Last Saturday.

It was a full day. Denise had been set up by my mom for a pedicure and manicure at her regular place in Temple as a late Christmas present. We had to be over there by 2:45, and we were runnin' late as usual. Before we left Denise got a call from someone and told me we had to go meet someone in the bank parking lot near the house. I was like, "Uh, OK", but I was wonderin' what was up.



We parked in front of the bank and sat there, and I started to think I'd been sucked into a drug deal or somethin'. Denise was lookin' around furtively, looking for whoever it was we were gonna meet. I was thinkin' "Please God, don't let this be a puppy or a kitten. Uh, but some weed might be cool...". Then I see the car slide up out of the corner of my eye and the truth hits me like a brick.



It turns out that a lady that works with her, and once took my government class, had scored Denise one of those foam cheese head thingies. I saw it being handed over and said something like "Oh HELL no. Get that fuckin' thing out of my car. Then I realized we were in her car. DAMN!

We drove over to Temple and while she was havin' her barnacles scraped off and hooves chiseled I went to get dad and surprised him with a trip to the drivin' range. You should have seen his eyes light up when I broached the idea.



We went to a local place we've frequented in the past, I got us a large basket of balls, and set dad up on the line with my clubs. He quickly grabbed my 5 iron and started to stretch, just like he did for so many years when I caddied for him. I'd tee up the balls for him and he'd hit them, havin' a ball.



This is my dad in his element. I never saw him fly a plane, but I'd bet he was good at it. He sure as hell was good at golf. A shark, if there ever was one. Here's some short video clips showing him hit a few.



Here he is teein' up and hitting my 5 iron. It doesn't go far any more, but it still goes strait down the fairway. That used to drive his friends CRAZY.



And here he is hitting my driver. It's one of those with a large head that makes a nice twang sound when you hit it right. He's saying "If it wasn't easy I couldn't do it."



After a few balls he got tired and sat down behind me and gave me tips as I swung away, finishing the basket of balls. He likes to tell me while he watches me, with the regret thick in his voice, that I had a natural swing as a kid. He had a cut down driver made for me when I was about 6, but I never took to it the way he wanted me to, to his life long disappointment. He tells people I loved to hit them back then, but didn't want to have to go pick up the balls. Truth is I would much rather have been shooting a bow and arrow in the woods back then, but that never interested him. Eventually he stopped payin' attention to what I was doin' when it became clear that our interests were so different, and we didn't start doin' stuff like this till I took the game up as an adult.

He can't see the balls fly off any more so he always asks me how far it went. He can tell from the sound whether it was a good hit or not, and knows from watching me why I shank it or hook it. He's still got it all in his head, but his body has failed him, and it hurts him a lot. He's never tried to pick any other hobby up, and just moans all the time about not being able to play golf any more. In this, as in so many other things, dad's been a great teacher when it comes to showing me how NOT to do a thing. He hasn't had a fun time with getting old. I don't know if anyone really does, but he could have come to grips with a few things and moved on. I hope I have the courage to do that when the time comes.

After picking up Denise, all polished and spruced up, we headed for Austin to meet another blogger and have dinner at Pappasito's. You've seen this stuff before; the brochette shrimp, the enchiladas, and the queso with the spicy beef. Mmmmm.



The blogger we met was Jerry Wiley, from over at Back Home Again. He's a great guy, and his blog is a great read. Check him out. We met a while back when Mushy found out Jerry was headed to Texas to take up a job in Houston and he told him to look me up. I posted about our lunch a while back, when he and I met at the Chinese food place I take dad to on Fridays. We got along fine. He'd been to a Pappasito's in Houston, I think, but now I've introduced him to the good spicy queso and the wonders of the succulent brochette shrimp. He said something about how he could feel his arteries hardening. It was fun. You NEVER go wrong goin' to dinner with the fat man.



After that we went our separate ways, all agreeing to do it again very soon. Denise and I headed up 183 to get ice cream at the marble slab place and stroll through a big Barnes and Noble book store nearby. That's where I picked up that great Deep Purple CD I posted about a while back. It's a bouble CD, recorded live in two BBC radio broadcasts in 1970 and '72. Check it out.

Then it was back to Temple to briefly see the folks again and then we headed back to Killeen. All in all, it was a full day... full of good times, good food and good friends. Is there anything better?

I'll be heading over to Temple again today to get dad and eat Chinese food, as per our normal routine, but I doubt if we'll be hitting the drivin' range again. We've had a "Blue Norther" blow through from the northwest and it's cold and rainy today. You know I LOVE it, but the old dude doesn't do cold weather any more. Too much blood thinner in his medical regimen. Mom will bundle him up and I'll drop him off in front of the place, as usual, and by the time I park the car he'll be seated at our table and be waiting for them to bring him his plate. They treat him good. It'll be fun.

Denise informed me last night that we've been invited to a party in Austin Sunday night, hosted by some folks who used to work with her. We went to their wedding not long after we started to go together, so it'll be fun to see them again. Monday's a holiday, so we're looking forward to a few lazy days of sleeping in and relaxing in front of my fireplace. You guys try to stay warm and enjoy the weekend too. I'll see ya later. Cheers.