Rhino Ramblings

For those paying close attention I missed my first bi-weekly blog posting.  I will endeavor to return to an every other week schedule but am also considering a monthly regular post with occasional “specials” when time and stress allows.  This was totally due to lack of time and not stories to share – in fact the reason I had so little time was the stories to share.  Still dealing with my Mom’s passing and all of the emotional and family and practical issues that are brought on.  But I will hold off on analyzing that for now.  Then there was a full week of Quinn (4 year old granddaughter), with a day and a half of Kevin -3 ½ year old grandson thrown in – a fun but totally exhausting week. Then there was the stray bullets that hit our office building and only through good fortune did not hit any person.  Way many issues to discuss there both globally and locally and workily.  But I am going to put all of those in my back pocket for this blog and concentrate on the really important story.  While participating in the Joseph P. Caggiano Memorial Golf Tournament (The Coalition for Government Procurement), I was hitting drives as long as ever.  I mostly average 160 yards.  I do hit straight thanks to lessons years ago that removed my slice.  But I think in part thanks to a more rigid wrist as a result of my ligament surgery, I was hitting mostly 180-190 yard drives.  (Side note –the leftover rigidity is also resulting in what was a poor irons game into a disastrous one.  I will need a lot of practice to learn how to hit my irons).  Then I hit a line drive as well as I can imagine.  As the group moved forward we kept our eyes open for the ball that had clearly gone down the middle. And we did eventually reach it – 266 yards down the fairway.  I was helped by a downhill roll and great weather conditions.  I have hit two other long (but not quite as long ) drives –once helped by a steep downhill and another by a helpful bounce off the asphalt cart path).  Ok – so I am not really bragging as I recognize what a fluke it was.  But still it was very cool.  It is much like my piano story in my last blog.  I am never going to be a great or even good pianist nor will I ever be more than an average (at best) golfer.  But when I hit the keys on the piano just right or end up with a 266 yard drive it is just such an uplifting feeling.  Somehow that overshadows the many errors on the piano and my now atrocious iron shots.  There is much in life to be pessimistic about.  And yet the good can shine through and give us not just the ability but desire to move forward with our life endeavors with a positive step. As I write this I have to postscript the up tone:  as one who struggles with depression on a fairly regular basis, it strikes me that when I am deeply encased in a depressive state, one sign is that the mind finds ways to evade the positives or turn even the best outcome into a reason to doubt oneself.  Wow – how was that for a quick turn of mood.  Let me end by flipping the mood back and note that I am quite happy with a 266 yard drive and the golf experience in general.  I am also very appreciative of those of you who have let me know that you are reading and enjoying these blogs.  If all goes well, I will be back in 2 weeks with either one of the many back stories hinted at in this blog or maybe something totally new – I always say when I give a talk that I am really interested in hearing what I have to say this time as it is usually a surprise to me as well as the audience.