Posting will resume shortly. Yesterday I was. . .errrrr. . .doing important. . .archaeological. . . .research?
No, I was playing golf. First round in like 2 years. 92 on a longish executive course. I only had one really bad shot, a 6-iron from the tee into the trees. Which I attempted to shoot out of, but, sadly, the ball hit another tree branch, fell back on a cart path and bounced back to about 4 feet in front of me. *sigh* Still, not too shabby, I don't think. I even popped out of the sand adequately three times. One birdie, 2-3 pars. Putting was the big problem.
I kind of fell out of golf after my dad passed on, since he was a golfing fanatic, and we played a lot. I didn't even play when I was back there this last time (although being deathly ill the whole time didn't help). It's funny, but this whole idea of golf as a 'rich white man's game' was a new concept to me that I didn't become fully aware of until I was well into my teens, probably due to Caddyshack. Back in rural-ish Wisconsin, it was a working class sport from my limited perspective. My dad played, my uncle played, a lot of my friends' dad's played, and they were all normal working-class folks.
I started playing when I was probably 15-16 and played a LOT for a couple of summers. We had a fine public course in Fond du Lac (Rolling Meadows) and we'd -- dad, mom, brother -- go out nearly every summer night after work and dinner and play as many holes as we could until it got too dark to see the ball. I was in love with the Austad's catalog and bought my first set of clubs from them. I had one of the earliest metal woods. Still didn't help my slice though. Criminy, I eventually just started aiming about 30 degrees left of where I wanted to go and just let it slice.
Anyway, I moved away and went to grad school and kinda let it slip for about a decade. Then in 1992 or so I went back home for a vacation and Dad had retired by then, and was literally a changed man. He'd quit smoking, started exercising regularly, and was an entertaining bundle of energy. During his years of working he was always too tired to be very exciting, and quitting smoking really helped. Anyway, we went out a couple times, me with borrowed clubs, and I kinda caught the bug again. Eventually, I bought a new set of clubs (Armour) and started playing again semi-regularly. I'd take them back every time I went for a visit and played on the old (actually much newer and better) course. Fixed my slice, too! I quit taking a full swing; now I just bring it halfway back and have a whack at it. I think it makes me get my hips out of the way so the club head hits straight on. I don't hit it very far -- maybe 175-20 yards -- but it almost always goes straight these days. I can get some more distance after playing for a while by swing harder but still with a half-swing. But you know, that whole idea of hitting the ball from the fairway more often than not makes for a much more enjoyable game.
Okay, back to something vaguely archaeological:
'Indiana Jones 4': Karen Allen Back As A Mom
Director Steven Spielberg let a big cat out of the bag Thursday. Karen Allen is back in “Indiana Jones 4” as Marion Ravenwood, Indy’s first love. The character helped kick off the series in 1981’s phenomenal “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
In fact, although Spielberg didn’t say it, Allen returns as the mother of Indy’s son, played by 21-year-old actor Shia LaBoeuf. That’s the same kid who’s on the cover of Vanity Fair this month.
Sources say that Allen was asked to join the movie last January. She hadn’t been in a film since 2004, but instead was concentrating on a successful retail business in Great Barrington, Mass. Karen Allen Fiber Arts sells fine cashmere clothing. Allen also had a yoga center, and that experience came in handy.
Confirming no Sean Connery.