Jethro's World

190

190 is a good place to be - I haven't been here since 2001. 190 is a landmark for sure, but it is only a stop on the road to 180. Once I reach 180 I will stop to celebrate.

My journey started in February, at 215. It took a while for the wheels to start turning, but once under way; they gained momentum.

The road to 190 has not been easy. It has taken much determination and self discipline get to this point. I have been tempted to turn back more than once, but I have held my course.

There are times when I think I should stay at 190 for a while - maybe try it out for a few months to see if I fit in here. But, I know that if I stop now, I won't make it the rest of the way.

So with the Good Lord as my guide, I will continue on…

FORE!

If someone can correctly identify this golf course, I will finish this weblog entry:

JD gets the brownie point today. The answer is Frontier Golf Course. The rhubarb patch is a dead give away.

And now, the rest of the story...

I have decided that if I am going to resume my golf hobby, I need to practice a little more. I also need to get out of the house more for my own sanity.

So, every Thursday after work, I will don my knickers, my polo shirt, and my argyle socks and head out to the links for a round of golf. Oh wait, I'm going to Frontier. OK, I will don my jean shorts, my tank top, and my tube socks and head out to tear up the turf.

Tomorrow will be my third outing, and I hope to shoot at least as good as I did last week (which was 5 shots better than the week before). I just play 9 holes each round, but I do hit a couple extra provisional balls at each hole (but only record the first ball for my score). If I have to wait for the group in front of me once I have finished a hole, then I practice my chipping.

Frontier is a nice little course for being in somebody's back yard. The small size of the course makes for some exciting play at times, but at least there are plenty of trees to take cover under. I don't much care for the artificial tee boxes or the shag carpet greens, but they do serve their purpose. I figure $6.50 for an hour or so of good, clean fun is pretty cheap these days.

If any of my regular readers (all three of you) ever have a free Thursday afternoon, please feel free to join me!

FORRRRRRE!

[Lack of] Progress Report Frontier Golf Course - 9 holes - Par 27 Date Score July 1, 2004 --> 41 July 8, 2004 --> 36 July 15, 2004 -> 41 July 22, 2004 -> 40 Aug 5, 2004 -> 48 Yikes! [1st 9] Aug 12, 04 -> 46 [2nd 9] Aug 12, 04 -> 36 Aug 15, 2004 --> 40 Aug 19, 2004 --> 39 Aug 27, 2004 --> 43 Average -------> 41

Golf

Golf; it's such a civilized game. And with the natural beauty of it all, what's not to love? There is something relaxing about a nice leisurely walk through lush green meadows surrounded by towering oak and fir trees, with the occasional shimmering pond bordering magnificent greens - oh @%#& I lost another ball!

Golf is like a double-edged sword. It can be the most relaxing and the most frustrating game - all at the same time. You can hit a shot that softly lands 10 feet from the flag, and then turn around and send a lame duck into the water hazard the very next swing. But it is the feeling of hitting that perfect shot that will keep you coming back until you do it again (even if it isn't for another 16 holes, or 36 holes, or 54 holes, or…).

There was a time when I golfed quite often. When I went to Kauai in 1996, I took my golf clubs with me. I played a nice municipal course and the gorgeous Poipu Bay course - and I actually felt good about my game. In 1999, I vacationed in California; playing golf every day of the week. Each day my score got worse and worse.

I hacked around courses a few more times before officially retiring from the sport (with the exception of a few odd appearances) in the summer of 2001. My scores just never seemed to improve, even after taking lessons from a professional. I was spending a lot of money on a game I was not good at. It was time to quit.

This spring I played two rounds of golf. The first round was at Ranch Hills, a nice little 9-hole course in Mulino. I went with my brother-in-law Marc, whom I had never been able to beat - until then. I hadn't picked up a golf club since August, and yet I was able go out in April and shoot my best round ever. It would have been even better, but I added up my score after the 8th hole - a big mistake. I did terrible on number 9.

The following weekend, I played 18 holes at River's Edge in Bend - a much tougher course. I shot the same score as at Ranch Hills on the front nine, before lapsing a little and still shooting an OK score on the back nine. Hmm… maybe this game is worth coming back to…

So, this past Monday morning (July 5th) I got up at 4:30 am to meet Sabino Arredondo, Rich Kropf, and Brock Rempel at Tukwila in Woodburn for a 5:36 am tee-time. I think I should have stayed in bed. My very first shot was complete miss that popped the ball in the air and landed it about 30 feet in front of me, and that was followed by multiple landing in wet sandy bunkers. But, I did have enough good shots (and even a long, twisting, Tiger-esque, par-saving putt) to make it worthwhile. And most of all, it was nice to be out on a beautiful course with a great bunch of guys.

I am officially back golfing - for the natural beauty, for the thrill of the perfect shot, and for the company of good friends. But, I may be retired again by the end of the summer…

Jethro's Moving Service

Custom Box Service owns a rather large delivery truck.

I spent 6 years delivering boxes for Custom Box Service, and feel confident in my truck loading and truck driving abilities. My friends seem to be confident in them as well, as I have helped three different couples move in the last three weeks.

Saturday, June 12th- I helped Sabino & Kim Arredondo (and Antonio & Diego, too) move from their suburban ranch-style home in the heart of Canby to a beautiful home in the country not far from Custom Box.

This was probably the biggest one-day move of the three. The packed boxes (~75 of them) were stacked on pallets and wrapped tight with stretch wrap; and the pallets maneuvered to the front of the truck. From there it was just a game of filling the truck with furniture in such a way that nothing would get scratched during the move - it's kind of like playing life-sized Tetris. Many of Sabino's friends brought smaller vans and pickups, and they were used for the little odds & ends.

Sabino & Kim sure had a lot more stuff than they did 8 years ago when I moved them. I guess having kids will do that to you, eh?

Saturday, June 19th- I helped JD & Kris move from their suburban ranch-style home in the heart of Canby to a beautiful old farm style house in the heart of Oak Grove.

JD & Kris had already moved some of their things, but enough remained to fill a pickup and two vans. They had fewer boxes than the Arredondos did, but boy were they ever heavy - and clumsy to work with. You see, my dear brother JD (who is part owner of Custom Box Service where there are numerous packing tape dispensers) decided he would just fold the tops and bottoms of all the boxes without using any packing tape. A little piece of advice for anyone out there who might be moving: use packing tape on your boxes!

For more details about this move, see JD's archives.

Saturday, June 26th- I helped Ron & Kara Kropf (and Daphne) move from their suburban ranch-style home in the heart of Hubbard to a newer suburban ranch-style home in the heart of Hubbard. The new house was in disrepair when they bought it, but they did a beautiful job of refurbishing the interior before moving in (Ron is a carpenter).

I picked up Roger (who Ron and I helped move a year ago) and his hand-truck on the way to Hubbard. We loaded up the truck in record time (most of the small stuff had already gone) and made the move to the new place - a whole 3 blocks away (we did have help form Sabino and other Kropf & Histand family members). Then Roger and I were off in time to make it to our church's Father-Son lunch. We got to Ron's at 8:15 and were gone by 10:15 - a new Jethro's Moving Service record!

When the new baby boy arrives in September(?), the move will be complete. :-)

Saturday, July 3rd-What ever will I do with my Saturday? I have nothing planned. I think I will keep it that way.

Helping friends move takes a lot of time and energy, but it is well worth it. I have been blessed with the resources and the spatial intuition to make moving easier, and I am happy to share those gifts with others. Besides, I am keeping a list of names for when it is my turn to move. ;-)