Survived

Yes, we survived the weekend with the family, two dogs and my great nephews (aka The Wrecking Crew). The family was no problem. The dogs were fun to have around. Finnegan (aka The Ankle Biter) is now six months old; almost house broken, and newly groomed and really a pretty cute guy. We tried to keep him corralled in the kitchen and the porch, but when he had a "jail break" it was all hands on deck. He's about as fast as a bullet and thought it was great fun to take off and explore. The real task was to take both dogs outside at the same time. The big dog is a piece of cake, but Fin could get you tangled in his leash in a second. Also I wasn't used to having someone jump in my lap and beg while having coffee and a cookie.

The Wrecking Crew was something else. I forgot that our house isn't really set up for for three active boys. They weren't really a problem, but loved to question everything and thought our 4 ft. Nut Crackers very pretty cool (especially the swords and pole axes). Of course it didn't help matters when our blue ray player didn't want to work (worked latter in the evening) and we couldn't get Curious George to play. The oldest of the boys volunteered to operate it for me, but I was too stubborn to give in to 7 year old. Maybe I should have. Anyway we got through the day without any major disasters.

The adult gift exchange was a hoot. It is amazing what you can get for $10.00 at truck stop. We had gas cans, tiny rolls of toilet paper, a 64 oz. insulated coffee mug and the best was the safety orange, fur trimmed mad bomber hat (which my father got). Everyone agreed that next year we are to shop only at the Dollar Tree Store. They must have a better selection of junk.

We got all safely on the road last night and this morning. I haven't had my nap yet, but will take it as soon as I finish this.

CC nodding off.

PS - The Rabbit Wrangler is becoming quite the "pool hustler". He beat me outright one game and scratched on the 8 ball a couple of times. My guess is next time I'll be on the short end of the stick.

Tricks Of The Trade

As Christmas is fast approaching I'm reminded of one of the old ploys I used to use on my son when the excitement of Christmas became overwhelming and he would really get ornery and didn't want to mind the Nurse or me. Now we all know that Santa knows who is naughty or nice and if you were naughty you ran the risk of paying the price on Christmas morning. Well I devised a way to put real teeth into my threat of calling Santa when the kid was acting up. I had arranged with one of my co-workers that if I ever called and asked for Santa that he would play along and talk to my son about being good. Now mind you Santa has to be someone the child doesn't recognize the voice of if this ruse is to be effective. I think I only used this once but it sure worked wonders. The next time the mere suggestion of calling Santa was all it took to get his attention and cooperation. The Nurse thought this was a cruel and unusual method to obtain peace and quiet, but didn't complain to loudly at the time.

We a had a large gathering today for lunch. I think a lot of you guys were just looking for an excuse to get out of the house. Can't say that I blamed anyone since I spent most of the morning wrapping presents. Have to admit I'm not bad at it since I learned the art from my maternal grandfather. Christmas was always the most important time of the year and he went all out, especially with the gift wrap. In fact we still use one of the package decorations to this day. It is a little beat up, but brings back fond memories. The lunch chatter was loud and varied. Poor Tricia had her hands full trying to get all the orders straight. Since she worked hard we gave her the proceeds from SOTD (a large tip that was well deserved).

The crew arrives tomorrow morning with both dogs. Then the rest of my family will be here on Monday. We've a pretty good sized house but I think 16 people with animals will fill it up. And, five of them will be 10 or younger. This could really get interesting after a few hours. My family can get pretty creative about gift giving. The theme of this year's exchange is Truck Stops. The gift can't cost more than $10.00 and has to be bought at a truck stop store (you know, like a Pilot or Petro). Can't wait for the gift exchange. This could top the year my nephew gave us all souvenir hockey pucks from the Columbus Blue Jackets (not kidding). It really helps to have a sense of humor with this group.

Enough for now. I'll let you know how everything turns out.

CC signing off.

PS - Don;t worry. If you call and ask for Santa I know the drill.

Shopping Done?

Is your shopping done yet? Christmas is fast approaching and I'm not quite done. Like I really don't know what to get the Nurse. Now mind you we both are fortunate to have about everything we really want and it becomes more difficult every year to find that unique gift. I just hope inspiration strikes in the next few days.

Rumor has it TTS has been busy baking his awesome iced sugar cookies. Normally he drafts me into icing duty, but says he is cutting back this year and has it handled. So he's probably only doing 12 dozen rather than the normal 20. Frankly, I look forward to the special baked goods that are made this time of year and always pledge not over indulge, but it never seems to work.

Golf thought of the day - The statute of limitations on forgotten strokes is two holes.

Football quote of the day - "There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." Woody Hayes/Ohio State

CC signing off.

Correction

The Nurse pointed out my proofing skills have diminished since my age hit the magic number to qualify for Medicare. That or the blog software made a mistake which I really think is the case. So here is what the football thought (from the other day) was supposed to say:

"Gentlemen it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football. " - John Heisman

And while I'm at it here is another nugget from a great coach - "A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall. " - Frank Leahy, Notre Dame

CC signing off.

No Golf Today

And, there probably won't be any for quite a few days. It looks like winter weather is really trying to set in. At least the lake is still open and hasn't shown any signs of ice. When that happens you dig out the parkas because it is really cold.

I had lunch with the SD yesterday and checked the dice cup while waiting to be served. Much to my surprise there was $12 in the cup. You guys must have been busy while I was gone. No wonder JJ asked me if there had been any recent winners. As long as the club is open we will have lunch on Fridays and have the SOTD for those interested.

A couple of golf thoughts for today:

1. One birdie is a hot streak.


2. Always limp with the same leg for the entire round.


3. And finally - Bets lengthen putts and shorten drives.

And one football thought to get us ready for bowl season - Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small bot than to fumble this football.

CC signing off.

We're Back

We got back Saturday with enough time to unload the car; unpack our bags; decompress from the white knuckle driving and then change into our dance clothes and head off to BCC for the winter frolic with all our friends. Sunday was spent trying to decorate the house for the holidays and watch a little football. Most of today has been spent picking and sorting through the mail (they gave me a bin full) and just catching up with a lot of loose odds and ends. But, it is nice to be home. Except for this crummy weather. Honest to God, we had sunny skies until we crossed the bridge at the Queen City and they turned overcast. Some things never change.

Driving was pretty uneventful but long and tedious at times. We only had three bottle necks. Atlanta at rush hour (thank you for the HOV lane). The split at I40 and I75 in Chatanoga , TN. Big aaccident there. And Exit 29 in Ohio (11 miles of construction). All told they added about 2.5 hours to the trip from Riviera Beach, FL. (approx. 1250 miles). We were certainly glad to get out of the car the 1st day after 15 hours. And yes, we are still speaking to each other.

I have to say the winter dance was a nice affair and we all clean up real nice. I couldn't believe how tired I felt at about 11 PM Saturday night. I must be getting old. Good band, though I didn't dance much. I did see OTR and quite a few of the other boys tripping the light fantastic. Didn't drink much either but didn't have a headache the next day.

Sorry about not posting much lately. I was having technical problems while traveling. Might have been our wi-fi connection, but everything seems to be OK now.

I'll leave with this thought - The only sure way to get a par is to leave a four-foot birdie putt two inches short of the hole.

CC signing off.

On The Road Again

The Nurse decided it was time to get out of Dodge this year for Thanksgiving since our family was due to be with the other set of parents this year. Plus we had a couple of time share weeks we needed to use or lose. So here we are in sunny Hilton Head. And, I do mean sunny and very nice temps in the low 70's. We drove straight through on Monday (15 hrs.) and just plain relaxed on Tuesday. Football on Thursday and golf on Friday. Football again on Saturday and then on to Palm Beach on Sunday. After a few more days of R&R and then back home to kick off the holiday season with the winter dance at the club.

Based on what I'm seeing on the national news we picked a good time to be gone. Heard from the Gilhooley's and they drove straight into a foot of snow in Vermont. The only problem we have is listening to holiday music with palm trees in the background. Actually they do decorate really well here in the Low Country. The only thing really missing is the snow. They even kicked off the shopping season early. The stores are really busy and Black Friday will be just as chaotic here. I saw some preview ads and if your looking for a TV this is the time to buy it.

Be safe and see you when I get back.

CC signing off

The Last Hurrah?

Probably not with reasonably good weather expected on Tuesday. After that all bets are off. Anyway Saturday dawned bright and clear, though a little chilly. No frost but we waited until later to start anyway. Since Dr. AH and the SD wimped out again the GWH (who's used to the cold) and I played as free agents. OTR drew the short straw and got me again. We ended up taking on Slap Shot and the GWH and took a couple of bucks from them. We came up a bit short in the big field game and were just out of the money finishing 4Th. Fortunately I played closer to my old self and came through when really needed. All-in-all it was a good day, even it was a little windy. The greens were good, and rolled really true. The only negative is the angle of the sun; it is really brutal if your playing toward the south. It is still difficult to find balls in the rough, but a lot of the leaves have been blown into Ottawa County.

For those of you who missed the Little Black Dress Dinner last Friday you should make plans on attending the next one. It really was a fine night at BCC. The staff did a great job with the meal and the entertainment was very good. Based on comments I heard there a few headaches the next day. I think the chocolate martini took a lot of people over the top. The dinning room was pretty full and very empty seats to be found.

Off to lunch soon. See ya at the training table.

CC signing off.

PS - Twinkle Toes made it back from China without causing any international incidents or catching the bird flu. He did say he was sick for a good part of the trip, but took the virus with him from the states.

Friday Means Lunch

With the onset of cooler temperatures we should probably start meeting for lunch again. The club should be able to deal with us through the end of the year. We can then make a decision on where to congregate for January through March. This assumes the club will be closed like previous years.

Not much else to report since it was #!*%# cold yesterday. I almost had to get out my heavier coat.

