Active Friday

Last night, my mother, who is a very spry 88 years old, living in a townhouse with her two rescue cats, Frankie and Simon, told me she wanted me to take her to the driving range so she could try out her new golf club.

“It’s a 357 club!” she said.

“What?” I said.

“It’s three clubs in one!  But I need you to come with me to get my practice balls.”

I wasn’t sure she was right about this golf club she had bought online, so I checked it out.  It was not three clubs - just a seven wood - but it was being marketed to seniors as an antidote to “the senior swing sacrifice,” which was lost strokes due to missing greens.

It turns out this was not the problem with my mother’s golf game.  At about 9:30 a.m., we got a bucket of balls from a nice lady at the Southwyck golf course and went out to the driving range.  I teed up a ball for her and told her to let the big dog eat.

Legendary Texas golf coach Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book talks about gripping a golf club as if you were holding a live bird, with just enough pressure that the bird can’t fly away but not so tightly that the bird can’t breathe.

Mom took that advice to heart.  In fact, she went further and swung the club as if there was a baby bird on the golf tee that she did not want to hurt.

The sun was in our eyes, so she could not see where the ball was going when she hit the ball.

“How was that?”

“Good, Mom.  Try hitting it a little harder though.”

She tried again.  The ball made it to the fringe of the range.

“Better, Mom!”

She hit about ten more and had enough.  “I don’t know about this club,” she said.

I told her that being outside on a beautiful spring morning was all you could ask for, and a passing golfer said, “You got that right!” smiling at my mother.

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Lunch was barbecue at Rosemeyer Bar-B-Q.  (Ironclad Rule of Life 241: Barbecue is better at places spelled Bar-B-Q.)

I was there to give some advice to a first year law student whose grandparents are good friends from my poker game.  I gave him the usual spiel - law school is like Survivor: make alliances, compete like crazy, and play the game.  And we each had a great plate of cue: jalapeno cheese sausage, brisket, ribs, and a side of gumbo.  Plus FREE BEER.  Oof.

Highly recommended.

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Took a nap in the afternoon after that lunch.  Then off to the 713 Music Hall to see Kathleen Madigan tell jokes.  She was great.

All in all, another great day.