Thorn (Apple) in My Side

I was up just before 7am on what was a cloudy and comparably cool morning. I was still tired and even perhaps a tad hungover after drinking only four regular beers the evening before. Weak! After starting coffee I took a dive on the sofa for another 20 minutes or so. I woke feeling much better just after 730am. After completing my exercise regimen and sipping some coffee I took Frankie outside to relieve herself. I checked in with work. All was quiet, at least for the time being. I figured the sooner I completed my run the better. I headed out the door after a quick but thorough stretch. It was near 830am. The sky was overcast but didn’t look like rain anytime soon. I completed my run without any problems. Mindy was still in bed when I returned home. It started to rain shortly thereafter. Can’t recall the exact time but I’m guessing Mindy got up near 10am. By then, I was deeply entrenched in work related matters. Ugh! Mindy asked if I ever heard back from Tom C. about golf. No, I didn’t, but just as well. The weather was poor. I shared that I missed a couple calls from Rene the night before after a failed attempt at reaching her. Mindy talked about taking some of the kids toys to a second hand toy store for cash. In between work issues, I used the time to update my blog, although I still remain way behind. The rain continued through late morning and early afternoon. Mindy and I did very little. I remained involved with work until mid-afternoon. By then, Mindy had showered and departed for her friend Tara’s place. After checking the radar and seeing that the end was near, I headed outside to complete a couple nagging chores. I started by draining, cleaning, and refilling Mindy’s fountain. It was full of algae and was stinky. I scrubbed the hot tub cover and topped off the water. I tied up tomato plants too. The rain came to a halt as I finished up the chores. It was approximately 315pm. Tom C. left me a VM while I was finishing my chores. I called him back. He was interested in golf. I agreed as it looked like work was at least somewhat under control. We agreed to meet at Thornapple at 4pm. I figured it close enough to home that if I had to bail I could do so easily. I ran of to shower then penned up Frankie. I left for golf at 335pm. All around, the sky was clearing nicely although there remained a few big clouds just overhead. I arrived ten minutes ahead of Tom. Once he arrived I picked up our green fees. We both decided to walk, albeit tom with a pull cart. I carried. We were given the after 4pm rate even though we were teeing off just before. I bogeyed the first six holes narrowly missing several par putts. I was driving straight down the middle on every hole. I finished the front nine with a 47. For as well as I was striking the ball, my score surely didn’t show it. The sun shined brightly after about hole number four, and it got down right hot and sticky. I failed to wear a ballcap or bring sun glasses. I was almost ready to bag it after nine holes but decided to play on. Lucky for us, the sky became overcast once more making for ideal golfing conditions. Holes #10 & 11 are killers – a 585 yard par 5 and a 270 yard par 3. I took an eight on the par 5. With the weather cooperating and my drives straight down the middle, we decided to keep playing instead of cutting over to 18 and heading home. Tom asked me to watch and coach him from the tee as his drives were all tailing off badly. I offered three small tips. One, move your feet closer together by about 2 inches. Two, put your weight on the balls of your feet, and three, slow your back swing down. Over the next four holes Tom translated that advice into a birdie and three pars. He was ecstatic! He went from hitting a terrible slice of the tee to hitting a long soft draw. Used the same advice on his approach shots netting similar results – vast improvement. We both finished strong with a string of pars and bogeys. Mindy phoned my cell while on hole number 17. I returned her call as we walked up the fairway of hole #18. We finished 18 holes in 3.5 hours. Not bad! Little wonder, we had to wait on no one. I arrived home by 745pm. Mindy was busy on her computer. I spotted Kenny out on his deck. I went immediately outside to make sure things were OK. They were supposed to be out of town all day. Thought their house might’ve been violated or something. Nope. Just stopped home on his way to pick-up Lillian. Mindy and I decided to stay home in lieu of going out to dinner. Mindy said she wasn’t hungry. I ate chunks of cheese and Triscuits, and eventually poured a Jack & Coke. Mindy wanted to watch a pay-per view movie. We settled on The Blindside with Sandra Bullock. Good flick! After the movie we got in the hot tub. I took my third Jack & Coke out with me. The hot tub felt terrific on my aching arches after walking 18 holes. We let Frankie play on the deck while we hot tubbed. She barked incessantly at the hot tub cover. She’s like that with anything she finds unusual or out of place. That’s just the second time we’ve gotten in the tub since making the repair in May. After the hot tub we headed for bed where we tuned in to Saturday Night Live. I fell asleep.