There are many nice surprises in life. Such was the case today when I played hooky on the golf course with my buddy Cuz, our third round of the season. I did not play last year because of hip pain. Given that it had been a year and a half since I'd taken to the links, I wondered if I'd ever break 90 again. I did so this afternoon at Forest Park in Queens. I don't know if it was because of low expectations, but I'd never felt more relaxed on the course. I felt my gut contract with anxiety only once, and that was due to slow play, which allows too much time for thinking negative thoughts. My concentration was as good as it ever gets. I didn't duff any shots until the last hole. And my ball-striking was so consistent. I didn't make any birdies, but I was either on the green or near it in regulation each hole but the last. The prior week I scored better (92) than I played, as I dropped in four long putts. This week it was just the opposite. I had two three-putts, and I failed to get a tough uphill pitch to hold the sloping 17th green. I nearly blew it on 18, but managed to put a long putt that traveled through a swale inches from the cup, and came in at 89. Cuz struggled mightily again, hitting the century mark, although he showed signs of regaining his form on the back nine, where he crushed a couple of drives only as he can. We were paired with Alvin and Calvin, two seniors with delightful islands' accents. I hope today's success doesn't resurrect the old Vic, who used to get so keyed up out there.
Congratulations to Mr. Connally, father of one of my ex-supervisors at the Exchange, who had his first hole-in-one recently. He is in his 80's, I believe.
There was a surprise waiting for me in the mailbox. I terminated my landline phone several years ago to save money. I have not regretted it. Although my internet fee rose $20 as a result, I still came out way ahead. I was ticked off at Verizon. On at least two occasions, features were added to my bill without my approval, which I had to rectify by calling customer service. I received a post card saying there has been a class action suit against the company regarding third party charges. It looks like I will be entitled to $40. If it weren't such a hassle, I would have dropped them as my ISP as well. I've lost a lot of respect for them, despite their outstanding products.
I hope there will be more surprises tomorrow, like the rain holding off for a couple of hours so that I might sell some books.
Read Vic's stories, free: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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