Our Summer Friends Are Arriving

"Flowers are the sweetest things that God ever made, and forgot to put souls into." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Summer is coming. I know it. Though gray clouds are still hanging around a bit like lazy sea lions on a rock in the ocean, the signs that summer is near are starting to appear.

It is isn't the temperature either. That's still a bit iffy. Shorts and flip flops are still rare in their appearance. Our bedroom windows are still kept shut against the chilly night air when we go to sleep.

What is the harbinger of summer that I see this afternoon and celebrate?

It is the flowers. The earliest ones of summer are starting to appear. They come carrying their "suitcase pots". And the signs that their friendly cohorts - who are planning much longer stays- are on their way too are easy to see as well. I just have to lift my head and say "Howdy!"

Howdy. hardy little red petunia...sneaking in shyly. Glad you're here!

Your bigger brothers have parachuted in, next to the pansies that have been guarding our deck for a few weeks now. They're glad for the company as well!

A small platoon of marigolds has merrily marched in and set up camp in front of the deck!

The quartet of cosmos has been waiting for the rest of the party to show up. They're ready for a rest!

Waiting out back are the 1st scouts of the Shasta Daisy army that is still a month away...

And the peonies are just about to bust at the seams! They are about as excited as a kid at his first country fair or circus. "Let's Go!", they are whispering. "Time to get things popping around here!"

And the one wild rose bush in the backyard can't wait for his other more sophisticated siblings to show up in a month. He's showing off right now!

How extraordinary flowers are... People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us. ~Iris Murdoch

So welcome to all of our summer friends, new and old. Glad you're showing up. You are always welcome! Stay as long as you like. We'll do our best to take good care of you!

And a special thanks to my wife Deborah. She is the one who works the hardest at "inviting" these summer friends.  Thank you Sweetie for the beauty that you bring to our home. 

The smiles they give both of us are true summer gems. 

Earth laughs in flowers... ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Remembering "The One"

 “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” (Charles Dickens)

Today's entry is inspired by a story that I once had taped to the wall behind my desk in the classroom; tucked away in a spot only I could see. Its semi-secret location was intentional. I wanted it to be someplace where I could turn to it and find encouragement when the day had been hard. When my students seemed most disconnected and unteachable. When the lesson plan just flopped. When I felt the sting of defiance from an angry teen...or when one more burden was added to my already filled day by a distant administrator. When the thought arose stealthily from the recesses of my mind and whispered, "Why are you doing this?. This is too much." And in those moments, this story always helped me. 

It's most common title is "The Starfish Story". It is adapted from the original story "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley. You can read it below.

That Truth was one I never wanted to forget, especially in the midst of discouragement and seeming failure. When everything in me was screaming, "You cannot - you haven't - made a difference!" And in those times, I'd read the story, and then I'd try to do what it reminded me to do: Find the One. Remember the One. Work to help the One. "I can make a difference to this one". 

I can vividly remember one time in my teaching career when this reminder absolutely transformed a moment. It happened 8 years ago. I had retired from full-time teaching, but was in my 2nd year as a substitute teacher - still learning what that was all about. I took a job subbing for a middle school choir teacher, thinking "How hard can this be?". To make a LONG story (and day!) short - it was the hardest day of my 37+ years as a teacher. The hardest part was being sent to an elementary school and trying to lead a class of 1st graders. No lesson plan. Just 22 6 year olds dropped in my lap. All I had been left to do was sing "I've Been Working On the Railroad" to them. As I feebly tried to do that, chaos was erupting around me. Boys running up and down the aisles. A little girl tugging on my pants leg, asking me to tie her shoe. Loud urchins banging on the drums in the back of the room like mad Taiko warriors. I felt totally helpless. I knew enough that I couldn't just start yelling at the little kids in my most menacing "teacher voice". That would've merely made them cry. I was at my wits end. 

Then, in the midst of the thunderous chaos, I looked up. And I saw a quiet little Hispanic girl just sitting there. Looking at me. She seemed unaffected by the tumult; just patiently gazing at me. Doing her best to be "the good little girl" that her parents had raised her to be. Watching me and waiting - waiting for my response. 