I never cease to be amazed at what people will pick up when you put your trash out. Put out some old rusty metal last night and it was gone when I went to get the WSJ this AM. I guess there must be some scrape value.

See ya.

CC signing off

A Lot of Holes

You can always tell when the golf season is winding down. The grounds crew, under Eric's direction, starts digging hole and trenches all over the course. such is the case on #12. I think we would all agree that the drainage needs improvement there and that seems to be where the concentration is. Hope it works.

We had a big group yesterday. I guess everyone is anticipating bad weather coming. I can't figure why since it's not even the middle of November. Anyway we teed it up and played a F/B/T game. It is amazing how drawing for partners after the round always seems to pair up the guys with the best scores. Even though it was pretty close the LR Dr. and Fred S. walked away with most of the loot. The only consolation was that Dr. J. didn't win the SOTD even though he is still on probation.

Real progress is being made on the new entrance sign. The final facing is being applied and looks great. Check it out the next time you come to the club.

Right now the rain is blowing sideways. No golf today.

CC signing off.

PS - What a mess at PSU. I don't know what else to say. It maybe the unfortunate conclusion to a very long and illustrious career for Joe Pa.

Jack Frost

Saturday started out with a big frost delay. My normal crew decided it was too cold and the late start, because of the frost, was too much to deal with. So they went home to take an early nap before the football games. Me being a glutton for punishment and wide awake after three cups of coffee decided to stay and hooked up with OTR, ABE, and Slap Shot (aka Ron H). We played the same game and had the same result. Slap Shot decided he would have one good round before the snow flies and played way above his head. At one point he was 4 for 4 on sand saves. That's not really realistic with our bunkers right now. On the rare occasion that Slap Shot went in the tank ABE came out of his hibernation to pull off some impossible shot. You know things are really bad when your partner steps in dog dew-dew while looking for ABE's ball. This is why I'm starting to look forward to next season.

The only football I saw on Saturday was the LSU vs. Alabama struggle. What a gigantic snooze. Give me the defensive struggle UT had any time. At least that is entertaining. The way things are starting to go the Big Ten could be interesting by the end of the season.

The SOTD continues to grow and is now at $109.00. A couple of near misses on Saturday.

The weather looks OK for Tuesday. See ya at the training table.

CC over and out.

PS - Don't forget to vote. Speaking of voting, should we vote to put DR. J on SOTD probation?

Bonus Day

Wednesday was a bonus day for the JR/SRS. Even TTS came off the recovery couch to see if he could still take a whack at it. The greens right now are really pretty good, though a little on the slow side. Since we are getting short on opportunities we upped the ante and played two separate games. Not a bad idea, but a new thief showed up and took most of the loot. Pretty good playing by Pete A. Today doesn't look great but Saturday is promising.

A couple of good scares on the SOTD. But no winners. We'll be back up in triple digits before you know it.

Look for some rules changes to take effect next year. The USGA and the R&A are finally showing some good sense. More on this later, but check the bulletin board for the article from Golfweek.

Off to the Hermits today to try my hand at gin. Dr. AH was the big winner last time. Hope we can change that this time.

CC signing off.

PS - TTS did whack at it a few times but did show some signs of his old game.

Frost On The Golf Ball

With frost on the golf ball and family matters to attend to there was no golf this past weekend. It looked great but the lack of carts probably dampened the spirits of a lot of people. At least Tuesday looks to be OK and we should get around in.

How about the snow storm on the east coast? It is hard to imagine that kind of snow fall late in October. Heard them say 3 million people were without power and they lost a 1000 tress in Central Park alone. What a mess.

Was the Buckeye/Badger game enough excitement for you? When the Badgers came back late to score twice I thought here we go again. But, you have to give those young Buckeyes credit for hanging in there. Maybe they came of age Saturday. They have had one tough schedule over the last four weeks and to finish 2 and 2 is pretty good under the circumstances. Don't you just love college football; you never know what's going to happen. Can't say the same for the pros though. The Browns still stink on ice.

See ya at the training table.

CC signing off.

Take Advantage When You Can

We have reached that time of year when you take advantage of any chance you get to play golf. Yesterday was one of those days. Sunny skies, windy and mid temperatures. Ten of us teed it up and played a little Skins game. Only 17 holes since #2 was still closed (open today). Hard to believe there were eight skins. I'm not sure what that says about the quality of golf, but I witnessed one of the best birdies I've seen on #15. Bob B played the hole really well and came close to an eagle. Wish I could hit down on the ball like he does.

The rest of the week looks iffy. May have to get the heavy sweaters out.

CC signing off for now.

Some Things Never Change

With the return of the Prodigal Golfer (aka Dr. AH) we resumed our Saturday morning game. It was like nothing had changed. Our worthy opponents tried to Frick and Frack us, but had limited success. If it wasn't for a two hole lapse we would have taken quite a few shekels from them. As it turned out we broke dead even. Hard to believe since there were about 4 presses and the standard Nassau involved. But the weather was good and the course was reasonably dry for a change, and great fun was had by all.

Yesterday was even nicer so the Nurse and I played nine holes plus the loop with friends. It was the right amount of golf before the wind really picked up and the temps started to drop. It seems like this has been an unusual fall with all the rain. We are due to have some good weather. I hope it stays warm enough for a while that doing the yard work won't done under miserable conditions. I've put off some things and don't want to do them in snow flurries. I was trimming some bushes by our garage yesterday morning and found a Pro V-1 in the bed. Not the first time this has happened, but imagine the shot someone has to hit to get across Ford Rd and through all my shrubs to reach my house.

It looks like they are working on the drainage project on #2 green today. I don't know how long this will take but there is a big crew on it. I think everyone knows the new fountain is in on #18, and looks pretty good.

See ya at the training table.

CC signing off

Captain Canyon Returns To The Scene

In my last posting I said we were off to Vegas for a few days of R & R with friends. Many thanks to our hosts Boots and Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend (DAAGBF) for all their hospitality. We had a great base to operate from and never a dull moment. Adding to all the fun were our traveling companions Mr/Mrs. OTR. It was their first trip to Sin City. OTR was able to take advantage of the down time and try some new activities. Ask him about the spa the next time you see him. I wish I could say we were all winners at the games of chance. Some were but don't count me in that group.

Of course we played some golf and that's where the Captain Canyon story takes place. From the first time I've played South Shore at Lake Las Vegas I have been challenged by the tee shot at the 17Th hole (a forced carry over a canyon). There are two ways to play the hole; one way is to hit it left and carry the canyon; the second is to cut the corner and take it over the top of a large mound of rock. Option 2 is not really feasible unless you can carry the ball about 275 yards and hit it really high. I couldn't pull it off 10 years ago and certainly can't now after the ravages off time have sapped my distance. I have used the first option to great success and know that's the way to play the hole. On the way from the 16Th green to the 17Th tee OTR (my partner) says "well Captain Canyon are you going for it?" I think this inquiry was all set up by Boots who was hungry for the $1.00 we were playing for. Not wanting to show any fear I teed it up and let fly. My reward was to hear my ball bouncing off the rocks and falling about 100 feet to the base of the canyon (something I've heard before). Of course this brought on muffled laughter from all involved and me heading for the drop area. But the Captain Canyon moniker stuck, especially after the Nurse pointed out I have the same problem with 17 at BCC. So I'm a marked man and shall be known as Captain Canyon (CC on the rocks if you prefer). And yes we lost the $1.00 to Boots and her sidekick Mrs. OTR.

The weather in Sin City was a very boring 85-90 every day. Our return to Detroit saw us returning to rain and chilly weather. The forecast doesn't look different for the next few days so I don't know about golf.

CC signing off for now.

We Were All Awful

That's the only way to say it. I don't know whether starting on the backside was the reason, but all six of us couldn't "hit a cow in the arse with a shovel". At least there was some improvement on the front side but not enough to salvage the round. Thank goodness I ahd three pars or my total would have been in triple digits. As it was the computer laughed when I posted my score. Any way my group lost to the other team. But as they say "tomoorow is another day".

TTS is taking longer to recover than expected. He went back in the hospital to fix a leaking artery. That was Tuesday and he is supposed to come home today. I guess the super glue didn't hold. The LR Dr. can probably give you a better explanation. I'm sure St. Gwen really will be one after this bout. But, he should be on the mend and feeling better soon.

Off to Vegas for a few days. Checked the weather and is going to be in the 90's and mid 80's. OK with me since I'm not really ready for cold weather yet. Don't worry I'm not taking the SOTD money with me. Speaking of money. Eric still hasn't found a suitable bench yet. He's been pretty busy with course issues, but promised to get back to it soon. The new fountain was in and running yesterday. Check it out next time you play. Also, almost all the greens have been punched/sanded. The healing process is pretty quick and we should be back to normal in 10 days.

See ya next week.

It Happens In Threes

At least that's what the theory is. You've seen it in celebrity deaths, and other world events. Well we can add the SOTD to that phenomena. It all started with LTG rolling five aces on his second roll and winning $167.00. Then not to be out done on the next turn Gilhooley rolled five fours in two rolls to win $83.00. Finally Dr. J begged to roll the bones on Saturday and walked away with $44.00. That's $294.00 in three days. A new record. The real surprise is we still have over $50.00 in the pot. Total winnings to date are $1772.00. By the way, Dr. J is on SOTD probation after his 4Th win.

After all that golf was not very important from a monetary standpoint. Although we deed squeak out a win on Thursday over LTG and his minions. The best part is the weather has been great and looks like it will hold for a few more days.

Thanks to the SD for another great prime rib night. It looked like about 70 people in attendance. These nights are always fun and the staff did a great job with the food.

Gotta go and run some errands. See ya at the training table.

Good Weather

That's what it looks like for the next few days. This is a great time of the year for golf with our course showing its colors. I hope everyone has a chance to take advantage of the good days.

