Bull Durham

It seems rediculous to have a need for a dentist inasmuch as I sport dentures top and bottom, nevertheless thats where I was one Saturday morning seeking relief from the rubbing that was taking place as a result of some repair work. Usually they take me right in and I'm out of there quickly. For some reason there was a delay and I picked up a Sports Illustrated . I was going through the pages looking for anyting that looked readable and suddenly there was a review on one of my favorite movies  I had seen 6 or 7 times in the past. Now I am a baseball nut and while I deny ever going to a R rated movie I must admit that I weaken my resolve if its about baseball. Bull Durham, a movie from 1988 caught my eye. I loved that movie and was now reading about the characters; Kevin Costner,  playing the part of Crash Davis, a, somewhat over the hill, catcher, while the love interest was played by Susan Sarandon. The comic character was played by Tim Robbins, a gangling young pitcher who was also trying to make out with the above. I won't go into the story as it played out because the unique part of this tale is that I swiped the book and took it home with me. I finished reading the various bios, where they were and what their life has been since the movie and turned on the TV which is rare for me on any afternoon. I don't watch TV during the day. The first thing to catch my eye was, yes, you guessed it, Bull Durham and yes, I began watching for the 8th time. I loved it! I loved the interaction between Crash and the Tim Robbins role-the wisdom of the catcher trying to teach the wild young pitcher, with all the humor that was a part of their relationship. Now why would I take such an interest in something of this nature when I had seen it several times and could now almost say the dialogue. Call it memories of my youth and my enjoyment of playing the game-nostalga, humor, I don't know but it was about baseball and  while it violated my decision about what kind of movies I go to, I was trapped for all of the above reasons. The  language was bad, although part of the baseball scene. The sex was almost invisible but also part of relationships, and I was weak. I noted in new coming attractions there is a baseball movie coming out soon and it looks interesting. Will I go to see it? Will I again, break my resolve? Probably! Bad habits are difficult to break.

My Golf Life

I was just watching a movie of the golf life of Bobby Jones possibly the greatest golfer that ever lived. I say that knowing that anyone that knows anything about golf is going to snicker. However the golfers of today are amazing but maybe not. When you think that in most of Jones' tournaments, he played with mashies and niblicks and ancient clubs of that long ago time frame and I defy any of todays golfers, as great as they are,  using much, much better clubs and even tremendously better balls to do what he did back in the twenties.To bring to a close my talking about Bobby Jones, I want to talk about me. I just love talking about me. Ahem!
Continuing, my Syracuse family which consisted of John Dodd and Kitty North Dodd had moved into the country, living on Thompson Road on a one acre plot with a small creek that formed the typical old fashioned farm swimming hole. I was 12 or 13 at the time. But enough of that; back to my golf. About a quarter of a mile up the road from our house was a golf course and I thought maybe I could earn a dollar or two by becoming a caddy. Uncle Chuck, in the times I went with him to a golf course, had taught me a little of the nicieties of the game and so I faked my way into the good graces of the owner  and  became one of, maybe, two other caddies. This was a public course and most people, during those depressed years, couldn't afford to pay for a caddie. So there was limited number of players willing to pay me the .75 it cost for me to caddie. Yes I said .75 for that was the going rate I earned, although every once in a while some magnaminous player gave me a "Buck" saying "keep the change, son" Wow a buck?! That was a lot in those days. However, the main reason I caddied was they let all caddies play on Mondays for free and me and the Thornton brothers  played 54 holes every Monday carrying 3 clubs and a putter in our hands and several broken tees in our pocket along with a few marred and cut golf balls. We played from 6:00A.M. until supper time when we would run home so as not to miss dinner. That was the beginning of my golf life. From that point I acquired some real clubs (Gift from Louise) and began to play in earnest. Back in Buffalo N.Y. I used to rise at 4:30 on Saturday mornings to get to the course by 5:30 and there, many times we teed off in the dark, guessing how well we had hit our ball and watching the sun begin to rise as we reached the first green. I have played, literally, all over these United States because working the last half of my career, I worked for a golf clothing manufacturer and did a lot of traveling, which resulted in many games somewhere in those travels. I played in Japan, and Taipan when travelling abroad. Did I ever become good? No, I rose to the height of mediocrity but the love of the game kept me going. My three sons all play and all can beat me, although that's not saying much. However, I have a lot of good memories of good places along with those of the "Dawn Patrol". I'm happy that I could make many friends, see many lovely courses and enjoy the many days of happiness I found there. My life as a golfer was a good one and I'm happy that was one of an my enduring hobbies.