Golfing Gone Wild

As one of my major goals this year, I have previously mentioned that I wanted to join a men's club, get an official handicap, and play more golf with the intention of acheiving a single diget handicap index once before I am to old to hit the ball over 200 yds.

So, I joined the Oceanside men's club, since I had been playing that municipal course most often when I played. Plus it was cheap! Only 50 bucks to sign up and get into the Southern California Golf Assn, which runs the handicap system.

I have played about 12 times since then and have established an index of 15, which means that I have been posting scores mostly in the high 80's. Now, for a high percentage of golfers that might seem like a great acheivement. Fortunately, however, I do feel that I can improve considerably with alot of practice and play. I can hit all the shots, handle the distance of most courses up to about 6600-6700 yds, and putt reasonably well. While I feel I have been improving, my scores have been inconsistant due to the fact that I am still missing to many shots--mostly off the tee.

For example, today I played a course that was about 6400 yds. On the front nine I had 4 pars, 4 double bogeys, and one triple bogey and shot 47. All the big scores were mostly caused by wayward tee shots into the water, out of bounds, or way over into the trees. There were about 6 bad shots that caused 11 extra strokes on the front. Not a very good start. I was pretty pissed--but keeping it to myself--and being cool. I was playing with a couple other guys who probably thought that my 47 looked pretty good. Not to me though! But I never give up! The mental aspect of the game is as important as the physical part! Ask anyone!

I always feel bad if I don't break 90 for the whole round. So as I walked off the 9th green, I was calculating what I needed to do to get that done, and thinking that maybe a 40 on the back nine was not out of reach if I started concentrating and keeping my head down a bit better while I was swinging the club.

Keeping a good thought, I put a good swing on the tee shot on 10, then hit a wedge shot that wasn't to hot, but ended up better than it should have about 12 feet below the hole, and made the putt for a birdie!

OK, I said to myself, now things are going to change! So, I double bogeyed the next two holes!! Bad tee shots--one in the river, and one out of bounds. Then, par, bogey,bogey, par,and par. I am at the 18th and I'm still figuring what I need! If I birdie the last hole I can shoot a 40 on the back for an 87. It's a par 5 and I hit my tee shot in a fairway trap. Boo! I hit a pretty good 7 wood about 200 yds though, and have about a 50 yd sand wedge over a tree to the pin. I take a couple of nice practice swings, then a very bad swing at the ball and hit it way past the pin. Ah well, I can 2 putt for a par and a 41. It is a long downhill putt that I read badly and I end up 3 putting for a 42. I am disturbed!!! But as I add up my score 47+42=89. I percieve that to be less that 90!! Still to much, though.

Every time I have a score like that I think that with more practice, and more concentration, I will become more consistent, miss fewer shots, and score consistently in the low 80's like I did about 30 years ago. Of the 17 shots I had over par this time, I look back and think that there were at least 6 or 7 shots that I could have eliminated with hitting just 3 more tee shots in the fairway.

Or maybe I am just like golfers everywhere, who go over every hole and always end up with 6 or 7 "if onlys" in each round they play(and sometimes more). I guess perhaps the goal is to reduce the "if onlys" to the point where one becomes satisfied that the score really matches the extent of the ability available. I don't think I am there yet! But there sure have been a lot of scores in the high 80's the last few weeks.

Bush Administration general policy statement

I have been trying to figure out just exactly what the Bush administration's goals have been during the past few years, and finally his Vice President, Big Dick Cheney, his major policy maker, has clarified it during this last week! As I now understand it, the administration's major goal in response to any opposition or questions to any of the actions that have been taken by the admistration is as follows:

1. Foreign policy: " Why don't you go fuck yourself!"

2. Fiscal policy: "Why don't you go fuck yourself!"

3. Environmental policy: "Why don't your go fuck yourself!"

4. Energy policy: "Why don't you go fuck yourself!"

5. Domestic policy: "Why don't you go fuck yourself!"

6. Educational Policy: "Why don't you go fuck yourself!"

This response is very succinct and I congratulate Mr.Big Dick Cheney for being so forthright. He has clarified the administration's position in regards to their atttitude towards those who might question the direction which they have taken in all the major areas of their administration of our great nation's business and interests for the present and future.

This obviously is a much clearer and more honest expression of the current admistration's position in it's approach to solving many of the complex problems facing our country. Presumably the Bush admistration assumes that this simple response, with the proper follow through, will ensure a better future for our children and children throughout the world!! Let us all repeat "Why don't you go fuck yourself"! There! That should do it!!

On a boat out of Oceanside

I had been watching the fish counts from the various landings here in the San Diego area, noting that each week has been an improvement. This last week the Sand Bass and Calico Bass have been congregating in the Kelp and on the reefs offshore a bit to have their annual sex orgy, so they have been actively building up their energy by chomping on anchovies skewered on the end of hooks thrown over the side of the boats.

So I decided to hop on a 1/2 day boat out of Oceanside harbor on Thursday afternoon to try my new Daiwa Sealine SX 20 reel and Shimano Tallus 10-20lb rated rod with new 15lb line loaded on. I got there a bit early for the afternoon boat and was just in time to catch the morning group coming in. As they walked by not many were carrying any bags of fillets, and one old grizzled fisherman was just shaking his head at me. That did not bode well for the afternoon.