Unfortunately TTS won't be able to. He was going in for some surgery this AM to repair an abdominal anyorism. This all came about pretty quickly and was totally unexpected. As you can imagine he's not a happy camper since it will probably put him on the self for the rest of the season. He will prpbably be in the hospital until at Friday and then recovering at home. While this isn't something to brush off they did catch it before it became a serious issue.

I spent most of the last few days driving back and forth to Germantown. First a football game for the Rabbit Wrangler. His team lost a heart breaker in the last 30 seconds. Then a second trip for Grand Parents Day with Miss Emma and her 1st grade class. Since we are old hands at this we knew to go to Subway to pick up lunch. No school cafeteria rubber chicken for us. The only downside were the tiny chairs we had to sit in.

Don't forget the SD's prime rib dinner tonight. Should be a good time , as always. FYI, we have had $1478.00 won in the SOTD. Currently we are north of $310.00 in the pot. It could be good payday for someone.

Old Guys Rule (Again)

In case you didn't hear Gilhooley won his Presidents Cup match over his much younger opponent. That's another major championship for a JR/SR. Not bad for a bunch of guys who can't hit it more than 200 yards off the tee. It is tough to beat wily old vets. I learned that a long time ago in many Old Pal matches.

A few of us tried to play yesterday, but became fair weather golfers when it started to rain. We quit after four holes. Besides it wasn't much fun sloshing around out there. We need for it to quit raining for a few days so the course can drain and dry. I don't know if the rain we encountered while out to dinner last night hit the course, but if so, then there may not be carts for a couple of days.

See ya at Happy Hour.

In The Mud

Well the Mars Vs Venus, previously know as the Pig Open was held Sunday under pretty pig -like conditions. Lots of wet fairways and muddy areas to be sure. In fact we were allowed to use lift , clean and place (cheat). Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I think that is a pretty big advantage if you're from Mars. Needless to say the trophy remains in our locker room for another year. I won't say this win wasn't without some tense momments. OTR and I had to go to the last hole, and win it for a tie. It is really tough to give a total of 65 strokes and win. We were fortunate to hang and get the split. And, I heard one team did lose. Give the opponents credit. They came to play.

I walked around the #2 lake last evening and noted a couple of things. First, the lake level is up a bit after all the recent rain. Actually think I detected some water movement at the inlet pipe from #6. Second, it wasn't as wet as I expected. There is still water some water sitting around, but the wind does really help dry things out. Third, I only found one ball. I don't know what has happened but there haave been a lot fewer balls in the water or the pro shop ran a sale on retrievers. I can't imagine the quality of play has improved that much. Remember there is still time to lose a lot of balls.

Maybe we can play today. I know we are supposed to get showers, but none yet. Hope to see ya at the training table

Mars vs. Venus

Sunday is the Mars vs. Venus tournament (the mixed closing event) with the pig roast to follow with the presentation of the coveted "Pig Trophy" to the winning team. This is the second year for the competition. The women are plotting various ways of beating us after being shellacked last year. Now I don't know what the final outcome is going to be, but I do know we should be prepared for some spirited competition. I expect there will be a lot of mouth wedging going on. So be prepared. I have no doubt we will prevail. After all, the JR/SRS are masters at the mouth wedge and used to all the distractions we throw at each other. I doubt if there is anything we haven't seen or heard.

Twinkle Toes and I attended the TDGA Fall Advisory Meeting held at Hantz Golf Club (formerly Tecumseh Country Club). Not much new from the TDGA, but the 2012 tentative schedule is out and BCC will host the US Open qualifier again on May 15, 2012. Everyone was very impressed with BCC and was eager to return. It was interesting to note every club present has had to deal with loss of revenue and members. There is no magic solution out there. Almost everyone present has had some kind of discounted membership incentive to attract new members. Success rates vary since we are all dealing with a finite universe. Almost everyone said they were trying to attract non golf members with the hope of turning them into regular members in the future. We should be really thankful for great food and swimming at BCC.

Tuesday saw 5 of us tee it up and have a skins game. I think TTS was the only one "Oscar Meyered". It's hard to split $5.00 four ways. A couple of close calls on the SOTD but no winners. The pot is now North of $300.00.

There's a big outing today, rain and all. It can't be much fun out there. Plus it isn't very warm. Personally happy to be sitting inside and gazing out the window.

A Break Through

Finally TTS and I were able to break the stranglehold of the SD and GWH. Saturday we were able to win some of our money back (3 bets). It would have been more but the GWH ran in a monster putt on 18 to make a 5 for 3 (aka a Shang). It would probably been worse but he had been hunting the previous week and didn't recognise his clubs for 17 holes. The next time you see him ask him how to field dress a mouse. Better yet. Ask him how he managed to shoot it with a bow.

Congats to Dr. J. on his Old Pal win. Don't know the details but I'm sure it was an epic battle with his opponents (which included OTR). Next up is Gilhooley in the finals of the Presidents Cup. Not bad for a bunch of old guys to be in the finals of two major club events.

Speaking of club events the Mars vs Venus is this weekend. The crew from Venus (aka our wifes) are making a lot of noise about taking the pig trophy back. I don't really think that is likely, but we need to make sure they don't. Get a patner and call the Pro Shop and sign up. They even think a match play format is to their advantage. Little they know we cut our golf teeth playing that way.

I'm sitting here looking out the window at an outing playing in the rain. I can't imagine that is a lot of fun, but certainly good for the coffers of the club.

Here's an update on the memorial bench. We have $250 donated to date. I talked with Eric last week and he his having a little difficulty locating a suitable bench. Most he has found are all metal and really won't suit our needs. Plus, he got distracted by the weather and the Toledo Open. He has more time to look now and should have answer later this week.

Thought the greens were great over the weekend. Firm, smooth and fast. I expect they will remain that way until the fall aerification (probably early October). According to Eric the work done on 2 & 15 is the approach that will be used on the other greens. The use of deep tining with hot sand is really starting to show benefits. The surface composition is much closer to where he wants it and doesn't require coring. As a consquence the healing process is much qicker. And, I think we're all for that.

See ya at the training table.

The Ottoman Moved!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Last Tuesday night I "kicked " the ottoman in our bedroom on the way to the bathroom and probably broke my middle toe. If I didn't break it should have been the way it turned black and blue and hurt Needless to say it had an impact on my golf game, to the point I dropped out of the inter club at HMGC. In retrospect the same should have been true for the JPK. TZ and I had some serious problems on a couple of holes and decided a WD was in our best interest. Besides it made the field even for Sunday. My toe seems to be healing quickly and I'll probably play tomorrow.

I took my dad to MGM casino in Detroit yesterday. I'm still amazed at the number of slot machines they have. the really amazing part was the size of the crowd for a Monday. He won and I didn't, story over. It's surpising how much you can lose on the penny slots. Still at 87 he enjoys going and is a pretty good blackjack player. I'm sure we'll make the trip again.

The weather looks like it will be fall like for a few days and probably good for golf. With all this wind the course should be drying out. Maybe they can cut the rough since it was pretty brutal for us mortals over the weekend.

A Matter of Degee(s)

Wow what a switch from Saturday to Monday. Saturday we all wilted in the heat and humidity. Monday we were looking for the wind shirt. Today isn't a whole lot warmer. In fact it really looks like an October day. Gray sky, light wind and a chill in the air. Next thing you know the "leaf rule" will be in effect. And, did you check the rough out. Not a fun place to be.

Saturday saw us call it quits after nine holes. Plays was OK, but everyone was hot and tired and decided to watch the football game while having lunch. Everyone maybe a bit of a stretch - the SD was having his best round in recent memory and really begged to go on. His begging fell on hot , deaf ears though. But, he and the GWH did manage to win $2.00.

Friday couples golf was another hot one. We played well in the string tournament, but couldn't get past the teams with a whole ball of twine. Finished a respectable third, and was happy to come into the A/C. Good meal and cold drinks helped ease the disappointment of finishing just out of the money.

Took Sunday off, but played with OTR and his wife on Monday. We played a little preview of the Mars vs. Venus and took $3.00 off the women. They actually paid off. Couldn't believe my hands were cold on the last hole. I actually put on long pants before we had dinner. Next thing you know I may have to wear socks.

This week is a big one. Senior Inter Club at HMGC on Friday and then the JPK this weekend. Both are always fun, but will be a lot of golf in a short period of time. Hope I have enough golf candy.

See ya at the training table. Oh, almost forgot. We have $230.00 donated towards our memorial bench. Still need a few more contributions to be on the safe side.

Rabbits Were Wrangled, Again

Yep it was Montgomery County Jr Fair time again, and the Rabbit Wrangler had another herd. So the Nurse and I got in the car and headed south. If I didn't know better I would have sworn we hadn't been gone. Everything looked, and smelled the same. The only difference was the rabbits were different and the weather was little cooler. No lightning in a bottle this year. The RW did place 5Th in showmanship in his age group (DFL last year). That was the bright spot. He didn't place in the meat pen category. He had to substitute a rabbit at the last minute due to weight problems (sounds like wrestlers) and that changed the dynamics of the show herd. The only bright spot was we got home earlier since we didn't have to stay for the post show press conference. And, we get to stay home Labor Day and won't have to go to the Champions Sale.

Golf on Tuesday was a lot more fun since we won. TTS found out you really do have to wait until the last minute before setting the teams. I think he made four changes before all was said and done. But, we had a good turnout and a great day weather wise to play. Thursday should be more of the same.

Hard to believe it is the 1st of September and the start of college football this weekend. Go Bucks. See ya at the training table.

The Biggest Ever

This past Sunday was the annual Founder's Day Tournament. I'm not sure of the total amount pledged but it was north of $23,000.00, a record for this event. That's great and the money will be used for improvements to our wonderful golf course. The after tournament dinner was great and the reverse raffle a lot of fun. Our own SD was the big winner - a set of irons. I don't know what he plans to do with them since he has trouble with the ones he has. The Nurse and I played OK because her hot putter carried the day. I understand the GWH dodged a bullet when his wife just missed an ace on #17. Can you imagine the bar bill with half the club members present.

