Purple Birdies

Happy 5th B-Day Lil' Rocky!

Once again, I slept with my legs elevated on a double stack of pillows. And once again, I woke feeling incredibly good with minimal stiffness. It was still prior to 5:30am. Because of this, I was able to take my time working through my calisthenics and walking Ykraps. Even though it was clear when we first set out, a thin veil of clouds moved in while we walked. Literally, by the time we made it back home it was completely cloudy.

I took my time enjoying coffee and internet. I got around to meditation come 6:10am. Afterwards, I took a short nap before setting out on a run. I stepped out the door at 6:40am. My run was uneventful, which also means I was in little to no pain. This pleased me much. I ran four miles. I was back home by 7:10am and ready to prep my breakfast & lunch. Mindy had my fruit and nuts ready to go. In addition, I made some tuna salad. Keeping it simple, I fried two eggs for breakfast, complementing them with fruit.

I headed up for a shower at 7:40am. And, yes, I delivered Mindy’s coffee. She asked if I planned to golf this evening. I did. Later, after my shower, we reviewed her plans as well. She’d be heading to Riverside for her physical therapy appointment all the while her mother watches the kids. She mentioned the possibility of stopping at the Olentangy River Rd. Kohl’s to see if they had the bedding she wanted. They didn’t have it at either of the two Westside stores (West Broad or Hilliard).

I left for work at 8:10am driving the BM’er. It was still cloudy, but there was next to no chance of rain. In fact, I could see the clear blue skies coming our way glancing to the west. By the time I got to work it was indeed sunny. Work was busy, and we had our usual Wednesday staff meeting. It went for just over 2 hours. I didn’t take a lunch by design since this was a golf Wednesday. I was looking forward to it. I received an email confirming as much from Bob Imber mid-afternoon.

I left for golf come 4:30pm. As usual, it was a challenge separating from work but did. I was very pleased to find few traffic snarls in route to Split Rock. There was only one minor slow down between Hilliard and I-70 on I-270 south but that’s it. Today I remembered to set my trip odometer. It was 30.75 miles, and it took 34 minutes to get there.

As usual, Bob Boyer was already there. He gets off at 3-3:30pm. Meanwhile, Bob I. was still in transit. That gave me time to putt and swing a club or two. Bob I. arrived about ten minutes later. We headed directly to the #10 tee box.

I won the coin toss (tee flip). My drive wasn’t too long but it was straight and in the fairway. Good enough. I was on the par 5 green in three after three nice shots and just 7 or 8 feet from the cup. Alright! A birdie was well within reach. I hit my birdie putt firmly not wanting to leave it short. Unfortunately, it leaked just to the right of the hole and rolled a good 4 feet past. Damn! And yes, I missed the come back 4-footer as well. Crap! I blew and easy birdie opportunity, but also blew the par. Bogey.

Hole #11 is a par 4. I hit an OK drive, and then a nice second shot landing once again on the green in regulation albeit about 30 feet out. Same story, though – three putt bogey.
Hole #12 is a downhill/uphill 160 yard par 3 with a two-tier green. The pin was on the upper tier right. An errant shot right puts you in immediate trouble. In fact, if you’re not on, you’re typically in trouble. I hit a nice shot on the green but on the lower tier leaving myself a long 40 foot putt with a hill and multiple breaks. My birdie putt didn’t have quite enough gas to make it up to the upper tier hill and tailed off right leaving me another long putt for par. Sadly I missed two more for a four putt. Ouch! After three holes of being on the green in regulation, I had nothing to show for it.

I some how I managed to keep my chin up and held my own for the next five holes. Scattered in amongst them was a birdie and a par. As I’ve talked about before, the finishing hole is a treacherous par 5. I could feel tension in my body as I approached my tee shot. The results showed it, too. I topped it a little netting a very short shot. But at least it went straight. Because the hole’s a guaranteed lay up in three, I was still OK. My second shot was 3-iron, which is usually pretty good to me. Not today, though. I topped it too. It went only about fifty yards. Crap! Here we go! Shot three was another 3-iron. I hit it decent but pulled it right. Because of the holes contour, I had few options better than a safe PW layout to within 130 yards. That’s what I did. Having said that, I almost hit it too far putting myself in a real sticky situation yet again. So, there I was lying in four & still 130 yards out to a downhill/uphill green. I hit a 9-iron onto the right green just inside the fringe leaving myself a long 35 foot putt. Long story short, I made the long putt for a miraculous bogey. I was very pleased given the way the hole began. I finished with a 45 – not a bad score for my game. Still, though, I left easily left four strokes on the table. I could’ve and probably should’ve shot a 41 had I not choked.

We parted ways agreeing to hookup again next Wednesday. Doesn’t sound like Bob and Mary Ann will be by the firkin this Friday. They’ve got a 25th H.S. reunion to attend in Wadsworth. It was 7:46pm when I jumped in the BM’er and headed towards home. It was a lovely drive into the sunset. I made it home in 22 minutes.

Mindy’s car was there but the house oddly quiet. Just as I was retrieving my backpack from the trunk a brand spanking new VW Beetle convertible pulled up in the drive with Mindy riding shotgun and the kids in the back. It was Rene driving. I didn’t recognize her at first. The car was brand new and very attractive. She just got it. Nice! Mindy gave me a hug and let me know that she brought me a gyro from the Big Fat Greek. Cool. That sounded awesome. I tore into the gyro all the while we talked about our day. Mindy was excited because she found the bedding she wanted and had it in the dryer ready to put on the bed. She didn’t want me to see it until it was fully made. I honored her request. Eventually, I made Rene and I a Jack & Coke. Mindy showed Rene the house we’re trying to rent at Norris Lake. It looks very nice and full of lakeside amenities. Sounds like Rene will be joining us.

In between prepping our new bedding, Mindy readied the kids for bed. Meanwhile, I went up to slip out of my work/golf attire and into my comfy flannel shorts. Mindy allowed me to view the bedding while I was up there. It’s certainly more feminine than what I had, but it does look nice save for the silky gray bed skirt. In my opinion, it doesn’t match at all. Mindy agreed and even spoke of looking for a better match. Rene came up to see, too.

Soon the kids were tucked into bed and Rene departed. Mindy and I stayed up long enough to chat quietly but called it a night just after 10pm. As we slipped into bed I noted that the new comforter was still a little damp around the edge near my face. I rolled it back away from my face, and once again propped my legs on a double stack of pillows. Hey, you don’t mess with what works.