And in that moment, I remembered to Find the One and to do my best to make a difference for that One. For her. So I took a deep breath, and I gave her my full attention. Our eyes met, and I smiled at her and nodded. And then I leaned closer to her and said "Thank you for being a good student". She smiled back, as I proceeded around the room and gently, slowly corralled the rest of the rowdies back into their seats just as the bell rang.  I went home that day, absolutely exhausted. But I never forgot the power and the beauty of that single moment with that little girl. 

It's so easy to forget the power of a single, seemingly "tiny" action. Darkness and discouragement work overtime to convince us that we are powerless in their presence. All around us all we seem to see these days is conflict and unfairness. The powerful and connected seem to get away with whatever they want. The world seems controlled by those much "larger" than just "me" - the individual. Hypocrisy and lies seem to be the currency that "gets you ahead". In the face of being "cancelled", or "doxxed", or hounded by the "Woke" mob, what can one do? 

The answer, I believe, lies in the story I shared at the beginning. Find the One. Work to Remember the One. Help the One. Have the Courage to Be the One. 

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. (Billy Graham)

All of the noblest virtues in Life - Courage, Compassion, Patience, Honesty, Forgiveness, Charity, and especially Love - are seeded in each one of us. And they flower and grow when they are shared. One small act at a time.  This is how what is True spreads, and how it exists throughout time, no matter the challenges. 

I recently shared this story with my daughter in-law. She is currently working as a traveling nurse and is away from her family often. Her job requires her to do her best to help those who are in pain and are helpless. And one night, my wife told me Krystal was feeling discouraged. "This is too much", she said.  So I passed on this story to her and told her we believed in her and loved her. 

The next morning Krystal texted me and thanked me for the encouragement. She said she went back to work looking for "the one" and doing her best for that person. 

I'm sure she found the One. Just as I had when I shared the story with her. She was my One that day.

May I remember to keep looking each day for the next One. That's how Pearls are found. One at a time.

Gifts to Grandpa - Love, Elijah

“To a small child, the perfect granddad is unafraid of big dogs and fierce storms but absolutely terrified of the word ‘boo’.” (Robert Brault)

Ten years ago, I began a blog entry with this very same quote. The entry was titled "The Magic of a Touch", and in it I wrote about my invitation to attend - and my 1st lesson - in "Grandpa School". And over the years the lessons in "Grandpa School" have continued to go on. If you want to read that entry, here's a link to it:

The Magic of a Touch - August 14 2012

My stepson Dan got remarried last year to a beautiful woman, Krystal, and Deborah and I see them and their 4 children often. Deborah has always been the epitome' of an enthusiastic, loving "Grandma". She just loves the kids completely and gives herself completely to them, as often as she can. I, on the other, am a little more reserved - a little slower to "warm up" to this "Grandpa thing".  Not sure why. You'd think that someone born into a large family like me would crave being in a big family himself. But I never have. Always been kind of a loner. I also never met my own grandfathers - both having died when I was a baby. So maybe I never really knew what "Grandpa-ing" was all about. 

Nevertheless, I love my grandkids now. Pure and simple. That's what the grey clouds and gusty breezes outside have moved me to write about today. I want to introduce you to each of my grandchildren. It has been a fun journey discovering who they are - and learning a little about myself through them. I thought I could write a little about each one of them in this entry, but that was impossible. Too many memories (already!); too many pictures to share. So I'll just focus on one - and promise to write about each of the others in later entries. 

Meet Elijah Liam McMillen

Me and Elijah playing around - October 2020

It's truly been a joy getting to know Elijah. He's 6 years old now. Always been the "apple" of his Grandma's eye ( as you can see below)

Elijah and Deborah - October 2021

Elijah is "all boy". He loves trucks and cars and running fast - all the time. And he loves the color blue and "winning" at everything. He climbs stuff. He jumps off stuff. He can smack a golf ball with the form of a young Jack Nicklaus. But he is also a very thoughtful and sensitive little guy who loves to read and show me how he can do his letters and add things up and draw animals. And he loves music (just like his dad), as this picture below reveals.

Maestro Elijah and his violin - August 2019

I love Elijah's innocence and enthusiasm now. There's nothing he isn't interested in - and loves to learn about. Whenever we're together, he wants to show me something new he can do. There's always a new game to play that he's made up - a place we have to hike to. And always - someplace to run to. Even the golf course. The next picture perfectly sums him up (and is blurry because he's so fast! :-)

Me and Elijah - Dutcher Creek March 2021

One thing that I love most about Elijah is he is such a good big brother to his two sisters, Emma and Addy. He and Emma are real"buddies": peas in a pod, peanut butter and jelly, Laurel and Hardy, the Dynamic Duo - always together, always busy. Almost always having a good time together

Elijah and Emma monkeying around - Summer 2021

Elijah "4-wheeling" with Addy - April 2022

And Elijah looks after his little sister Addy too. Pretty cool to watch him with both of them. 