The Saturday game saw a moral victory for TTS and myself. We broke even after a big struggle on the backside. The GWH continues to "pull one out of the hat" at the wrong time. I'm not sure where all this good luck comes from. But, it can't last forever.

Twinkle Toes and TZ fell victim to Rocky (aka Over The Road) and his partner in the semis of the Old Pal. OTR shot 75 for a career best round. Based on that we'll have a new Old Pal champion in 2011. Congrats on a great round.

Looks like great weather this week. See ya at the training table.

PS I thought we have had a lot of rain until I saw some of the totals for Irene. Thank goodness the storm weakened before hitting the New England area.

Another One In The Books

The 3rd Annual Jr/Sr Championship is in the record books. We had the biggest field yet and a great day of golf and fun. Congratulation to Michael Weismiller (low Gross) and John Jack (Low Net). Pictures should be out soon from our photographer (he's working on photo shopping TZ into group shot). Kudos to our Pro and staff, Greg and his staff for their work in making the event come off smoothly. I think this is the first time no one recorded a triple digit gross score even though yours truly tried. Also, only a mini Bachey was recorded by TTS. So we're either getting better or luckier. The SOTD survived several close calls and now is at $240.00.

We have collected $200 towards the purchase of the memorial bench. There were a few of you who didn't stay for dinner or forgot to pay me in all the confusion so I'll get your money when i see you. I talked with Eric and he will purchase the bench in the next week or so.

The Airline Pilot is having the Landwher Trophy updated as I write. It should be back in it's place of prominence shortly. I have someones locker plate (must have forgot it after all the celebration). See me.

We dodged a bullet with the weather. The staff said we had 2.5 inches of rain between Wednesday morning and Thursday. A few of us played today and it was really wet with slow greens again. Maybe JTL was looking out for us.

See ya at the training table.

A Big Win

The BCC team came through in a big way at the Senior Interclub at SOCC on Friday. By my count we were 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th. Plus we were first in the team competition. I can't ever remember that happening before. Great job guys!

We had a guest on Saturday. Dr. AH was back for the day. He and I played so well on the front side we had to give them a huge advantage on the backside in the form of the Inverness press, and couldn't quite overcome it. Losses were minimal, but it's not about the money. The GWH seems to continue to do things out of the norm at the most inopportune times. Such as a 60 foot putt on 15 to save bogey with two strokes. Go figure.

The JR/SR Championship is set. We have the largest field ever -21 to be exact. Should be a great day and a lot of fun. You don't want to miss the trophy presentation. We have a couple of special awards this year.

The SOTD pot is getting into serious territory. The last audit showed there was $212. A nice tidy sum. My guess is we will have winner this week. Don't miss your chance to roll the bones. Remember you can't win if you don't play.

The weather looks great for the week. See ya on the range.

Catching Up

Time seems to fly by. I realized this AM I hadn't posted anything since last week. So here goes.

The Nurse and I survived the Divorce Open (aka Husband and Wife Champ.) We really only made one blunder that cost us a triple bogey. Then we 3 putted 18 for another (never seen that pin before). But all-in-all we were happy with our score. No surprise in the winners though.

Saturday saw a couple of subs for the weekly fun. Played COD and lost a couple of bucks, but a lot of fun anyway.

How about the PGA? Looked like they had a bunch of great holes to finish with, but I'm glad I don't have to play them. I'm perfectly happy with the challenges we have.

Had to cut my round short yesterday due to one of my California cousins being in Detroit on business. Hated to leave since I was playing better than I had all year. But I stretched it as far as possible then had to beg for forgiveness when I got home. We had dinner and a nice visit.

I think we have our biggest field for the JR/SR Championship this year. Last check showed 20 players had signed up. That's great. This event just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
Make sure you wear a clean shirt for the group picture.

The weather looks good for the rest of the week. Is TTS still paying golf? Haven't seen him for a while. He must be on the outing circuit. Anyway, see ya at the training table on Thursday.

Back In Action

There must be something to taking a week off from play. After a hesitant start things turned around and scoring started to come. The speed of the greens was a little hard to gauge or my score would have been much better. But I was pleased in general and really happy to walk off with the first place loot. After all the blind draws we squeaked past the LR Dr. and his crew by a shot. Now that's a real accomplishment.

It was a pleasant surprise to wake up this morning and find the temperature very comfortable for a change. Maybe our heat wave has broken. If memory serves me correctly the past few years August has been pretty nice with warm days and cool nights.

Thirteen days to the JR/SR Championship. Watch for some new announcements from the SD. The Executive Comm. has met and approved a couple of changes. We are hoping for a big field this year and another great tournament.

Remember Thursday is an early start due to the TDGA event. See ya at the coffee bar.

On The DL

That's where I've been the past week. With my knee acting up I thought taking a week off from golf was a good idea. Now that it feels much better I 'm ready to get back in the game. I was sorry to miss the Senior Club Championship, but my family had their summer outing in Germantown on Saturday so I would have missed it anyway. Based on some of the scores I saw a bunch of you should have done something else. But, that's usually the way it goes with most tournaments.

Just heard the stock market was diving again today. Maybe someone will get lucky and win the SOTD . The pot is starting to get up there again. Came in Sunday and found $20.00 in the dice cup. Since I just filled the car with gas I put it in with the rest of the cash.

Lots of fun things coming up the last half of August; Founder's Day and the JRSR Championship to name two. I saw the GWH was out Thursday trying to get his five rounds in so he can play for the trophy. There's still plenty of time left if you are short a round or two. It looks like we will have our biggest field yet. Remember the awards dinner is a stag affair.

See ya at the training table.

The Dog Days

Yes, another summer is in the dog days. August started like July ended. HOT! And, it doesn't look like any let up in sight. At least we aren't living in Dallas where they have had 31 straight days at a 100 or more. Can you say well done?

Sunday was the DDOS golf party. My team played well (-13) but we weren't good enough to get in the money. Lost 4th place in a scorecard playoff. No matter at least we didn't win the socks for DFL. But great fun and many thanks to our hosts.

The JR/SR Championship is fast approaching. Just three weeks from today. The buzz is starting to build and you can play a warm up with the club championships. The tournament committee is looking at some special prizes this year. You still have plenty of time to get your 5 round requirement in. Even if you don't you can still play and be in the skins game. Also save your new golf shirt for the group picture.

Not sure I'm playing today due to some real soreness in my formally good knee. Getting old really is a bitch. If I can't play at least I can roll the bones. There's some real gas money sitting in the pot.

Fricked, But not Fracked

That's the way LTG and I felt after Saturday's round with the high handicap duo. We on ly lost $2.00 because of the great play by LTG on the back nine. He threw at little 35 at our opponents and their boat load of strokes couldn't overcome that. Heaven knows they tried! You could hear the disappointment in the SD's voice when he realized a Shang didn't win the hole.

The Senior Open looks like it will have an exciting finish if Saturday was any indication. There are still quite a few in the mix. Too bad the weather has played a bigger role than everyone would like. But that's the chance you take in the Midwest in summer. Eric and his guys are certainly challenged right now, I think they're doing a great job under some very tough circumstances. Heavy rain, clay soil and hot humid weather don't mix. Unbelievable how the moisture is just sitting there and creating horrible conditions for the grass. We go through this every year, but this is as bad as I can remember.

Off to the Dog Days of Summer Scramble this afternoon. I hope I don't melt. See ya at the training table Tuesday.

A Mixed Week

This is one of those weeks where everyone seems to be going in every direction. The US Senior Open is taking a lot of time from JR/SR golf. We are either working as marshals or being spectators. Plus throw in the summer heat and it makes for a reduced field. That's OK since I can't lose as much money.

Tuesday saw the return of the SD. Based on his play (best round of 2011) he should take a month off every year. He and Edo took all the money from LTG and me in a skins game. Skinless again! Wednesday was a marshaling day. Thursday only LTG and I showed up and played a nice casual round in about three hours. No sun for 16 holes and then on the 17Th tee the clouds parted and I thought we were in a pizza oven. Didn't bother LTG. He came close to jarring it and had a a kick in bird (no Twinkle Toes he didn't use a 3 wood).

Today is a marshaling day. I'm trying to figure out where I need a rain suit, extra sun block, 2 Gatorade's, salt tablets or what. The storms coming through this morning were pretty heavy. I keep looking at the weather radar for some clues.

You know these Seniors make it look so easy. Wednesday during the practice round I payed a lot of attention to their technique around the green. Picked up some helpful hints which I tried on Thursday. It was surprising how much they helped with those little shots from the heavy rough. Now if I can only remember how to execute next week. Plus their full swings are all different but they repeat them every shot. You would think i would have that consistency after 40 years..

Looking forward to Saturday and the opportunity to get some of my money back.

A Real Boiler

That's about the only way to describe the weekend. After record heat we got the monsoons on Friday and Saturday night. Over 2 inches of rain on baked clay. I don't need to go further. By Sunday it was a real steamer for the Belmont Cup. I used 4 gloves and 2 hats, and could have changed my shirt both days. That's about the most uncomfortable I've been on the golf course. Then throw in some poor putting on Saturday and even worse ball striking on Sunday and the weekend was just peachy. But the event was a success (even though my team got drilled in the singles matches). Kudos to our Pro for making us play it down.

This is US Senior Open week at the Inverness Club. I know many of us have volunteered to be marshals and work other jobs. Looks like a great field even though a few big names have withdrawn. These are guys we grew older with as we learned the game. Should be a fun week and a shot in the arm for the community. Heaven knows we need it after the BAX announcement last week.

