Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t! it’s judgement day in America. “Where’s your mask”? “Why didn’t you invite me”? Your not SIP”! Basically, social media has become a curse. What once was fun, is now a social judge and be judged by your post and whatever activity you “share” or do. Heaven forbid you don’t get caught in between. Oh well. It is what it is and you have to accept the good with the not so good consequences of your actions, right? I wasn’t bragging as much as I was documenting a 60 year journey with my friend. The fellow in my, ”maskless” photo is Mark Harrison. We’ve known each other since 1960 when we played little league together growing up in Palo Alto. He was a fabulous athlete, still is and a wonderful human being. And so, I felt it was appropriate that since, with respect to our age, we’re now on the back nine, that we should share a moment in photo on the back nine of the golf course we both started our journey together on, Paly Muni. Life is a whole hell of a lot like golf. You start out with a clean slate, and then you proceed to count your stokes and measure your success at each pause between holes. By the time you hit the mid way point between the front nine snd back nine, you’re either feeling good about your “game” or, trying to find a reason to continue. It’s a humbling test of skill and mental toughness, discipline and athleticism. So, you gather yourself together, put a smile on your face, grab a snack at “The Turn” and continue on your journey, hoping for the best, always moving forward. There are hazards on every course, both physical and mental, and many distractions, but you just have to find a rhythm and keep trying to do your best. And as in life as we approach and experience the back nine or latter years, you tend to look back on the path you traveled and wonder why maybe you had a shitty lie or, how your ball got lost, or how the hell did I par that hole, and you just press forward as best you can. Mark and I are in our 70’s now. We’re on the back nine figuratively and literally and this photo represents a lifetime of memories and a wonderful journey of two fiends who played hard, respect the sport, care about each other and together, we embraced the journey and ended up friends on the back nine, and remain respectful of each others score card, so to speak. It’s been a fabulous and rewarding journey, and for that and our friendship, I am truly thankful. We’re both still on the course, and we remain fortunate enough to still be playing the game. The rules have changed and the course has been altered, the technology is different and we’re wearing mask and golfing in a pandemic yet, we are gonna finish the round and raise a toast in the clubhouse for all our friends who didn’t have the good fortune of making it to the back nine. And raising a glass to having finished together, as friends and probably go out and do it again, thumbing our nose at fate, and keeping score so as not to miss a single moment and cherish each memory To a life well played!
top of page
bottom of page