So what "Grandpa Lessons" have I learned from Elijah so far? Well, in his own little way - simply through his actions and his energy - he reminds me of so many valuable things. The virtues of wonder and enthusiasm. How refreshing it is to be around a being who is open to anything. The fact that I need to keep working out so I can keep up with him! Each time I'm around him I'm also reminded of something that has been easy for me to forget in the years since I left the classroom.

There are little ones (and big ones) around you that are always watching and learning from you. Silent eyes: looking for inspiration; looking for attention; looking for strength; looking for love; looking to be taught. It's important to be sensitive to those eyes. There is a heart longing to be nurtured. Lessons that I'm still called to teach - not through my words, but through my example. Imprints that can be made on a 6 year old that will only flower a dozen or more years later. I want to remember to be generous and thoughtful with the moments I'm given to do just this. 

“His heritage to his children wasn’t words or possessions, but an unspoken treasure, the treasure of his example as a man and father.” (Will Rogers Jr.)

I will never be a  biological father, though I've been graced to be seen as a "father figure" to some.  And I'm happy that I have the chance to be a Grandpa to a grandson like Elijah. He's definitely a real Pearl. 

Two guys hanging out - November 2021

Moments Captured #3 - Quiet Beauty

“I wish that all of nature’s magnificence, the emotion of the land, the living energy of place could be photographed.” — Annie Leibovitz

It has been fun stretching my writing muscles again, just for the fun of it. "Use it or lose it". The more I've started to write in this blog again, the more I look forward to doing so again. My brain isn't so easily stumped as to "What do I write about?". Ideas just blossom, given a little bit of attention.

I was looking back at old entries of mine and found a couple that I really enjoyed: ones in which I wrote about photographs I took (taking pictures is another thing I enjoy). When I saw that I hadn't written about and shared some favorite snapshots for 9 years...well...time to do so again. I've certainly taken some memorable shots since then. Here goes. The pictures are listed in no particular order, and their theme just came to me...

Six Favorite Photos - Quiet Beauty

Schmidt Family Vineyards - October 2017

There are many beautiful vineyards in the Rogue Valley here - we've certainly enjoyed hanging out at a number of them. But the grounds at Schmidt Family Vineyards are the most spectacular, no matter the season. The sprawling green lawns there are fronted by a large pond and fountain - framed by trees. I love the different colors and level of light in this shot, and how I was able to capture the pond. Makes you want to sit in an Adirondack chair, cold glass of Pinot Gris in hand, and just smile and enjoy the tranquility. 

Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska - August 2019

Deborah and I took an Alaskan cruise in the late summer of 2019. What a great adventure that was! Lots of fun pictures and experiences that I might share in the future. But this photo is still my most favorite. I took it early in the morning of our 2nd day of the cruise. We had left our home port of Seattle and sailed the open sea for most of a day and night. This was my 1st glimpse of the wonder of Alaska. I woke sometime around 6 am - just before sunrise - stepped out on our deck and saw this. Wow. The serene beauty just stunned me. You'd think this photo was black and white - it isn't. This was the color of the moment - a split second in between night and day, holding elements of both - but being neither. Unforgettable.

Silent Creek, near Diamond Lake OR - October 2019

We like to ride our bikes, especially in the fall. And one of the prettiest rides we ever took was around Diamond Lake. The lake is about an hour drive from us. The resort there sits at about 5000' in the Cascade Mtns, so they get plenty of snow in the winter. But we discovered that the fall is gorgeous there! There is a paved set of paths around the lake that you can take for about a 10 mile ride (perfect length for us!). Near the end of the ride, you will cross Silent Creek. We stopped there to eat lunch and that's where I took this picture. Aren't the colors amazing? I've never seen that red before. And the creek fit its name: silent and peaceful. 