The SD says he is going to give it a try on Tuesday. We certainly have missed his $5.00 twice a week. I know a couple of the normal winners have become dependent on it. So, I'll see ya at the training table.

Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

Yes it certainly was and is. Been that way all week and will continue for a few more days. At least today there was a breeze which made it tolerable. But a 100 is still #%$@ hot. Just three of us showed up. At the turn the LR Dr (played at 7AM) wanted to know if we were having a wet tee shirt contest. Very funny guy that LR Dr. Not much money changed hands.

Got notified by the Masters Tournament the lottery for daily tickets was complete. Followed their instructions and found out I wasn't one of the lucky ones. Now my only hope is for practice round tickets.

Off to Shop with The Nurse tomorrow and then will stop at the MGM Casino on the return trip. Thought I would least save on the gas, and only make one trip. You know this won't be a cheap trip.

Don't forget the JR/SR Championship is only about a month away.

Dog Gone

Yes, the dog is gone. Home with her family and happy about it. She was fun to have around. I'd forgotten how they change the way you live. We had hair everywhere because of her shedding; she loved to try to get me up at 4 AM so she could go out (she doesn't do that at her house); and she is very social and always by your side or under foot. All parties were happy to part after two weeks. She made sure she wasn't left behind and camped out by the door.

Played 9 holes with The Rabbit Wrangler last Thursday. His game has improved dramatically since last year. Especially putting. He's no longer the 400 yard gorilla on the greens. He did say our course was a lot different than the one he normally plays. He thought #6 was too long even from the Reds. Miss Emma is a typical 6 year old. Still trying to make the transition from preschooler to independent 1 st grader.

Looks like a hot one coming up. Stay hydrated and keep cool. I think were going to play in the AM due to the heat, stag and other things going on. Watch for the SD's email for info.

Frazzled

That's the way I felt last night at about 11PM. I wasn't planning on playing 18 holes yesterday but managed to fit it in before rushing off to a lobster dinner and poker in Port Clinton. The lobster was great and the poker lousy. but had a great time anyway. The golf was so so. I am playing better but not necessarily scoring better. Sarge and his crew squeaked out a win. I'm not sure how they did it, but that's the way the ball rolls.

Weather still looking good for the rest of the week. In fact it maybe a little cooler. I'm not sure how much play I'll get in since the Rabbit Wrangler and Miss Emma are visiting for few days. Maybe the grand dog will wake them up at 6AM instead of me. Somehow I don't think that's in the cards. I'm sure the WR and I will get in a few holes. He's been playing in a junior league this summer and getting better.

Got to pay some bills and get them in the mail. See ya.

The Old Buckaroo

Saturday was another one of those hot days of summer where golf can either be very good or very bad. TGWH had one of the latter. Since his partner was on the DL we had a couple of cameos for the day. Silk and Big John B filled in and brought their A games. I don't know whether TGWH had too much medicine the night before; whether he was thinking about all the luggage Lil mar was taking on their upcoming trip; or whether the bug bite on his eyelid from the night before was really bothering him. But he had a tough day. When he he finally holed out on 18 he was heard to exclaim "the old buckaroo had a bad day". That was kind of an understatement since the GHIN program laughed when he put in his score. But, I'm sure he'll be back to his new self after his fishing trip out west.

The rest of the weekend was kind of quiet. Yesterday we finally got some much needed rain. we also had one of the biggest lightning strikes I've ever seen. No power outage but cable was out of whack most of the afternoon. The good thing my lawn looks a little greener this morning.

See ya at the teaing table.

The Swinging Is Easy.

Yes, the weather is hot and the swinging is easier than when it is 50 degrees. I can't believe we have come a full 180 degrees in such a short period and now really need rain. The course has really dried out but the rough is still pretty tough if the comments from Friday are an indication. BCC finished 2ND in the Senior Inter Club. We would have been tied for 1ST if it wasn't for one of the SOCC teams scoring an eagle on 16 plus 7 birdies. We had some good play from a lot of our guys, but my partner and I weren't great. In fact we were pretty awful at times and just managed to be even for the day.

Golf for the week has seen many of the same people winning. Thursday saw Rocky, Edo, and TTTS walking away with the lot. but I must say it was a great day for golf all the same. The SD is still on the DL so we have a couple cameos filling in on Saturday. Silk is back in town and we convinced Big John (aka BJ) to play. Will be interesting to see how this works out.

Good crowd at Happy Hour, and considering the amount of noise in the bar everyone was pretty happy. Did you see the flyover by John W?

RepectfullyYours,

The Blog Editor (TBE for short)

Red, White, and Blue

Yes another great 4TH of July holiday. Great "picnic" at the club with a fireworks finale that was one of the best ever. The weather was blistering hot but it didn't seem to stop the 850 plus that showed up to celebrate. Kudos to the staff for a great job (as always). We should all take time to thank them. We are really lucky to have such a great group.


Golf was pretty normal. The SD continues to be on the DL with his back. TTS was absent due to the heat (can't really blame him for that). Acouple of Cameos by Gilhooley and Pete A. The GWH continues to putt well. Played with him and the Mrs. on Monday and he continued to putt well. Maybe he has found the magic elixir to putting. If so he is keeping it secret. Congrats too Dr. Chris for winning the Dandy Dozen. Our LR Dr. made it through a few holes before bowing out.

The weather looks good for the rest of the week. Now we actually need rain. Less than one inch during June. Hard to believe after the months of April and May. At least we are getting some roll.

See you at the training table.

PS - Did you see the Society Section in the Blade? I didn't know TTS had a twin brother names Tim. Maybe we should just refer to him as Timmy Tom or TTTS for short

Great Weather

Summer is finally here and we have had great weather this week. Lots of sun, a little wind, and no rain. The weekend looks to be more of the same with slightly higher temps and an occasional thunder storm predicated. And, it's the 4TH of July. Who could ask for anything more? I've heard the reservations for the club's party/fireworks are coming in at a record pace. This has always been the big event of the summer and our staff does a great job making sure it comes off without a hitch.

Golf this week has been pretty much the same. Some of the same winners and also ran's. At least my team broke the ice and took part of the money yesterday. That was despite The Rock and TZ being slightly off their games. But both did come through in the clutch.

I have not experienced this but only heard about a Saturday group drawing straws to see who plays with Enos. Don't understand why since he always seems to be in the money for events like the Jack and Jill. Anyway he has been given a new moniker that he will be referred to in this blog. From now on he will be know as ABE (you figure it out). Just remember these are used to protect the guilty and with no malice of forethought. One of these days I may have to record all these on paper since the roster is getting big and my memory short.

We had a couple of close calls with the SOTD, but no winners since The Rock last Saturday. Have to give him credit he did text his better half with the news and didn't try to it secret like some have been known to do.

Hope to you all out over the weekend. Remember the club is open on Tuesday for golf.

It Had To Happen

First, TTS and I had to win. We finally broke through on Saturday and staved off all the strokes our opponents threw at us and managed to win back some of our money. Second, Rocky hit for half of the pot for the SOTD. It took two rolls but he got five fours and $71.00. At least we have some money left.

Yesterday was the annual Jack and Jill (or Terror Open as some of the Jill's call it). I don't remember who won (obviously wasn't my team), but there were some interesting stories overheard around the room during dinner. I don't understand why but our TZ is now known to his female partners as Muffy (???). It had something to do with him being a Golf Stud. Better talk to him to get the full story. Twinkle Toes shed the skirt/wig idea and showed up looking like Gary Player. It didn't help his game though. I heard he was on bended knee begging for a gimme from 18 inches (the yips must have been out in force). Personally I had a good team, but we never got any hing going and finished FDL (I think). We all scorchted the hole all day but couldn't make a thing when we needed a save.

Weather looks great for the coming week. Time to get back to some regular golf. The course is almost in perfect condition. The greens are rolling great and finally drying out again. See ya at the training table.

PS - Brad is hanging in there and needs a good round today to make the cut. Shot even par the first day to be around 65Th. The cut is the low 70 players. Hope he makes it.

A Rare Wednesday

I normally haven't been playing on Wednesday but the stars aligned with the moon and converged with the stag and rain forecast for Thursday so I decided to play. Of course the same cast of characters showed up to try to take my and other people's hard earned allowance. And they accomplished it. Sarge and his posse of thieves played slightly better than the rest of us and walked away with the money. At least no one won the SOTD. Some things never change.

Our head pro is off to Hersey, PA for the PGA Club Professionals Championship. Check the TV times for The Golf Channel for Sunday. With a little luck he may get some air time. Wish him well and hope he has a good tournament.

Also on Sunday is the Jack and Jill. Hope everyone signed up. This is always a fun event. Hope ther is no truth to the rumor Twinkle Toes is planning wearing a skirt and wig and joining forces with the Jills (heavy facial hair is a turn off to most of us).

Remember the JR/Sr Championship is about two months away. I can see some of you are already manging your handicaps. Gilhooley (the current handicap chair) has promised to make a full review prior to the championship. So be careful or you could be caught in his evil eye. If you're not familiar with the evil eye ask TSD to explain what the curse can do.

Off to the ATM to get cash for tomorrow. Based on the past performance(s) of the GWH and TSD I may need it.

Blitzed

Due to the Member-Guest we took our Saturday game to TCC. TCC was in good shape for a change. But, due to financial difficulties they no longer honor reciprocals and charged us the full guest fee to play. We would have gone to the GWH's place but they had an outing going on. Anyway I digress. Dr. AH made another cameo and we teamed up against are old foes. The SD was on another planet and proceeded to play his best round of the year. The GWH wasn't much worse and continued to putt better than he is normally capable of. The end result was we got blitzed. We didn't really play poorly but just couldn't generate any momentum. The only satisfaction was we made them buy the adult beverages at Dale's.

