Cranky Tuesday

The title of this entry is a little misleading.  I am not in a cranky mood, not at all, but when you get four men in their sixties together for a golf vacation, there is a strong cranky old man vibe underlying the conversation.

And again, this is not to say that we are cranky in the moment. It is more to say that any topic drifts towards how much better things were when we were younger.  Examples:  

• The doctor in the group expounds on the work ethic of the residents he supervisesand their unwillingness to consider house calls even if it would prevent a more complicated and expensive office visit.

• The two lawyers in the group talk about how much more dignified and respectful lawyers were to each other back in the day.

• We all complain about how technology has invaded our free time, first slowly with pagers, then quickly with smart phones and location services.

• Even food was better back in the day - real pizza, real Chinese food, real Italian.  Not the homogenized chain foods we get at the drive through, but food made with care at a mom and pop.

Cranky about now, cranky about the future, glad to be in our tribe of like-minded old men.

Today the golf course was Conestoga in Mesquite, Nevada, a beautiful course carved out of stone canyons with mountains in the far horizon, weather clear and not too hot.  Like yesterday, I hit some good shots, a lot of bad shots, and worked on getting a little better at the game.

Breakfast was biscuits and gravy, lunch was  chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries, and dinner was a pizza at a mom and pop place in a strip mall.  Nothing special, but nothing bad, and the people serving us were really friendly and kind.

After the round, I got a cribbage lesson from Tony, who is a savant at these complicated card games.  I think that he, like many who live in cold weather states including my dad, grew up passing the winter days playing games at the kitchen table with his family and developing card sense, a shorthand for assessing probabilities and game theory.  You can’t say how you knew that your opponent had a particular card, but you knew.

The game was interesting, but nothing I’d go out of my way to find others to play with.

I also got my schedule for working as an election clerk.  Four days during early voting working 8 to 5 shifts.  I sure hope I’m working with interesting people.  I looked up one of my co-workers on Google and it appears that she is 93 years old.  Once again, I may be the youngest guy in the room!

Tomorrow: more golf!