Teed off!
First off I'd like to recognize and honor the pagans among us. Happy Summer Solstice. May the season bring forth an abundant garden, sensual and warm from the fertile ground. It is the season of Fire beware. Many celebrated the turning of the wheel this past weekend along with the custom of Father's day. now that's a sensitive subject for a lot of fatherless girls in my life, including my own kids. I know that Mother's Day was started in 1908 by Julia Ward Howe as a way to address war and advocate for peace. But I can't figure out for the life of me why father's day came to be. Because It's a man's world every day of the week. I had a loving and supportive father. And I honored him in life and remember him well in death. I Hope for all you papas out there that are present and accounted for with your families, that you had a good day. For me it is a time of confusion painful reflection because it was on father's day weekend 13 years ago that my husband and the father of my two daughters disappeared into thin air never to be seen again. One of the disturbing facts of his mysterious departure is that he vanished off the 13th hole at Rancho Canada golf course in Carmel California. All that was left were his clubs and cart. Our little Honda Civic was in the parking lot with his wallet and shoes. Since that day I have had a deep seeded disdain, outright hatred of Golf. So when I heard about the CEO of BP at the Yacht races this past weekend and our own President and Vice President running off together to play golf instead of dealing with the Gulf. I emotionally hit the roof. I do believe that everyone has the right to rest and relaxation. It is key to our mental health and Well Being. But Golf! What a about a picnic with the family? Swimming in Hawaii and reminding us all of the beauty and sanctity of our Bodies of water. What about Bowling? A favorite Blue Collar past time? Golf was also on the front page of the SF Chronicle this weekend. Egad! Yes, Tiger Woods is back, another model of Fatherhood and devotion on the front Page. Golf. A friend said that it was no big deal that Obama was on the Golf Course, that he was doing the best he could with the Gulf and so he could Golf. The Best he could? I blurted. It's 60+ days later and still there are people sitting idly on the sidelines waiting for some kind of direction from the top. "But, hey", he countered, "what does Obama know about Oil Spills? and gosh he's got a new Director at the Mineral Management Services and by August we should have some kind of relief well drilled, so just calm down." Maybe I should play a round of Golf. I hate Golf. Golf is to me is the most elitist, egotistical, selfish, boring, sport ever played. My husband actually used to watch it on TV. I would stand in wonder. Can you even see the Ball. The thing is, you play for yourself and you alone. In racquet sports like Tennis you have to hit the ball to someone, it's actually a game, there's all the team sports from Baseball to Basketball and of course Soccer. I think I would have been more forgiving and patient if Obama had gone out to shoot some hoops with the locals. Or kicked around the Soccer Ball as a nod to the rest of the world who are at this very moment obsessed with the World cup. But Golf? It's the rich man's game. It is purely for is own score. One wants a low score, to be under par. Yet when one is feeling "a little under par", one is ill. See what I mean? One needs little if any stamina for golf, because the only physical exertion is the swing of a lightweight club. Sure you might get a good walk in, but most of the rich and greedy use the Carts and rumble over what used to be wild terrain and is now using precious water resources to keep the greens greener for the uber rich and spoiled. The club houses, the country clubs have undeniable histories of racism, sexism and without a doubt classism. Wretched. Didn't Bush play a round as Katrina was touching down. It's fascinating to connect the golf balls. One of the most famous Golf Ball brands is Titleist. I like to call it entitlist. Because these engorged plutocrats act as though they are entitled to everything they set their little hearts on and I do mean little literally. It's funny because for our first date, my husband took me to the golf course for a sunset round. I felt ridiculous and had no talent or inclination for hitting the tiny white ball way down below me. Greg could hit the sweet spot and it sounded pretty as it sailed off into the sky and bounced merrily down the manicured green some 200 yards away. I asked him that night why on earth he liked this sport. He said, "The fresh air and the courses had the best views in the world." He said this as we gazed out over the Torrey Pines in La Jolla. And as the sun set into the Pacific, quoting Dylan Thomas he said, Do not go gentle into that good night Rage against the dying of the light. It was the one who quoted poetry and shakespeare that I loved, but I should have run for the hills from the one who couldn't stop playing with his putter.
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