It looked like the Member-Guest went well and a good time was had by all. Based on the amount of play Sunday there was a lot of pent up demand. The tee sheet was full from early morning thru 3 PM. Not bad for a Father's Day. Plus there were a lot of diners Sunday afternoon.

How about the US Open? That was pretty impressive. No folding this time. Just good solid play over the weekend. I don't know if he'll break any records for majors, but my guess is this won't be his last. This may be the beginning of the next generation of new stars.

Summer is finally here. The weather is still a little crazy. Now we may need some rain. The lake level is finally getting back to normal, but the shoreline is showing the effects of all the high water.

See ya at the training table.

PS - My ball production is down this year. I know you guys are still hitting them in the lake. But could do it closer to the shore! I only have a 20 foot retriever.

Where Were You At 4:30 PM On June 15, 2011?

I was on 17 tee watching Twinkle Toes' tee shot disappear into the hole. Yes, a hole-in-one. Since he was first to play it was too much to hope for that another one was in the group. But the rest of got on the green and made our pars. We had a combined score of 13 ( we played a fivesome). That was gross. Not bad for a bunch of chops. Twinkle Toes did take a lot of ribbing for using a 3 metal, but didn't seem to care (nor would I). We did have to give him an old ball for 18 since he wouldn't use the lucky one and only had new balls left (something about fear of the lake). He also won most of the gold we played for and basically bought us drinks with our own money.

We did play Tuesday but for the life of me I can't remember what happened. Opps, now I remember. I came late and joined in at #6. The Social Director quit because of his back. So I took his place. I immediately put 2 in the lake and then on #7 four putted for a double. After that it was all downhill. The greens are speeding up and the pin placements were a little tough. Note - They didn't change them on Wednesday but we didn't retain much from the prior day.

The rest of the week is a little confused because of the Member/Guest so keep checking your email.

Just Another Day of Golf

Due to a variety of reasons we had a couple of cameo appearances on Saturday. TZ and Dr. AH (back as a guest). To be fair we played a little COD. The results were predictable: two broke even and someone won $4.00 (I'm in the even column). The day was great and one of the better ones we've had to play. Sunday was even better. The Nurse did complain that it was almost cold. I always thought low 70's was a perfect temperature to play. The course conditions are just about perfect. Let's hope the weather stays that way for a while.

Lots of Old Pal, and President's Cup matches were played over the weekend. I'm not sure of the all the results but I know some of our guys came through when you might think they wouldn't. Who says old guys can't play? It's hard for the young flat bellies to overcome experience. Besides when you hit it short down the middle you stay out of the rough. My recent experience tells me that is worth about 5 shots a side.

It is US Open week! Second major of the year and should be another exciting weekend. I'm sure the Golf Channel and NBC are bemoaning the lack of Tiger, but maybe we'll get see more than one group on Saturday and Sunday. Oh, don't forget this is the club's member guest week and you'll need to make arrangements for Saturday if you want to play before late afternoon.

I'm not sure I'll be able to make golf on Tuesday. My dad is giving his "Evolution of the American Flag" talk and the Nurse and I are planning on going since we've never heard it. He is giving it at the retirement community he lives in and it starts at 10 AM in Findlay. May just make the backside, but we'll see. I know TZ is gone all week. He said something about going to Florida to get his hair cut (seriously). See ya.

Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

After two days of scorching temps it cooled down on Thursday and we finally played a little golf. On Tuesday we tried but decided after nine holes you could stick a fork in us because we were done, and most of us went home to take a nap. Yesterday was a different story. Some (translate to TTS) were worried they were going to get wet and played in the AM. The rest of us relied on our local weather guy and knew it was going to break up before it got to us. So we had lunch and teed it up and had a very pleasant afternoon. The play was sporadic at best and -9 was the winner. One team (captained by the Rock) made the turn at -13 and then gave back 6 to finish a close second. Personally I finally got the pairings right and was on the winning team. You don't bet against the LR Doctor.

Today there is a steady rain and cool temps. Thank goodness since we need a break to recharge our grounds crew. Eric says he seen about everything he normally encounters in one season in one month. But, everything looks pretty good all things considered. The rain was needed since everything was getting a brown tinge.

Ran into Don M. last night at the club. He looked and sounded good. Still needs to gain some weight, but all things considered I'm sure he won't complain. I wish him well and hope things only get better.

Looking forward to Saturday. The GWH is out of town and TTS is busy so there will be a couple of cameo appearances to report on. Be safe and hit them long and straight.

PS - Don't forget the JR/SR Championship in late August.

What Yips?

Saturday was another addition of the Weekly Game. TTS and I came out on the short end again, but not by much. TGWH who normally has the YIPS managed to hold it together and had at least 3 Hi Ho Silvers. The most damaging was on 18 where he ran one in from downtown to make par and cost us $2.00 for the day. Pretty amazing for a guy who wasn''t getting any help from his partner who was in his pocket. TTS was off his game a bit. I think he was still despondent about scrapping his T-bird on the garage and needing to get the paint fixed (and not just a touch up).

I wasn't able to play late last week so I'm not sure what really happened. The one thing I'm sure of was there were winners and losers and money changing hands. Things should be back to normal and I should be back to a regular schedule and can provide accurate reporting going forward.

The reports made by the B of D at the annual meeting Sunday were encouraging and positive for a change. We still have a ways to go but at least the outlook is not as bleak as in the previous couple of years. Positive cash flow is always good. Let's hope we can keep the momentum up and continue to move forward. Lots of neat activities coming up at the club and I hope everyone takes advantage of them.

Get your wide brimmed hats out of storage. The weather forecast is for hot, sunny weather this week. See ya at the training table.

Can't Beat Em

Pretty tough to top TZ and Twinkle Toes when they are paired up in the Member Member. I actually claimed an agent's share of the purse since I was instrumental in getting them to play together. They balked at that idea so I guess it's off to the court of public opinion for a ruling. I don't want to raise any questions but playing as late as they did I wonder if they had a plant in the bag room feeding them info on what was needed to win. Oh well, congrats to them for playing well under some pretty miserable conditions.

Speaking of miserable conditions can you believe the rain and now the hot weather? This is really going to test Eric and his crew. Monday was really not comfortable and Tuesday doesn't look any better. Maybe we'll catch a break and get this place dried out.

Good crowds over the weekend at the club. Nice to see the place being used. Heard a lot of noise from the pool on Monday, and that's probably where I should have been instead of on the golf course (I was just as wet). This is probably the year I'll finally make it in the water. Some would say it is about time after being a member for 20 years.

Well I can see players on #2 this morning. I think I'll go put away the rain gear and dig out some shorts for this afternoon. See ya at the training table.

PS - Did you see the finish of the Indy 500? I turned it on with 2 laps to go and couldn't believe what i witnessed.

Double Winner

Tuesday saw a new winner show up. One of our new JR/SRS Ed O. (aka Edo) has the distinction of being a double winner. The first win was in the game of the day where he got paired up with Twinkle Toes and TZ (a mistake that won't be made again). The second was in the SOTD for $91.00. We had to explain the game and then he proceeded to roll 5 fives in two rolls. I hope this isn't the beginning of some kind of new trend. I don't mind being hospitable but that was over the top.

I wasn't in town for the heavy rains on Wednesday, but I did experience some nasty storms in the Dayton area. The Nurse and I had gone to Germantown for a school function and t-ball game for Miss Emma. The game got called early due to lightning and then the fun started. A serious storm came in from the West. We made a hasty departure and literally were minutes ahead of high winds and baseball sized hail. I estimated we got on I 75 north about 3 minutes before it reached the entrance ramp. Fortunately we missed all the bad stuff but had a few anxious phone calls trying to make sure everyone was OK. All the way back we could see there had been some very heavy rain as evidenced by a lot of standing water that wasn't there on the way down. It was pretty obvious there wasn't going to be any golf on Thursday. I'm beginning to wonder about Saturday.

Gotta go buy more Gortex and get my hair cut. See ya.

A Normal Saturday

Well what a surprise last Saturday was. No rain, lots of sun, and a normal round of golf with good friends. Since I have a new partner I'm not sure what to expect when playing the SD and the GWH. The way it started looked like previous years. Before TTS and I knew it we were down 4 bets on he front side with 2 holes to play. We dug down deep and managed to win a couple of holes to finish the front nine and salvage our dignity. The backside started like the front and I thought these guys are playing way over their heads and can't keep this up. Well I was correct and they started leaking oil. Unfortunately so did my partner (too much medicine from the night before?). Somehow I found some remnants of my game and we managed to win 4 bets on the backside and finished on the plus side of the ledger for a change. Now collecting was a different matter. After a few references about Italian friends they coughed up the cash.

Sunday was the opening Mixed Shambles. Always a good event, but you know you have to go low to get a sniff. This year was no exception. TZ managed to find some ringers, paid off the pairing chairman and walked away with the socks. My team was very competitive but had one big hiccup that cost us a chance. Kudos to the staff for a great job of preparing dinner without any power. If you have any spare candles you may want to give them to the club. I'm sure they used all they had.

I talked with Greg the other day and learned that members have been using the dinning facilities in increasing numbers. That's great because the food has been pretty good. If you haven't been to one of the Friday night seafood specials you really are missing something (and at a great price). The Happy Hours are growing in popularity and it's a great time to catch up with all that is happening with your friends.

The first Summer holiday weekend is here and the weather looks like it will be good. This is according to our newest JR/SR and local TV personality John J. I think we are the only club in town with our own meteorologist. Let's hope his predictions continue to be as good as his golf game.

Time to go to the training table.

Where's The Sun?

It only seems like last year that we last saw the sun. I thought last Thursday we were finally going to see the beginning of Spring. Wrong again. The rain returned and gray skies are again the norm (just when the course was beginning to dry out). I've got a lot of catching up to do in posting the golf news so I'd better get started.