I thought, "well, I guess I will just enjoy the ride", not feeling good about the fact that the "bite" just happened to turn off on the one day I decided to venture forth.

The boat had a good load of around 32 fisherman on board. It was a nice boat and had plenty of room to fish with that load. Now that school was out there seemed to be a number of families on board, so there were lots of kids, and lots of rental rods across the rail. Some were obviouly on vacation. That meant they were probably from Arizona somewhere, and only saw the ocean once a year. That usually means lose lines and lots of tangles during the afternoon. For those of us with more "experience" that results in an afternoon of defensive fishing, i.e. keeping a taut line and a certain distance from your neighbor on the rail.

On the other hand, bass fishing is perfect for novice fisherman, so it would be fun watching kids catch fish and get excited about it!! That, of course, assumed that there would be any fish willing to cooperate. If not there would presumably be alot of whining and running around going on!!

We were off! And suprisingly, after about 15 minutes, we pulled up a couple miles straight out from the harbor and dropped the anchor!! I guess the Captain had gone south in the morning to fish kelp beds and went bust, so he was at least trying a new spot in the afternoon. Out went the sardines, and how do you do!
Rods starting bending and bass started hitting the decks. For three hours we did not move the boat, and the bite was pretty continuous. I limited out on bass (10) and filled my sack with some nice size fish in a couple hours. Since some were not so fortunate I even caught some "extra" to give away. Also had about 5 nice barracuda on, but only landed one, which was OK. One barrie was all I wanted to take home. I actually quit fishing about 45 minutes before we pulled up the anchor and headed back to the harbor. I got bored catching fish! Don't remember that ever happening before. To much of a good thing,I guess!!

Everyone on the boat caught some fish, even all the kids, between getting their tangles straightened out! And I have a bunch of fillets in the freezer! A very sucessful day on a boat out of Oceanside!!

Sunday in the surf!!

It was one of those days in surf city. My wife had to work most of the day, so we both got up fairly early and went to "Pipes" for breakfast! Lots of calories and carbs!! Read the Sunday paper and drank to much coffee as usual!! While my wife was slaving away today, my main gig for the day was to hit the beach for a couple of hours of fishing for the elusive corbina. So, at about 1:30 pm I headed down the hill to Moonlight Beach. It was sunny, and the tide was out with moderate surf. I found some sand crabs for bait and waded out a bit. Almost immediately I saw a Corbina cruising the shallows and casted to him, but he wasn't interested. I moved down the beach a bit and saw three more corbies that were all nice sized. I spent an hour chasing them and a few more--but must have missed their lunchtime because they just were not interested in my offerings.

Since I was so intent on fish that were just not interested, I probably passed up a chance to work on the perch, which are always around. It was the first day in a long time where I didn't catch at least one fish of some type!!

Ah well, the sun was bright, the water was warm, and there were alot of bikinis on the beach!!

Ennui

It was one of those weeks that passed by and left me feeling that I really didn't accomplish much. I didn't feel much like working. I went into the office every day--checked email--looked at what was new on the MLS--but I played golf on Wed, which was broker's caravan day. So, I didn't even go look at new listings for the week! I did play pretty well, and felt that I was making good improvement towards my goal of getting a single digit handicap index this year. I keep saying that reaching that goal is #1 on my list for the year! Maybe I need to reassess that! I may be actually taking it to seriously at the expense of other important goals I should be pursuing!!

Well, I did have two of my past clients call and tell me they were thinking of selling and moving to Kansas! (Kansas?) I actually put together a listing package for them, and had a meeting!! I guess I could consider that a business success for the week! Of course, that will depend on whether or not they do in fact decide to move and list their property with me. Keep a positive thought!!

Another old client called, left a message, and was thinking of selling and buying a larger home, and wanted to talk about it.
I called back and left a message--but have not yet contacted her. Sounds like procrastination on my part! Better call her tommorrow. Maybe that's part of my problem! I am just taking a week off from dealing with people in a business sense?

Oh ya! I did also go surf fishing for an hour on Thursday after "work". Only caught one small perch. The tide was high and there was to much kelp in the surf to make it much fun! Another contribution to what might be called a "bad attitude"?

Then there is the San Diego County Fair! My wife has been working long hours for the last 2 weeks setting up the student art and woodworking show. The fair starts today, and now she is going to be working just about every night till 10-11 pm. The fair is always a unique 6 week period. One year she, our daughter, and our son were all working the fair. The only way to see them was to go to the fair. Lucky they could get me lots of free tickets, so I could just stop in when I wanted!!
Anyway, it certainly changes schedules for awhile!!

Maybe the last contribution to my current "attitude" was going to the driving range, which happens to be near the fairgrounds, and finding out that the range is closed during the fair. I had forgotten that they use it for parking! That could be the biggest bummer of all, considering the potential impact on making more progress towards meeting my #1 goal for the year!!!

