The day before the Wedding
It was a dividing line for my back nine. My front nine, was not bad. Not great, but fun. The back, I'm playing around - just laughing and kidding and the doubles start creeping onto my card but I'm kidding around - my brother's getting married -what do I care. And then I realize, just before that hole- when one of the foursome in back of us (a guy named jim) almost drove the green on a short 336 yard par four - that its time to start playing golf. I clear my mind, step up to the next tee, and just knock the cover off the ball. It felt so good.
So I am completely full of myself on the next tee, despite my uncle's admonishment - and my foursome is griefing me about how loud I yelled off the last tee. I have honor. Its a par 3. A long par 3, maybe 200 yards. So I tee up the ball and then proceed to knock the ball maybe 20 feet and pop it up to the back of the ladies tee. My uncle laughs and says "The problem is , you are standing too close to the ball after you hit it". It puts him in a very good mood. At my expense. I cast my eyes down and say something about how the game keeps you humble. Which in this case, it certainly did. And now my uncle is kidding around and he's telling a story about how this man walks out of a department store in the city and meets this young girl who walks up to him and says how about a good time. A hundred dollars. Lets go have a good time, you and I. And the man says , well, I only have five dollars. And the girl says .. You aren't going to have a good time for five dollars. And so she walks off. Well, later on the man's wife appears and she's sort of overweight and homely and she's walking beside him and the girl walks up to him and says .."See, thats what you get for five dollars." And he's cracking up. And the whole time I'm like, losing my vision because the shot was so awful. So I break out my five wood , the ball is buried. I keep my five under my GT Buzz headcover. Its my go-to when things get really tough, because its a beautiful club. The grass won't throw it open. The lie is buried, meaning, the ball is under the grass and there's a tree right over the path of flight. I take a nice cut at the ball and it rips out of the grass and just tracks straight for the flagstick, and then shoots over the green. Third shot in, a lob wedge, high and stops pin-high. Make the putt, save the score. And its all back in line again. Only golf can teach you that - you really have to keep your head down and keep yourself focussed. We all played well, except my uncle. He had two bloody marys and duck hooked every drive off the tee.
We are staying at an old and beautiful place (the Jekyll Island Hotel), in perfect keeping with my father's ideal(s) atheist's mass.(balzac)
What is even better is the fact that as brother of the groom I had to make a speech that night. I am slightly clueless at times, this being one of them, and I was completely unaware that I had to make a speech. Well, the brother of the bride just rips into his sister - a story that centered around electroshock and eneuresis. I happen to like my new brother in law, he's a professor at Emory University I believe, Cardiology. I think. But this story. Oh . my. god. It was so evil. He just rips into his sister. >:) hamartia
So I get the clue, finally - that I am required to speak after he leaves. I speak about the fact that we are very seriously age seperated (10 years) and about children. >:) I end it by saying thank god for that we have a new one of our family. I meant it. She has a really cool family. We will be thick as thieves, one day, she and I. Her brother's wife is ebullient. I am tickled by people like that. And I do like her brother - I would like to get to know him. In fact, as I write this I now remember he's a runner. Thats kind of neat. Yes we'll meet again. He lives in Atlanta. His story was actually really pretty funny. The poor girl was so embarassed. >:D
Why do people marry. Why do the jewish weddings crush that glass in a napkin... I have never figured that out.. I like weddings. I think they have an odd effect on me. I know that tomorrow my little brother will be hitched. Its wild. Tomorrow night the real party begins!!
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