Thursday was a good day to play and a lot of you showed up. TZ really showed up and had 7 pars with a boat load of strokes. I guess he carried his team and coupled with the new young gun - Rocky - they walked away with all the loot. The rest of the crowd tried to to recover some dignity by winning the SOTD. We had a couple of really close calls, but alas no winners. I've got to conduct another audit but the pot is north of $160.00.

Friday night the rain returned and saturated the course. The GWH had returned from his Spring Fling in Hilton Head and need to replenish his gas fund so we teed it up after waiting out the morning shower. TTS bailed and didn't even showed for coffee so I had to play by myself. After a lot of debate we settled on a skins game. Didn't make any difference though the GWH was in rare form. He must be on the same program as TZ because he had one of those days where things went his way. I was able to minimize my losses and escape with losing the same thing I do when playing with you sandbaggers during the week. Just five bucks!

Monday saw me being a Marshall at the US Open qualifier held at BCC. Talk about wet. Remember the USGA doesn't believe in lift, clean and cheat. So 47 teed it up and slogged their way around our marsh. To top everything off it never got above 48 the whole day. I can honestly say that was as cold and miserable I've been in a long time. I was dressed like TTS plus a full rain suit. While I stayed dry my feet and hands did go numb after a couple of hours sitting in a cart in the rough on #15. No player even attempted to go for the green in two. In fact I saw a few players taking four shots (it warmed my heart). Scores were generally above 80 with Mike Stone having the low score of even (I believe). Considering the talent playing I'd say the weather was the real winner. The only positive to was I didn't catch a cold and my rain suit didn't leak.

The long range forecast doesn't look good for the next few days. If we get any golf in it will be a miracle. Keep the faith, and I'll see ya at the training table.

Is Spring Finally Here?

Well maybe if Saturday is any indication. The day was pretty good for hitting the links. There was the rogue shower, but we were off the course and having lunch when it hit. Fred S was the big winner in the COD game since he figured out how to use the hot partner each time we changed. Yours truly broke even for the day in spite of myself. There was a lot of rust flaking off and the occasional shade of brilliance. Most of my day was typified by the bladed wedge on #3 from 70 yards. Fortunately it hit the lip of the bunker and stopped 10 feet from the pin (it should have been on Ford Rd.) Of course the par putt lipped out.

Sunday we headed to G-town for Mother's Day and the Rabbit Wrangler's 10Th birthday. We got him the new EA Sports Tiger Woods Golf for the Wii (the Nurse wanted to play Augusta National). Have to say it was pretty realistic for a game. We also got to meet Prince Charming (name courtesy of Miss Emma) the latest addition to the rabbit herd. PC (to his friends) is a miniature something that is a show pet. When mature he will have a coat that resembles a lion. Personally I thought he looked like a mutant guinea pig but what do I know. One thing I do know is he won't be a candidate for the stew pot like the rest of the herd.

St. Gwen and TTS had a milestone this weekend. They celebrated their 50Th wedding anniversary. Congrats to them.

This week looks good for golf. See ya at the training table.

PS - This is my third time writing this post. Still having problems with the blog website.

A Rare Day In April

Normally playing golf on April 29Th wouldn't be too unusual but this year it seems to be the exception. The rains finally abated long enough for the course to dry out enough for carts to be allowed out. I know people have been walking but it has really been pretty sloppy. It was still pretty wet, but playable if you didn't mind all the grass clippings and losing your ball in the rough. So with nothing better to do the Social Director, TTS and I teed it up (TGWH is Basking in the sun in Hilton Head). After a bit of a slippery start we settled into a rhythm and lost five skins to TTS on the front side. It was a case of him playing like he used to and us not being able to "hit a cow in the arse with a shovel". Things did improve on the backside with him coming back to earth and us finding our groove. But, in the end he was still the net winner.

It was heartening to see the grill room full of happy golfers having lunch. There seemed to be a lot of new faces to go with the old familiar ones. Too bad Brad had to cancel the first demo day. But, the range is still too wet. This is the first time I can remember it has not been open in April. I suppose a discount on our range fee is too much to hope for.

Blogspot.com seams to have most of there problems fixed so maybe I can publish on a more regular basis. Of course it would help if we can play so I have something to write about. The coming week shows some promise so keep your fingers crossed . Let's be thankful we haven't had to endure what the people in the South have gone though with the massive tornadoes that hit them. A little rain seems to just a minor problem.

The Golden Egg

When I was a kid your goal at the annual Easter Egg Hunt was to find the Golden Egg and get a special prize. Well I was never lucky enough to find it and get the special prize (probably a giant chocolate rabbit). Things haven't changed since I've become an adult, but at least now I can buy my own giant chocolate rabbit. Frankly though I rather have peanut butter eggs from Reece's.

The Rabbit Wrangler and Miss Emma were in town for Easter and we had our own egg hunt. That was followed by going to the club for Easter Brunch where we all ate too much. The club did a great job. I also understand everyone really enjoyed the magic show. My dad joined us and had a great time with the kids and he never met a buffet that wasn't his best friend. They had over 300 reservations this year. I think that is the largest crowd we have ever had a Easter Brunch and is certainly good news for the club.

Now to the subject of golf. Will it ever stop raining? It doesn't look like there is any let up until Friday. There are at least 2 new lakes that I can see from the road. There is a lot of pent up demand for play based on the number of people I saw slogging around on Saturday. The only problem is they were covered with mud. I keep telling myself it is only April and May should really be nice.

I think the blog site has some of their problems corrected. They haven't solved them all but at least I can publish using my notebook computer. Still can't use the desktop because of an issue with Explorer 9.0.

See ya later.

Lost Weekend

Well it was another rainy and cold weekend. There's nothing really to repoert on since there was no golf Saturday and none today for that matter. I did meet the SD for lunch at one of his local haunts and then we drove to Components Plus and bought some new grips for our clubs. For those of you who don't CP they are a cxomponent company located at the Legacy. They have a wide selection of golf items. Mostly components, but a lot finished clubs and other gear. I've been getting stuff from them for years. In fact they were the only game around until Golf Galaxy opened a few years ago.


Hope to see you later this week if the weather clears.

PS Due to technical difficulties with the blog site I haven't been able to publish this posting until today, 4/23/2011. Hopefully this won't happpen again but who knows. I fill in with details at a later date.

Finally!

Yes we finally got the season kicked off on Tuesday. The same cast of characters with the same winners (as last season). Then on Wednesday a different game with the same winners. Well at least one of them was a big winner both days. I understand the Handicap Comm. has called an emergency meeting to review the situation. The SOTD had a couple of close calls but continues to grow. I'm not sure how much is there; somewhere north of $140.00 I think. We are due to have an audit conducted by the Audit Comm. The range is supposed supposed to open this week, but the weather forecast is calling for up to an inch of rain. That doesn't sound good for golf let alone the range. Gilhooley and the GWH are chomping at the bit to get out there and really screw up their swings. I played with LTG yesterday and I think we have a new term. He made a 3 for 2 on #10. If he can repeat the feat again then we'll probably have to add a Greenwood to our dictionary. I don't mind that as much as a "5 for 3 I beat you" or a " 4 for 2" that we have been the victims of. By the way, has anyone heard from TZ? See ya.

The First Walk

Without any great expectations I took my first walk around the lake yesterday. First I needed some fresh air. Second, I wanted to see how wet the course was , and third if I found any golf balls it would be a plus. Sure enough it didn't take long for me to shag the first ball of the season. You know it had to be a Titleist and in very good condition. By the time I returned home I had three balls. Unfortunately one was range ball. Some people just never learn. Oh, by the way, the course is pretty dry. Must be all the wind we've had over the past few days. Looks like it time for golf today.

Wow!!

What a finish yesterday at the Masters. In close to 40 years of watching the Masters I've never seen anything like Sunday. The closet I can remember is Jack Nicklaus' charge in 1986. Too bad for Rory. You have to feel for him. We've all been there and done that in our personal meltdown at the wrong time. One thing for sure though, Tiger didn't scare anybody like he would have five years ago. If anything I think he motivated a few people to play beyond thier normal game. Let's hope the rest of the majors are this exciting.

Maybe a final break in the weather. See ya at the traing table.

Do You Feel Lucky?

Well do ya? If you do then go to www.masters.com and click on the tickets button. At the Chairman's news conference yesterday they announced they would be selling a limited number of daily tournament tickets (via a lottery). I checked it out and placed my entry. We'll see what happens. I've been lucky in the past and gotten practice round tickets this way. The only way they will accept an application is via the Internet. I'm sure the odds are against you but you never know when lightning will strike. See ya Friday.

Masters Week

Historically for me the real golf season begins with The Masters. I think this is true for many of us. We may have been watching the tour on TV since January and gotten a few rounds in, but now the season really starts. The weather also seems to sense it is time to warm up and we can start to think about putting the heavy outer wear away for a while. Personally I can't wait until Thursday when the fun begins and they hit that first tee shot. I've been fortunate to go to a lot of tournaments over the years but The Masters is the only one I have any interest is going to again. Maybe it's because I was fortunate to play Augusta National and realize what a special place it is. Anyway I keep sending my lottery entry for practice round tickets and hope lightning strikes again. We were able to play a couple of nine hole rounds last week. The course is in great shape for early Spring. The greens, while a little slow, are pretty smooth and rolling well. Even my game showed signs of life. Hope always springs eternal and we have great expectations of good things for our games.