Face Rock at sunset - Bandon OR November 2019

By now, you know Deborah and I love going to the beach, and that Bandon OR is our favorite coastal getaway. We go there 3-4 times a year; I've been going there for 30 years. We are such frequent visitors because we never tire of the beauty seen there. The beaches at Bandon are unique for their rock formations and sea stacks, such as Face Rock. I have taken dozens of photos of Face Rock, but this one is special to me. The sunset that evening was spectacular: colors splashing and then fading across the sky; soft light painting the gentle waves lapping at the shore. And a lone person standing still - captured as I was up on the hotel balcony - taking in the majesty of it all. I think that's my favorite detail of this photo. It reminds me of the truth of how small of a part of this world I really am. And it reminds me of the importance of stopping and being open to the beauty all around me. 

Dutcher Creek #2 - October 2021

Of course, there had to be a golf shot in here. Part of the joy of golf is getting to walk around some really beautiful places. My favorite local course, Dutcher Creek, is one of those - especially in the fall. Management has also been working really hard to keep making the course look even better. I took this photo last fall as I walked to the tee box on #2. Believe it or not, this gorgeous pond was once the home of nothing but wild blackberries and tall grass. Much prettier now!

Entering Tom Pearce Park - November 2021

My final picture for this entry is this one. A favorite memory from our walks together last year. Deborah and I set a goal for ourselves in 2021 to walk every day, and so we did. Rain or shine. During every season. Every day for 346 consecutive days (the only thing that stopped us was me getting sick with Covid). Our favorite places to walk were in our local parks, and this is the entrance to our favorite one. Tom Pearce is a small county park right alongside the Rogue River. This is what the entrance to the park looked like last fall. Golden splendor. A warm invitation everyday to the quiet wonders there. We still walk here at least a couple of times a week and it's still our favorite oasis. Together we've watched the seasons come and go here...watched the leaves come and go...the river ebb and flow...and felt both time passing...and what is timeless. What a gift.

“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” (Diane Arbus)

It was fun sharing these with you! I look forward to sharing more of these again!

Just Don't Quit - A Lesson in Golf and Life

 "Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." (Newt Gingrich)

About a week ago, I wrote an entry on how I had become "a golfer":  "...a full-blown, all-in, can't get enough of it, deeply addicted, aficionado and practitioner of this holy sport." (as I so sagely put it then)

Me at the Practice range at Bandon Dunes OR - September 2021

But there is a stony Truth that all those who dare call themselves "golfers" ultimately face. Golf is a really hard game to play well - and it is impossible to master. I mean, just consider the fundamental assumption of the activity: 

Take one human being (whose physical, mental, and emotional resources vary daily). Give him 14 different sized and shaped clubs and a small ball, 1.680 inches in diameter. Place him hundreds of yards away from his target. Throw every kind of geographic and geologic obstacles (sand, water, dips and mounds, trees and thorny grasses) in between him and that target. Add in the pressure of competition and a dash of self esteem. And tell him the goal of the game is to get his ball there in the FEWEST number of strikes. 

A sane person might say that's a guaranteed recipe for frustration and disappointment. And they'd be right. Every golfer will face a moment (actually many of them) when he/she will want to quit. Give up. Stop suffering over this impossibly sufferable game.

Though I've only been playing a short time (about 6 years), I've felt that impulse a few more times than I'd care to admit. Ironically, it's come up even stronger as my skill level has improved. Something in me believes that it's finally "mastered" a certain shot; that "I finally feel it"; that I now understand how to hit the ball where I want it to go. And so now I'm a "winning golfer".

But then disappointment appears and delivers an ugly reminder. My partner and I lose our weekly match for the 5th time in a row. Drives that I hit straight in practice all week are suddenly flying left and right. Putts become stubborn donkeys that refuse to go where they are directed.

And a heaviness creeps into me. My head starts to hang and my world becomes small. Just me and the punishing thoughts. "This is too hard". "You'll never get it". "I hate losing". "Phone it in. Just quit."

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

I can vividly remember a moment when this was happening a few months ago during our weekly match. We were losing (again). I couldn't hit a straight drive to save myself, so I began half-heartedly using my 3 wood instead. Cut my losses, I thought. Quit. Just stop embarrassing myself. Of course, even though this was what I was feeling, I tried to put on "the brave face" - and act like nothing was bothering me. Still a "cool customer" on the course.

Luckily, a good friend I was playing with knew the truth. He could sense my negative energy and felt the interior sagging of a "quitter" start to come over me. And he did something that I've never forgotten.

