Somebody's gotta tan ... and an itch

I went to bed the night before determined to be up no later than 7:15am. I met my goal. I was up by 6:50am. Like the morning before, I prepped a pot of coffee, but skipped the calisthenics choosing this to be my skip day. Skipping today’s sit-ups and push-ups wasn’t an accident. I thought that it might help my golf swing later. I moved immediately to walking Ykraps. I spent about 20 minutes online reading headlines and a few sports related articles all the while enjoying my morning coffee. I dressed and left for my run by 7:45am. It was quite steamy – already about 73 degrees. I ran just three miles but still worked up a good lather given the extra humid conditions. I felt strong throughout. I delivered coffee to Mindy as I prepared to shower. It didn’t take me long to be showered, dressed, and ready for golf. Mindy joined me downstairs as I prepped something to eat. I made an egg sandwich on rye-swirl with sliced roast beef, cheese, mayo and lettuce. I wanted to leave just after 9am and had my breakfast gone and everything loaded in the Trooper by 8:58am. I sat with Mindy for a couple minutes on the front stoop waiting on Kenny. Jacob joined us out front. At 9:05am I decided to head out and pull down to Kenny’s. Mindy asked that I call her after golf. I tooted the horn but Kenny never came. Next, I called his cell. He answered on ring number 8 or 9. He overslept. He asked that I give him ten minutes. He was out and ready in something less than that. Said he had to sneak off to bed, and that was after 2am. Felt a tad rough, needless to say. It was 9:15am. Traffic was a non-issue and the drive to New Albany was quick (almost all freeway). We were on rt 161 just west of rt 62 by 9:40am. We stopped at the New Albany Kroger so Kenny could get some chew – needed it to wake up. We still made it to the course before 10am. It’s a very easy drive, just north of the New Albany surgical center where my mom was just a few weeks ago. We were greeted at the rear of our vehicle by a young lady with a golf cart. Kenny was gonna tip her but she walked away. I spotted Scott right away hitting balls into the practice net. We joined him. I introduced Kenny & Scott. Until now, I hadn’t seen Scott since this past January at Snow Trails. We joked about Bob likely arriving last minute. According to Scott, he’s been like that as long as he’s known him. He arrived while we were testing the putting green. Much stiffer, faster than what we typically play on. We were ready to go. Bob had a coupon - four for the price of three. That reduced our fees to $40 each. Not bad at all for the quality of the course. To put it in perspective, Raymond is $38 on Sunday’s. The track is nestled in a mid to upscale subdivision with a true country club-like setting. It was recently voted one of the top courses in all of Ohio. We played here last September once, too. Sparing you all the ugly details, I shot a 46 on the front and a 58 on the back. I wasn’t playing that terribly, just couldn’t score. In fact, on particular hole, I was on it two and putting for birdie but ended up four putting for a six. That sums up my back nine nicely. One story worth sharing, we were on hole #16, I believe. It’s a 400 yard par 4 with water running the length of the fairway on the left hand side. The pond was long and narrow – only about 30 feet wide. Just to the east were a line of houses. And out in her yard, about the 220-240 yards away, a woman was pacing around while talking on her phone. I kidded the group that I would pay $5 to anyone who hit her. Enter Kenny. Kenny hit his drive long and left. I was heading right for this woman. Suddenly worried or her safety I yelled fore as loud as I could. She ducked away and the ball rolled harmlessly through her yard. We chuckled at the irony. Kenny certainly wasn’t trying to hit her. As we made our way down the airway and to our balls, she stood just inside her back door and shouted ‘nasties’ our way. At one point she called us idiots. Remaining calm, I tried to ease the situation and calmly explained that I yelled fore. She quickly retorted that she yelled fore. Whatever! We moved along and guessed her a lonely old hag who has nothing better to do than sit out in her yard on weekends and harass golfers who on occasion (and probably often given her yards location) hit her house with their drives. Before we tee’d off the next par 3, the course ranger was apparently dispatched to her home. She was giving this guy an earful by the looks of it. We half expected him to come question us but he never did. Once again, clue that this wasn’t the first time that she’s done this. As Bob mentioned, if nothing else, it made for good blog material. We laughed it off. We finished our round around 3:00pm. We had a lot of fun despite the course showing most of us its teeth. Bob had low round by about ten strokes, but even he struggled on a handful of holes. We’ll have to play this one again. Kenny & I left for home around 3:18pm. I phoned Mindy to check in. We weren’t expected at her sisters until 5pm. We were in good shape. We made great time driving home. We were there by 3:45pm. At my prompting, Mindy had snacks waiting my arrival – Triscuits, cheese, and pepperonis. I was ravenously hungry after a long day in the sun. In kind, I woofed down too many, too fast. I headed off for a quick shower and we left for her sister’s by 4:30pm. The first thing that hit me when I exited the Honda at Jodi & Larry’s was just how hot it felt. Mindy said it was 95 degrees. And for the first time all summer, most unwatered lawns are turning brown and crunchy. A typical August in Ohio. Inside the house, everyone was gathered in the kitchen area. Mindy’s mom greeted the kids warmly. I waited in line behind the kids to give her a hug and say hello. After greeting all the others I poured myself a lemonade. I was craving sugar after spending five plus hours playing golf in the brilliant summer sunshine. I also snacked on the potato chips parked conveniently right in front of my face. That’s how I roll! I soon took liberties with the TV tuning into the PGA championship to see if Tiger could win this thing. He’d been leading since the first day but was struggling early on Sunday. In the end, he lost, putting like a mere mortal. He missed several birdie chances and bogeyed the final two holes. Very unTiger-like. Larry cooked burgers, hot dogs, and brats on the grill. I ate a brat along with some pasta salad. After dinner Jacob, Joe, Julie & I played cornhole on some very small boards – about half-size. It was difficult, not a lot of room for sliding it up. We stayed until 7:15pm. Larry walked us out. He pointed out how Gloria hit his daughter’s car when she parked out front. I snapped a picture. We pulled away heading purposefully towards the Elswick’s house. I beeped as we passed. We passed a young woman on a bike that turned out being Mary Elswick. We stopped to wait for her to catch up. We chatted briefly. Said her son, Josh was just transferred to Wisconsin. Felt bitter-sweet about it. Also said that Danny’s parents are requiring their attention daily. Danny’s dad broke his hip. Sad! All the sudden, seems our parents are hitting their ‘silver’ years. We headed home but took the nostalgic route up Demorest Rd past Mindy’s first house in the subdivision that replaced Wee Bonnie golf course. I remember it new, and Mindy built and bought a new spec home there. We drove by her old place and even took a picture. The roads were much narrower than I remembered them, and many houses looked run down. In fact, we even saw a car up on blocks. Yikes! We proceeded north on Demorest eventually making our way past Westgate Park. Overall, it hasn’t changed much. The trees look about the same as they did to my eyes some 30+ years ago, but you’ll have that with 100-200 year old trees. By the way, did you know that the land known as Westgate Park once was a civil war POW camp? Yep! Camp Chase. We arrived home just after 8pm. The kids begged their mother for permission to seek out their friends and play a little before dark. While they ran off to play, Mindy & I walked Ykraps. Immediately afterwards, I was quick to change into my summer PJs. And then, while Mindy got the kids showered and ready for bed, I ate a couple bowls of Capt’n Crunch. Bella and I did a seek & find during tuck-in time. She loves those books. I was more than ready for bed afterwards, perhaps tired from all the time in the sun earlier.