SamSaid!

TRAVEL

     I play golf with a remarkable old bird who passed his 87th birthday earlier this year. He is a good ole farm boy from the midwest who joined the Air Corps in WWI and flew an airplane of some kind. I don't know if he was shot at or not. But at his age he is a remarkable specimen and has a beautiful golf swing. Big arc on the backswing and a nice swing thru the ball. Right down the middle. Of course, aging has robbed him of some of his former distance, but he still has that swing that many hackers would kill for. I can relate to that. I can keep the ball in play, but not as the result of a picturesque swing. Gerry has scored under his age twice this year. A lot of the old guys are envious.

      We played together last week and both shot in the 80s. Very pleasant day. Afterwards, we enjoyed a glass or two of iced tea, and talked about family matters. He said he would be traveling for a week or so  –   flying out of Oakland on 9/11 to visit friends and family in Alaska. I told him that my wife and I would be flying out of SFO on Wed 9/11 on a trip back east to visit friends and family — returning via Salt Lake City. Of course that led to conversation about flying on 9/11.

     Gerry said that he had been flying in airplanes for over 50 years and wasn't going to vegetate in front of the TV in his game room because of a bunch of #$*@#X&# ragheads trying to terrorize the country. He said, “At our age, my wife and I  may not have that many more chances to visit friends and family…..we're going!!  I said, “Gerry”, we'll be back in two weeks…. I'll see you one the first tee.

     We waved at each other and went home to pack.