An Ohio couple married 65 years, who shared a room at a nursing home, died on the same day, eleven hours apart. Devout Catholics, they had six children, 14 grandchildren. A grandchild attributed their coincidental demise to great faith. At the funeral, the female grandchildren carried grandma's casket, the male grandpa's. A granddaughter says they are dancing in heaven. Rest in peace, Mr. & Mrs. Knapke. Kudos on a life well-lived.
Golf is just as mysterious as any other aspect of life. Cuz and I have been playing pretty much once a week since 1988. We'd rush from the trading floor to the course every Monday in our heyday. These days, our budgets tight, we tee off at noon when the discount begins. We no longer walk, and we don't play as consistently as we did, forgoing holidays, when there is no discount, and those times when work or family obligation interferes. In the past we made up a lot of missed rounds on Tuesday. That is no longer the case. I used to spend 15 minutes putting on my rug on Saturday, another 15 chipping on Sunday in preparation. The only practice I do now is a phantom pitching swing while waiting for customers to visit the floating book shop. So I have pretty low expectations regarding scoring. I was surprised my ball-striking has remained pretty much the same as ever, a good shot, bad shot ratio common to the once-a-week-player. I had struggled with chipping for at least a decade, and it sometimes took all the joy out of the game. I had not putted well for about five years. Suddenly, the last three weeks, my short game has been stellar. I missed only one short putt today and made several from four or five feet, and I did not flub a single chip or pitch. On the tenth hole I was way left of the green, 50 yards short of the flag, beside a huge tree, woods directly to my left, branches hanging down along the way. I almost took a drop, that's how narrow the window was. I thought: What the heck; go for it. I struck the shot smoothly and it rolled to a stop 20 feet from the cup, and I was able to save bogie. That was a great feeling. I shot 87 despite severely pulling my woods on the back nine for the second straight round. I cured that somewhat by standing a bit further from the ball. Cuz continues to struggle, hitting low hook after low hook. He avoided triple digits by making a spectacular birdie putt on 18. Maybe that will revive his game. I used to dread putts that are just short of gimmes. I now have faith I will make them - at least at present. It's probably temporary, but it sure is fun.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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