Boys Will Be Boys

Yesterday was Miss Emma's B-day so we were off to G-town. for the day. The birthday celebration was pretty normal for six year old. Lots of cake, presents, and girly things going on. The trouble started when her brother (aka the Rabbit Wrangler) and his friend decided to throw a ball around in the living room. Boys and balls inside the house are a recipe for a disaster. It didn't take too long before we heard the crash and the call for Mom. They had managed to knock off the hot wax scent candle. Not really a candle but a electric ceramic bowl that melts the wax. Now think burgundy colored wax all over the table, lamp, wall, and the carpet. Now invision the resulting chaos that ensued. To her credit his mother didn't skin the Rabbit Wrangler alive. While all this was going on Miss Emma managed to spill her school project on the family room carpet. No wax, just some greenish liquid that went everywhere on the light colored carpet. So the Nurse and I worked on that problem while Mom went on the Internet to find out how to get wax out of carpeting. Fortunately all seemed to end well with the cleanup completed before my son got home. The best part was that my father (The Patriarch), who come along for the day, just sat there with a big grin. I think he'd seen this all before. See ya at lunch.

Oops

Sorry about yesterday's post. I originally drafted it in three paragraphs but when I pulihed it it came out as one big paragraph. I tried to correct it but there must be gremlins out there. Anyway I hope you didn't have too much trouble following my thoughts. In retrospect publishing problems fit right in with the day's subject matter. The SD has called a golf luncheon on Thursday and Friday. That is if the weather allows it. I'm off to G-town Thursday for Miss Emma's 6th birthday, but will be there Friday for lunch at a minimum.

No Good Idea Goes Unpunished

We've all heard the saying refereed to in the title of this post in many variations. Here's another example of it in practice. Late last week I got the bright idea to move an old program I use to track my golf game from an old laptop to the one I use for most everything in my office. Mind you the old laptop works fine it just takes up space on my credenza. Actually it was my first laptop and must be at least 11 years old (A Sony Viao running Windows ME). Well the problems started when I tried to install the software. Windows Vista doesn't like golf and wouldn't install the program, plus it must have corrupted something in the process. It gave me a message that it wouldn't reboot and would I like it to find the problem and fix itself. Well of course I would and instructed it to do it's thing. After a lot of blinking lights it said it couldn't fix the problem and maybe I needed tech support. We all know that's about the last thing you want to do is call some customer service center and talk to "Peggy". So instead I called my local Computer Geek who came by the house for a look see. After about a half an hour of punching keys he pronounced it as having a real problem that may require a hard drive reformat ( translated - a lot of time to fix). Not something I wanted to hear since my tax return was sitting on that hard drive. The only good thing was I had recently backed everything up to an external hard drive the day before this all started. Well two days later the Geek called and said he had found some "computer black magic" and was able to lift the evil spell and I was back to normal. But he did caution me to keep my fingers crossed and to think about upgrading to Windows 7. I said OK, but I'm not doing anything until the tax return is done. Saturday night at the club was fun. We met several new members (all potential JR/SRS), and based on the number of people I didn't know there seems to be interest in a lot of others. There was a good band and we may have a Twinkle Toes 2 in our group. TTS was seen to be spending a lot of time with St Gwen tripping the light fantastic. Wonder what his body felt like on Sunday? Plus he stayed late ( I left before he did). We starting to get sunny skies but no real warmth yet. Maybe later this week. See ya at the training table. Remember posting season starts April 1.

It Is Now Official

Yes the season has officially begun. We had our first SOTD at lunch on Friday and as usual there were no winners. Based on how fast Dr. J got his money out he must have really missed this ritual throughout the winter. Of course he has been a big winner in the past and has probably got high hopes for this year.

We did have a short business meeting during lunch and confirmed the Executive Committee recommendation to appoint TTS as the chair of the Memorial Committee. This is the result of an idea floated last year and now has much more importance with the passing of JL. Several ideas were briefly discussed. To TTS's credit he has done preliminary investigation, and his ideas merit thoughtful consideration. We all agreed we need to seek approval of the club board before we go much farther. I'm sure we all have our ideas on what we would like to see, but remember this really about remembering our friends. But at the same time what ever we decide on should be of benefit to the club.

The weather hasn't quite gotten to the point for golf. Maybe next week. I checked my records and our last official round was 11/20/2010. That seems like such a long time ago. Thinking of golf, Brad told me he has the JR/SR Championship and the Mars/Venus (aka Pig Outing) on the calendar for the same relative dates as 2010 for this year. Planing has already started. Stay tuned for details as they become available.

Hope to see everyone this next week.

PS - The BS has already started. Our lovable LR Dr. was trying to get strokes. Now understand he has been playing all winter in Arizona (using his lost ball index to gauge his game). If he's any indication Gilhooley's (he also winters in Arizona) crying should bring new meaning to 1st tee negotiation. Even Twinkle Toes was trying to work the group. But, frankly I'm not buying any of this.

A Cheap Drum

The Nurse and I went to visit the Rabbit Wrangler and Miss Emma yesterday. The WR wanted shot some hoops before he went off to baseball practice, so we did. It became quickly apparent that he was way to quick to play one-on-one with so we settled on HORSE. Bad idea. He beat me my like a cheap drum! First of all I've been sitting around most of the winter hibernating while he has been playing basketball. Second of all it was his court. I thought I was OK until he started throwing them in from downtown. Three shots and I had HOR (two straight games) and not a chance to catch up. I didn't know a nine year old could get so much pleasure from beating up on his Gramps.

How's your bracket doing? In the family pool I'm only ahead of Miss Emma (who picked based on mascots). I guess this is pretty typical for the NCAA Tournament. I'm not out of it yet, but there can't be too many big upsets in the next round. Again the WR was getting great glee from being ahead of yours truly. This keeps up and I may write him out of the will.

Too bad I missed the Friday lunch at BCC. I didn't get any phone calls asking for the SOTD money, so I guess there were no winners. Maybe next week. See ya.

Mallards In The Yard

Another sure sign that Spring is coming is the day the Mallards show-up at our bird feeders. Such was the case yesterday. We have one or two pairs that show-up every year and one pair was here yesterday. We've been seeing geese for about a week. They may be local ones or some just passing through. I just hope they keep going. No nesting , please.

The ice is moving around the lake and should be gone by the end of the week. I have an annual ritual of trying to hit a golf ball across the lake (using the ice). I've gotten close but have never made it. Yesterday was no different. But, I came close using a hybrid. In fact it was a hybrid I don't really use. I may have to put it back in the bag this year.

Speaking of golf, Twinkle Toes was seen out playing the loop last week. He said he was in mid season form even thought the course was a little wet (do ya think?). I guess we'd better watch out for him early in the season.

Lunch Friday and happy hour that eveining. Hope to see ya there. Oops, forgot I'm off to see the Rabbit Wrangler and Miss Emma that day. But you all can have fun.

A Gold Star

LTG gets a gold star for answering all parts of the rules question from the previous blog posting correctly. In fact he even brought his rules book to lunch with the appropriate sections highlighted. True to form TGWH had a a variation on the situation we discussed which the six of us could not agree on. The next time you see him ask him and you be the judge.

Remember Daylight savings time starts tonight. Set your clocks ahead 1 hour. Gold season can't be far off. The Masters is only a month away.

The earthquake, resulting tsunami and devastation is hard to comprehend. Then toss in a reactor problem and you have the basis for a Hollywood production. Next thing you know Godzilla will pop out of the sea. The only problem is this is real. I can't imagine what those people are going through. With all the weird weather and natural disasters the Nurse said she didn't want to see tornado season this year. Maybe last year was our turn in the barrel.

With some luck we'll be at BCC this Friday for lunch. Watch your email for the SD's instructions.

Almost Out

I'm not talking about the flowers or the trees budding. No, I'm talking about our supply of hot chocolate. Every Fall we buy one of those big boxes of instant hot chocolate at one of the warehouse club stores and it lasts until Spring. Well Spring must almost be here since we are almost out. Funny how this seems to be coincide with Fat Tuesday this year.

The Golfer's Glossary: Men's Warehouse - When your partner sticks his approach close: "you're going to like the way you look."

Rules Question - The GWH and the SD were playing a friendly game when the GWH hit his tee shot on #6 close to Charlie the dog's property. The ball was within one inch of being out of bounds (and the property line) but still in play. Since Charlie has been known to retrieve errant golf balls his owners had put up a no trespass sign. The GWH took his stance while standing OB and the SD complained he couldn't do that and he should go back to the tee (the old stroke & distance penalty). Was the SD correct? We'll talk about this at lunch on Friday. Bring you rules books. This is a multi part question and could involve the services of LTG. What if Charlie stole the ball?

See ya later.

The Wet Foot

Due to the stars aligning in a weird way I agreed to to go to the Toledo Symphony Pops concert featuring Lead Zeppelin with The Nurse (normally she goes with one of her girl friends). Being the thoughtful hubby I am I dropped her off at the door and went to park the car (it was snowing like crazy). Well on my way from the parking lot I stepped where I shouldn't have. The next thing I knew I was in slush over the top of my shoe. When I jerked my foot back my shoe stayed in the muck and I stood there perched on one foot. A Good Samaritan retrieved the shoe and I managed to get it on and squish my way inside. The Nurse thought it was pretty funny (along with those standing close by). It took the most of the concert for my sock to dry out. I will say the program worked pretty well as a wick and absorbed a lot of the wetness. The concert was pretty good in spite of the way things started.

Friday lunch was held at a different venue. TTS threatened to hide out in Oak Harbor if we didn't go somewhere different. So we all caved in and went to the French Quarter for a change. Basically it was the same crew except the SD was back from the Left Coast. Lively conversation and Betty salads were had by all. I'm not sure where we are going for the last Friday before the club reopens. Watch your email for the SD's instructions.

For all you techies out there I saw the new Motorola tablet (i-pad competitor) and it is pretty cool. While it it is early in the product intro it could definitely be a good alternative to the Apple. If you haven't tried one the're like a laptop and Kindle combined with your smart phone (only on steroids). Pretty cool if you have a spare $500 plus.

Wasn't it great to wake up and see all the white this morning? At least the long range trend is for warmer temps and I think daylight savings time is due to start next weekend. At least then we can see the snow longer.