I LOVE THIS GAME, I HATE THIS GAME

As you may have noticed in a recent entry I have taken up golf again. Bob Zender and I started at the same time of life but he went one way and I went the other. Now that I have more time on my hands I thought I'd give it another try. I didn't have any clubs so I went to Craigslist. $40.00 later I had a complete set with a bag. I've started at the driving range and then playing on a par 3 course in Indio. I found that playing with gym shoes doesn't work so i bought a pair of golf shoes. Now, after 6 trips to the range and 2 games at the par 3 I feel more comfortable and I know I'll be ready for The Ira Berger Invitational in September. I hope the course isn't too long. When I get home to Chicago I'm going to get a nice set of clubs and then find partners to play with.

GOOOOOOO BEARS

In the long rivalry between the Bears and Packers they have only played each other once in the playoffs and that was back in 1941 (Bears won 33-14). After watching the Bears at the start of the season I didn't think they had much of a chance to excel and with the variety of injuries on the Packers I didn't give them much of a chance either. Ironically it was the Bears loss to the Packers in the last game of the year that allowed the Packers to get into a wildcard position. The way I see this game the Bears have to control the ball with Forte running his a** off. They talk about the weather but I don't think either team enjoys playing in 19 degree temperatures.
Lovie was almost run out of town after, following a hot start, the team fell on hard times but something kicked in and they finished very strong. If there is a coaches factor ask any Packers fan about McCarthy. They think he isn't very good as a decision maker.
We are going to The BeerHunter in LaQuinta to watch the game and there will be hundreds of fans there watching on over 50 TV screens. If the Bears can't do it today I will be very disappointed and it will take me a few hours to adjust but then I can turn on The Bulls or Blackhawks and then it's the wait til next year Cubs who will go all the way this year. (Your heard it here).

WATCH OUT, ANOTHER HOOKER

Since we are going to be in Palm Desert for 3 months I thought this would the best time to take up golf again. I started playing when I was 12 and since I was living right across the alley from Bob Zender I was learning from the best. Bob's dad would take us to Maierhofer's back lot and show us how to hit the ball. Bob picked it up very easily but I picked up bad habits and never achieved more than a 95-100 range. Emil Lazar and I would ride our bikes with the clubs on the handlebars to Northwestern (Chick Evans) course and play from 8:00 in the morning until dusk only stopping for some water and mustard (only things that were free). Several years ago I fell away from golf, probably since Chuck Worthington passed away. Chuck, Emil and I would play up in Wisconsin a couple of times a year.
Last week I went on Craigslist and found a complete set of clubs and bag for $40.00. I had to buy a sand wedge and a 5 wood and after a couple of trips to the driving range I was ready for the Par 3 course in Indio. I lost 7 balls (several ended up on the driving range and I wasn't about to go out there to retrieve them), but nobody got hurt and I made it through all 18 holes. I can see I need more work but it was fun and I have to get into playing condition for our Ira Berger First Invitational Classic during our reunion in Sept.

PHILOSOPHY TO TRAGEDY

As we all have probably seen there was a terrible tragedy in Tucson yesterday. As I have been doing the nilehi website I have been exposed to all sides of our political views. Where do these viewpoints come from? First we are influenced by our parents. They were influenced by their lifetime of exposure to their parents, friends, teachers, religious leaders, etc. I would hope that the individual mind is developed enough to filter out the bad ideas and encourage the good ones. Now the question arises what is bad and what is good. My bad might be your good and if we can't discuss it rationally we become polarized. Mankind has evolved from the caveman to the present going from a simple mind who saw and reacted to todays more analytical approach where we evaluate a situation and decide the best course of action. We, unfortunately still have a part of society with a caveman mentality which knows only one way to solve a problem and that is to use the club.
If Tucson's tragedy has taught us anything, although I don't think it has, I hope it would be to open up more rational conversation and find that we all are trying to attain the same goals.

HELP, I CAN'T GET OUT

I know I'll get no sympathy from those of you suffering through yet another cold winter. We retired in August and decided to leave Chicago for the winter. This is the first time we have had the opportunity to escape for more than 2 weeks. We ended up in Palm Desert, CA and although it isn't warm it is in the 50's and 60's. we rented a condo and for the most part it is nice. Unfortunately it is in a gated community which needs a remote or keycard to get in. We didn't get a remote so when people come over I have to walk to the gate (about 2 blocks) to pass the keycard through the gate for them to get in. Going out, the gate opens automatically if you drive out but if you are walking you need a remote to open. The only way I can go walking is to drive our car out of the gate, park and walk from there. If this isn't rectified soon it will leave a bad taste in my mouth when the condo review comes up.