He quietly walked up to me on the 12th tee - stood just inches from me - and quietly, but firmly said to me: "I'm not your golf coach. But I have just one thing to say to you. Just don't quit. Don't let fear tell you what you can and cannot do. Step up to the ball and swing, and don't care where it goes. That's the only way you'll learn what you need to learn."

Just don't quit. In those three words lies a valuable lesson, both on and off the golf course. 

Unwanted moments - ones in which we feel disappointed, or betrayed, or believe we have gone as far as we can go and it's impossible to go further - feel like they are the "end of the road". In these moments, Life seems like it is denying me. "Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Try to Be a Better Golfer. This is the Last Stop. Get Off."

But Life is not presenting an obstacle or a judgment. Instead, Life is offering me a BRIDGE and asking, "Will you go as far as you can...and then try to take just one more step further?" And if I'm willing to do that, I will discover something that I couldn't discover any other way.

There is another world of possibilities beyond what my mind tells me exists. I can do more than what I believe. But this can only be discovered if I STAY in the MIDST of the struggle. Just don't quit. Don't walk away from the bridge that can deliver me to the lesson I need. The nature that "knows" that golf (or Life) is "impossible" has no interest in being or learning anything new about itself. 

And that nature doesn't have to be my leader. Or my teacher. Or my playing partner.

I can't stop the feelings of frustration and negativity from coming the next time I slice or shank a ball. But I can make a different choice. I can let them pass. I can work to remember to lift my head and to take a deep breath. I can can do my best to learn what I can from what I'm feeling. And then I can start over. Drop the punishing thoughts and begin again. Take the step that something in me believes it can't.

"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up." (Babe Ruth)

I'm sure there will be times when I'll need to remember all of this wisdom. That's why I wrote it for myself. Life is never static. Its possibilities are endless, as are mine. There is no "bridge too far" for the golfer who's willing to meet his limitations... and then take just one more step.

Just Don't Quit. A powerful Pearl right there. 

One Can Always Dream!

Waiting For the Rose to Bloom

 “It’s the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I sit here in unfamiliar territory, not sure where to go. A memory pops into my head of a moment that felt just like this, but 24 years in the past. 

I was off on my 1st overseas trip. I had decided I wanted to visit Ireland, so off I flew once the school year ended. Not sure what the attraction was that Ireland held for me then - I'm about as German as one can get (though some would say I have a "wee bit of the blarney" within me. Anyway, after 14 hours of flying, I remember landing at Shannon Airport in southwest Ireland. I scrambled to find the rental car agency there; got my keys and set off to find the car I had bravely planned to drive around Ireland for the next two weeks. 

I found it and threw my backpack in it, and then suddenly came to a complete halt. I remember actually feeling a shiver - even though I was standing in the bright morning sun in that parking lot. The shiver was produced by the sudden realization that this was it. I was here. In an unknown land. Totally unfamiliar to me. And it was completely up to me to get myself to wherever I was headed. The plan had been to drive myself to the city of Galway, about an hour away, to stay at a hotel I had booked. On paper, that had seemed so simple. But now - at that very moment - I felt as if I was on the moon. Alone. Frozen. Not sure how - or it which direction - to take a step. And there was no turning back. 

So I stood there, still. And I remember just catching my breath. And waiting. Not sure for what - but just waiting. And after a few moments, I moved. Got into the car (though it took two tries to do so - the Irish drive on the left - so I had gotten in on the wrong side initially) - and off I went. And to make a long story short, my 1st great adventure began. 

A scene from Galway. Walking the streets in 1998

The reason that memory got jogged was because I sit here at my desk on a rainy afternoon in southern Oregon for the 2nd day in a row. Haven't done this for a LONG time. And I wanted to write another entry, 

But I felt lost - in unfamiliar territory - unsure in which direction to take a step. I watched my brain struggle to find something "familiar" to grab on to so it could "get going". And I heard a small whisper try to convince me to "Quit" - "Nothing here today for you". Go back to the living room and quit wasting time.

But over the years, I've slowly learned the value of WAITING. Of being willing to let something flower in the seeming emptiness. As de Saint-Exupery observes in the quote at the top, it is the WAITING: the willingness to spend time, still and receptive, that brings forth that which is beautiful and has value. 

Too often, we run from the emptiness. Or more honestly, we immediately fill it with something. Familiar thoughts and feelings. Things to Do. Plans for tomorrow. Regrets about the past. Certainty about what's "right" and "wrong". Judgments: about others and oneself. 

