards
away...Problem was -equipment can't get into that part of our
property to make the connection because it's too wet....so
the ditch simply filled with water...when it rains the water flows over
the top of the end of the ditch and runs as surface water over the
natural lay of the land into the neighbouring drainage - but three
feet of water seems to remain - in the ditch. At first I allowed this
to confound me a little and dreamed up schemes to drain this
wetland...but the longer we lived beside the "creek" , and the more
frogs we were sereneded by in the spring, and the more ducks that
flew in for a visit and the more other creatures we were introduced
to - the more I've become attached to having our own little private
waterway. Several months ago I got the idea to introduce fish.
Off I went to the petstore to buy some "feeders" the fish they
sell to feed their carnivors. I also purchased a couple of
"pond" gold fish. Full of anticipation I let them all loose...and day
after day, night after night, I would walk along the water
hoping to catch a glimpse of our latest pets. I gave up thinking
any of them had actually survived the experiment weeks ago -
and then a couple of days ago, Charlene and I were out with the
dogs, Ceiladh the border collie and Jazz the Llasa Apso, and
what do I spy but a flicker of orange in the grasses bordering
the creek...Sure enough - healthy proof that life exists swimming
merrily along in the 120 feet or so of waterway beside the house.
I saw one other of the littler guys that same day - and today - well
the little showoff was in fine form, flitting back and forth, to and fro
in a ten foot stretch right beside the garden shed - the best viewing
perch...he's obviously not suffering from too little to eat...if he were
a child he'd be into his third or forth new pair of shoes having outgrown
those he wore home....makes me smile...
I predict - in some future Olympics we will have the pleasure of watching
a new sport...synchronized peeing. I had to laugh the other day -
Jazz - the aforementioned Llasa Apso - has pretty much taken to being
the all-weather shadow of her 8 year old sister, the border collie..
Our routine is now well documented. If I've been out - and the dogs have
been left on their own I come home and we all go outside to do our business.
I simply watch to try to minimize complaints from the neighbours - but
the two dogs emerge from the garage and walk in perfect tandem to their
appointed spot and with their backs to me - stop together - and squat
together. All the while Jazz keeps her eye on Ceiladh to make sure she
doesn't misstep. Doesn't take much to entertain some of us....but I must
say, part of the entertainment value is in the week or so since the pup
has had an "accident" in the house. Now if she could only distinguish between
the mornings when I have to get up for an early tee time and those when I
choose to languish until 6:00 or 6:30 we'd be all set.
Speaking of which - another weekend of mediocre golf has now slipped by -
but I have to say that today I learned to appreciate an apsect of the game
that I often neglect. I parred the first hole - bogied the next three, parred the
fifth and then rolled in a fifteen footer for birdie from above the hole on the
par five sixth hole. I've been struggling with my putting of late - so I got
tremendous satisfaction when that one dropped - in fact it wiped out the
ill-effects of the three earlier consecutive bogeys. On the next hole I blocked
my tee shot and found myself 190 yards out with a very narrow gap
to negotiate through trees between me and green. The only option I
could imagine to get home was to move the ball back in my stance and
"sting" a five wood...I missed a twenty foot birdie putt but had about
a four inch tap in par...The approach shot to the green was more satisfying
than the par itself...thinking it through - and executing it well - that's
what the game is all about. There were a couple of other shots of which I
was proud on the back nine - two birdies and an amazing par on 17 -
but I won't you bore you with the details...but golf is a wonderful game.
Which is something to which I have to attend right now. Golf Shop 07 -
23...the 23rd show if the current season - I have to begin working on it
now so I can record in the morning...after that - three more shows to do -
and then I start work on a new music CD that I hope to have complete
before Xmas...if you visit the music page, I hope to have some samples
finally up by the middle of October....
Oh by the way...as witness to the fact that I am no longer bitter about the
way he trashed me in match play this year...Congratulations to Don Matheson
of Oakfield who today, recorded his first ever hole in one on number three.
He hit a six iron and the ball reportedly touched nothing between his club and
the cup...Great story...if you see Don don't ask him what he did on hole
number four...he might have been a little excited....
Til next time - hittem long and hittem straight...
Bless.
Don