I saw my mistress the other day, and it was divine because it was completely unexpected. The forecast was for rain---90% chance, to be exact, and nearby counties were under flood warnings. Foul weather does not agree with the love of my life, or me either, for that matter. So I was resigned to the thought of sitting around watching football instead of the possibility of a thrilling rendezvous. Thankfully modern technology intervened and made my day.
I kept a close eye on the weather.com on the off-chance I'd be able to get out after all. You're familiar with the screen: the patches of green, yellows, and reds that float along in time-lapse fashion, giving you some idea of the intentions of the wet stuff. Zoom out, note the time of the pictures, and plan accordingly. It's the high-tech version of looking out the window and looking at the dog and other animals for odd, weather-fearing behavior. Suddenly things were looking up! The north part of city seemed to have a mystical force field that kept the rain at bay to the west. The bands were simply moving north and staying away, so it was on!
I threw on the appropriate attire and zipped over to the park not far from my house. Predictably it was nearly empty, which is always a best-case scenario for our meetings. Seeing that the weather was touch and go, the desk clerk just handed my a key and encouraged me to see how much we could get in before the rain came. No, this wasn't a some bizarre outdoor hourly motel for cheaters, I was at my local golf course!
Golf is my lover and mistress. She can be frustrating, spiteful, petulant, and everything else, but I know one thing: she's always there for me. No matter the ups and downs of life and love with the human species, the game is there to take my mind off of all of these troubles. Sometimes I risk wasting time, money, or even jobs to enjoy moments with golf, but when I'm rewarded with the perfect outing, nothing in the world is more glorious! This was one of those occasions.
I grabbed a cart, and off into the free-wheeling round I went. The sky was gray, and the wind was intermittently gusting, but it was seventy degrees, and the course was almost all mine. No sharp angles of late-fall sunlight to annoy me, and enough wind to grant more of a challenge, but nothing too drastic. More importantly, a recent slight grip adjustment had me hitting it as clean as ever. This was one of those times where the game paid me back for five-hour plus rounds,when every shot was a questionable proposition , and I paid five times today's green fee. After launching my first three wood off the tee that Rory would gladly take, I knew it was there for me today. Pure thoughts and conditions meant each time I was over the ball the question wasn't if the shot would be good, but simply how good.
I was a kid again, except with access to a cart (!) that seemed like such a distant dream back in my adolescence, and allowed me to squeeze in a ton of shots in two hours. I was moving up to the ladies tee on short par fours to make them ridiculous par threes instead and shooting at the wrong greens to play with distances. I accepted applause from the random guy nearby who watched me stake one and realized that I was creating my own hole. We were in on the same secret today and loving it! The zone I enjoyed included flop shots off tight lies, because I could do no wrong and allowed very soft hands to simply make the shot they know how to make. It was almost like my Zen -like zone was keeping the rain to the west on its own. These are bonus times a golfer lives for, and they don't come along every day. I'm too broke to belong to a club and I live in a big city, so for me these days are even more rare.
I'm single at the moment, and this can be a lonely feeling at times. On the other hand, I can drop everything and seize moments like I did this day and not have to apologize to anyone. Guilt-free ball striking is almost as thrilling as a new love affair if you ask me, and it's a lot easier to find. I'm not sure if I'll ever marry, but I know that I'll always have a mistress. She's a little white ball that doesn't care who I am, sticks that serve as extensions of my body, and a walk in a park with a point. As long as I can walk so one will ever be able to take her away from me, and she'll never take half of my possessions. Life is good.