I know I do. That's why it's so hard at first to still in a quiet moment (for longer than a minute or two) - and just be still. And see what New might come.

As our teacher Guy Finley said to us recently, "You are meant to be always New - not afraid of being New. Stop trying to escape the emptiness by filling it with empty images. Leave the Door open. Let the Moment pour into your awareness and pour back out."

So I sat here, with the door open. And look what came. Certainly nothing I ever expected. But a rose for sure. A rare one that I could have never imagined. 

“I give you this to take with you: Nothing remains as it was. If you know this, you can begin again, with pure joy in the uprooting.” – Judith Minty

Life is exchange. For something new to appear, something old must be given up. This truth is being made evident all around me on this wet spring afternoon. The pansies and petunias...the cherry trees and lilac bushes...all waiting to be made new once more.

Nice to be reminded that I have the same chance myself. Right now. And then again. And again. 

Another Pearl in the pocket...

Having Fun With A Strange Game

 "Golf is played by twenty million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun." (Jim Bishop)

Another entry in the category called "Meant to Do this Awhile Ago". Feels good to finally getting around to clearing out that dusty corner a bit...

Hi. My name is Jon. I'm a golfer.

Four years ago I wrote about how I was taking up this "new hobby". Well, it's no longer a "hobby"- "An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure." - as I casually noted in that blog entry. 

A near ace for me at my favorite course. Dutcher Creek. #4 Par 3, 142 yds.

Well, it's now official. I'm a full-blown, all-in, can't get enough of it, deeply addicted, aficionado and practitioner of this holy sport. Though not fully "ordained" yet into the Priesthood of Par, I'm well on my way to being a fully committed Seminarian of Swing.  A Deacon of the Links. Yes, A real golfer. 

One sign of how my commitment to the game has gone well past the "hobby" stage is just how much of the strange vocabulary/lingo of golf I now understand! Like all "deeply serious" vocations, there is an arcane, semi-secret jargon used by its adherents, that they all can converse freely in - yet leaves outsiders completely baffled!

So since I love playing around with words - and I love golf - let me take you on a linguistic tour! Here we go! (golf terms in bold).

I haven't had an Ace yet, but I've enjoyed a pair of Eagles and a bundle of Birdies. The Bogey-man still makes unwanted visits, and Double-Bogies are not "twice as fun". Fortunately, Frosty the Snowman hasn't visited me in a few years. 

“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.” (Winston Churchill)

I've hit all kinds of shots on the golf course (not always deliberately!). It's amazing how many different terms there are for golf shots (probably because it's so dang difficult to simply hit the ball straight!). Fades and Draws are good. Hooks and Slices are not. There are flop shots and stingers and bump & runs. You can hit it Fat or hit it Thin: neither is good. Nor is a Shank or a Worm-Burner. or when you "Skull" it.

When you hit something not so good, you may try to help the errant shot by yelling things at it like, "Bite!" or "Cut!" or "Sit!" or "Come back!" or "Get Lucky!". But from my experience, golf balls don't listen very well. Alas as some might say, "It takes a lot of balls to golf like I do"!

Sometimes if your playing partners are feeling generous, they'll let you hit a Mulligan or a Breakfast Ball. But don't count on it. Usually the best thing they can do for you is just pat you on the back and offer you some Birdie Juice. They may be your buddies, but they aren't your Looper. 

If you're playing and competing with your buddies, there are certain phrases you'd rather not hear such as: "Still got work to do there, Jonny", or "Left a lot of meat on that bone, Jon-Boy", or "Try hitting that with your purse, Alice", or "She's Gone".  And the worst might be the three simple words, "You're still away". 

But then there are the good holes when everything is clicking! When you take out The Big Dog and take a mighty swing and the boys say, "That dog can hunt!", and when the game is easy and you're Throwing Darts and Dancing, and then Getting Up and Down, and Sticking it in the Jar. 

And that's what keeps bringing us golfers back. Back to the links. One more time. It doesn't take much if you come to love the game, as one of my hats says. Just one shot. 

So until next time, see you on the links. Or on "the rails" as my wife calls. And don't ever forget the last thing she always says to me as I walk out the door to head to the course: "Have fun, and just "Hit the ball, Willie!".  Two real Pearls to carry with me as I keep playing this game...as is this:

“As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.” -Ben Hogan