Vincent D. Furnier & 3 Birdies

The clock hadn’t yet struck 7:00am when I rolled out of bed and headed downstairs. I was still a little tired but also eager to get moving. I made a pot of coffee and promptly plopped onto the floor and began whipping out 55 sit-ups. Ten minutes later I had both sit-ups and push-ups in the bag. Before curls, I moved the sprinkler to the deep back. After curls and walking Ykraps I spent a little time sipping coffee and surfing the net. I set out for my run by 8:10am. Mindy said she wanted up by 9am. I ran just three miles in part to conserve time, but also to conserve a little energy for 18 holes of hot steamy golf. My left hand and forearm were stiff and inflexible after yesterday’s posthole digger work. I worried that it would adversely impact my golf game (hey, any excuse I can get). The run was nice and went fast. My legs felt terrific. Mindy finally crawled out of bed after I was showered and downstairs prepping to depart. She offered to fry my egg but I respectfully declined. I wanted to leave by 9:20 but didn’t end up hitting the road until 9:30am. I had a number of pesky chores to complete. First, I had to transfer my golf clubs from the BM’er to the Trooper since I was picking up Bob. Secondly, I wanted to buy and print an extra Alice Cooper ticket since Mindy changed her mind and now wanted to go. And thirdly, I needed to shut down the sprinkler pump. I managed to get it all done before 9:30am and left for Bob’s. I wouldn’t see Mindy until about 6pm. Because I was running low on gas, I decided last minute to stop for a fill-up at the Grandview Ave. BP station. I arrived at Bob’s just as he rang my cell phone inquiring of my whereabouts. I was out front. We loaded his gear and hit the road by 9:50am. Our tee time was set for 10:40am. We had plenty of time to get there, especially given that most of the 30 mile drive was freeway and/or highway. We arrived at Royal American Links in Galena with 20 minutes to spare. We even had enough time to hit the range. For sure it was heating up quickly. In fact, for the first time in several days/weeks, thunderstorms were forecasted for later in the day. But for the time being, it was crystal clear. The clubhouse at RAL is worthy of mention here. This place was incredible. It has the look and feel of an old English castle. We were golfing with two of Bob’s old friends, Scott and Wayne, or as Bob calls him, Pick. The course has bent grass fairways and greens with oodles of trees, hills, and water. For a change, I started off well. I par’d hole #1, and then birdied hole #2. I was ecstatic! Probably my most alarming failure was my play on two of the 4 par threes, where I took triple bogeys on each. Damn! I shot an 89 for the day and ended up with three birdies. And to think, I went an entire year without even one last year. Along with those two triples, I had an eight too. I enjoyed the course. The regular green fees are $59 but Scot had four vouchers from a past partial rainout and shared the wealth. We each played for $38 with cart (a $21 discount). Not bad at all. RAL is a popular wedding venue, too. And to our surprise, there was a wedding just as we were finishing up. We could hear the wedding march and lots of applause. I pretended as if they were cheering my play. Thank you! We finished around 3:30pm. By then a few pop clouds were moving in, but still no rain. It was very steamy, however. The guys wanted to grab a quick beer. I joined them but drank lemonade. I wanted a fresh head for later, and besides, I rarely, if ever, drink on the golf course. I bolted for home around 4pm. Scot and Pick stayed for one more. Bob had plans with his old neighbors. I think that he was happy to hit the road, too. As we headed home, it looked like storms were moving in just to our immediate north. And just as we hit I-670 in the downtown area, some sprinkles came our way. I dropped Bob at 4:30pm and then headed on home. I wasn’t settled for more than ten minutes when the sky let loose. We had a big thunder storm move through complete with heavy rain, lightning, thunder, and strong wind. It was nice to see. That, of course, made me sleepy. I wanted to get Ykraps’ evening walk out of the way. However, even though the rain had stopped, lightning bolts continued to pepper the area causing me to change my mind. We hung back for another 15 minutes or so. During that time, I actually napped sitting upright in my computer chair. I can do that rather easily. Come 5:30pm I woke and headed out with Ykraps. We finished quickly as more rain came seemingly out of no where. Damn!! Mindy arrived home from her mother’s around 6:25pm. By then I had showered and freshened up for the Cooper concert. I was getting psyched! We wasted little time getting ready. Mindy changed quickly into more appropriate attire (g-string and ripped t-shirt). J We left for Tom’s around 6:40pm. Tom lives in Merion Village, or just south of German Village on Frebis. He has a lovely home that he completely gutted and restored over the past several years. It’s currently on the market but slow to sell. It’s a tough market right now. Tom offered a Bud Light. I accepted. We sat in his living room where Mindy made recommendations on his furniture placement. Before we knew it, we were moving his furniture around to better use available space. We left for the show around 7:30pm. Tom guided us in since we were “out of downtowners”. J Brother-in-law Larry called and offered us free parking at Engine House #1, but we opted instead to park closer. And to top that, we found a free meter since it was Sunday. Cool! It wasn’t too long before we were at our concert venue. Before heading in, we had to buy one more ticket. After buying the third ticket we promptly entered the venue to check out the digs. I had never been to the outdoor venue, having seen Todd Rundgren just this past January on the inside stage. I guess the best description would be similar to Polaris only much smaller. My guess is that the max capacity is around 5K. After grabbing a drink we found our way to the upper lawn area where we stayed for the duration of the show. We never did take a seat on the lawn, choosing to avoid a wet/muddy ass, an after effect from the thunder storms of earlier. The opening act was Cinder Road, a heavy metal rock band. None of us had heard of them before. They were OK. Alice came on just as darkness set in. He was as good as I remembered. Catchy lyrics and chilling theatrics aside, the band was exceptionally tight, too. I was impressed. He played for about two hours covering stuff off of his new CD plus most of his familiar old tunes. Among others, he played Cold Ethel, I Love the Dead, Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mr Nice Guy, Dead Babies, Eighteen, Elected, Poison, Only Women Bleed, and School’s Out. Theatrically, he was hung live on stage, drove a stake through a baby’s heart, and was placed in a straight jacket. After the show concluded Alice introduced his band and the dancers. The three female dancers were his daughters. I later learned that his wife was a ballet instructor. Go figure! Great Show, and well worth the $25 ticket price.

We dropped Tom at home and then headed for our own. Joe & Danny were at our place watching the kids, who were already tucked into bed. They left five minutes after we got home. We went right to bed. It was around 11:30pm as we both needed to be up for work/school.