Ah well! It's the weekend! I have nothing planned! Maybe I will go to the fair to visit my wife!



I

Weekend update 6/7/04--Garage Saleing

Saturday morning I was on my own since "Garage Sale Bob", my saleing buddy was actually on a vacation weekend with his wife!!I know he hated to miss out on our Saturday morning excursion, but what are you going to do!!! Guess he has to spend a little time with her now and then!!

I really go just to have something to do for a couple hours when I get up early and when I go alone I get to listen to "Let's Talk Hookup!" a local fishing show Hosted by Pete and Marty. Marty is none other than Marty Milner, the actor from TV's Route 66 and Adam Twelve, and many, many movies. He must be in his mid 70's by now, and I know he "hooked" onto this show because he gets to go on great fishing trips all over the world on a regular basis--and as a host I would guess he gets to go free!!! What a wonderful way to retire!! I know he misses some Saturdays because he still goes to some RTE 66 conventions as a celebrity guest--and probably makes some dough signing RTE 66 memorabilia. I talked to him one year at the Fred Hall fishing show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds where he and Pete had a booth. They were selling t-shirts and stuff that said "Let's Talk Hookup!" What a great way to make a living, having a radio show on Sat and Sun mornings, and then going fishing!

But I digress!!

My list of desires included a Long Surf Board and a vacuum cleaner for my daughter Sara in Santa Cruz. A Keyboard instrument for My son Matt, and just about anything olde for my main squeeze.

One of the first garage sales had a vacuum which I carefully looked over. It wasn't an expensive model, but it had all the parts, and looked OK, although it was kind of dusty! I asked the seller if it worked!! Like he would tell me that it didn't??? But he sounded honest when he said it worked fine and they had just been using it to vacuum the patio!! That explained the red dust!!!

I am known as a tough barginer! A Lady once kicked me out of her garage sale for insulting her with an offer that she thought was too
ridiculous!! I figured that the vacuum cost about $69 new. My goal is to do about 10 cents to the $ compared to retail--so I asked him if he would take 5 bucks. He said sure and I gave him a $5 bill thinking I had got the best of him!! Then he said, "Let me give you a discount", and gave me a buck in change! So I think he got the best of me in that I offered him more than what he thought it was worth!!!
I really didn't know what to think about that!! It was bothersome. Was I losing my prospective!!

When I got home I cleaned up the vacuum, and actually tried it out on the living room rug. It worked fine!! It looked to be as good as the one we bought for ourselves at a garage sale for $10 a year ago. So maybe I did make a good deal and he was the kind of seller I like to deal with, one who just wanted to "move it".

I recently upgraded the radio in my old Mercedes to a pretty nice panasonic with a CD player, so I have been looking for CDs every week.
My top price is $1. I have bought some good ones for 50 cents-but a buck is ok. So I found a very good Mariah Carey Live concert CD for a buck. I also look for classic LPs since we are one of the few in the world who still have a turntable. Last week I found 2 classic Miles Davis albums, and a Modern Jazz Quartet for 50 cent per, this week I found a Miles Classic, Sketches of Spain, 2 Steely Dans, and a Joni Mitchell Concert album for 25 cents per. Not bad!!

Still looking for the longboard--which is going to cost big bucks, even at a garage sale, and the Keyboard, which I am probably going to have to get at Costco!!

Memorial Day

I was in the Navy during the Vietnam War era. I was fortunate, perhaps, that I was not ordered to Vietnam, and was not "at risk" during my time served. My Father, however,was part of the Greatest Generation and was in the front lines during many of the great battles of WWII. He was wounded twice and was a decorated infantry G.I in the 7th Armored Division. And, that is about the extent of what I know about his experience in the great war! He was no different than most of the veterans of that war who found that the experience could only be discussed with others who were there and shared it! No one else could understand. Veterans of that war, on both sides of the battle, could sit and talk to each other many years later about their similar feelings and shared experiences. Yet during the war, they would have shot each other on sight.

I happen to think that is true of most verterans who were in the front lines of any war, whose lives were in danger on a daily basis, and whose goal it was to kill another human being. They saw the inhumanity of war and the degradation of the human race which was necessary to hate and kill without hesitation. The enemy had to become something other than a human being, a heine, a kraut, a Tojo or Jap, a slant or gook. And when they got back to the real world they had to live in, they found that it was a false reality and no one who had not been on the battleground could understand how they felt when they were there.

Some were not able to adjust back to what others would consider a normal life. And to all who were not where they had been, there was still no understanding, and not enough support to make them well.

There are alot of young men and women, who like me, served their country in the military, but were fortunate to never be at war and in the line of fire. On Veteran's day they may honored because they were willing to step forward, to be availiable just in case. But Memorial Day is the most important day to honor those who put their lives on the line and lost them for a cause which was thought to be honorable and worthy of that risk, and to the benefit of our nation and humanity.

Someday we can all hope that all humanity will find that violence usually solves no problems, and there will be no living veterans of wars left to remember what war was like. If that comes to pass, perhaps it will be because of those who were there, making those who were not fully understand the reality of war. And we can honor them for that as well!