Golf and football
Family, golf and football – these are a few of my favorite things (shout out to Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music”). I won’t write too much about my family except to say Happy Valentine’s Day. They were with me through thick and thin during my physical ordeal last year. They visited me on Thanksgiving Day when I was stuck in a skilled nursing facility. So to my wife, kids, mom, dad, sister, step-parents, uncles and cousins I say thank you, thank you and thank you again. That brings me to my other two topics – golf and football.
I’ll start with golf as that’s what I normally write about. Yesterday I followed my son Jackson to play nine holes at the Windsor Golf Club. The course was immensely playable despite the monsoon-like rain we’ve had. My son wore khaki pants and there was barely any mud speckles on them. Greens keepers Rick Hansen and Pablo Rosales fixed the drainage problem many years ago and they did a great job.
During a rainstorm last week our beloved golf course looked like Lake Windsor from the view on Golf Course Drive. Within 24 hours it appeared dry and hearty golfers were trekking out here.
I watched Jackson make an excellent bogey on the first hole by draining an 18-footer after an excellent bunker shot. I’m not saying he’ll be the next Jordan Spieth but Jackson has the right demeanor to play outstanding golf. I brought my Scotty Cameron putter out on a few of the greens. We had a putting contest on the eighth green to see how many putts it took to make a 20-footer. My son made the putt in two attempts and he needled me and said, “You have to make it one putt to beat me, dad.” I placed my two crutches in a certain way to prop me up and I proceeded to hit my first putt pure and it rolled into the dead center of the cup. Jackson fell over in disbelief and I tipped my cap to the imaginary crowd. Man I miss the competition
There were a few groups of other crazy – I mean – enthusiastic golfers out on the course. The driving range, pro shop and snack bar were open. Patrick was behind the counter and all was well in the local golf world.
Mud Bowl
My son and his buddy Seth put together their annual mud football game over the winter break. The boys sent out formal invitations to a handful of kids at their schools and then word of mouth spread. Seth’s dad – whose name I will omit to protect the innocent – provided the white lines on the field, distributed everybody’s flags for flag football and acted as the referee complete with a whistle and penalty flag. Fifteen kids showed up and had an absolute blast playing on the grass at Vintage Greens Park – near the golf course. All of these kids wore beat up clothes and shoes and had smiles on their faces you couldn’t wipe off.
Little did they know that a grumpy neighbor saw the boys having fun in the grass and mud and called the Windsor Police Department. Apparently he or she felt it necessary to protect a large grassy field that barely ever gets used. A police officer showed up and he was in a bind. He had to do his public duty to protect our community although he looked like he was a football fan.
Fortunately for the police officer the boys – ranging between the ages of 9 and 12 – were ready for a drink and a snack so they took a break. They all voted unanimously to switch from the muddy part of the field over to a grassy part in middle part of the field free of mud. The police officer was saved. The kids do what kids do – they solved the problem themselves.
I have a message for the nosy neighbor. Lighten up. Don’t be a Grinch. Let kids be kids. How about coming out and watching the game? Join the parents on the benches and see these young boys enjoy likely their favorite day of the winter break. I believe all of these boys will get into Stanford or Cal despite the police log that appeared in this paper where it says, “1:53 p.m. – Disturbance (youth).”
For the record – the field has already grown back and we’re looking forward to the Mud Bowl VI.
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