Hall Of Fame – Part 5 1


Trolleygate. I really must double check the sign up sheets. Could have sworn this Friday’s Frolics was good old plain Texas Scramble not that bloody Yellow Peril thing. Didn’t play particularly well as I was pissed off at our so-called team leader deciding who was going to play the yellow ball on every hole. No consultation. Contributed a couple of 6 pointers however, before my trolley decided to take off at full speed into the lake on the 12th hole. Yes, the wind was that strong. I was wearing safety glasses because the wind was playing havoc with my eyes. We managed to haul my trolley and bag virtually intact out of the water (thanks guys) but of course the battery is kaput (I’ll know for sure tomorrow) plus my phone. The Garmin range finder appears watertight. Fortunately my car keys were in a safety pocket and I did discover my Garmin watch hidden in a side seam pocket. Thought I had searched my bag thoroughly for that. Got a lift back to the clubhouse with the manager who sympathetically gave me a cigarette (and a spare lighter) and I made my soggy way home. Everything drying out nicely in the wind.

Thank you IB Park.

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The Japanese just sent over 200 million doses of Viagra. They heard we were having trouble with our erections.

 

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Met….
For next week when do tournaments announce their field? I don’t want it to be too complicated but I am thinking about one each from first, second, third and fourth 25 in the OWGR unless there is a full moon in which case you have to have at least one amateur except if Cal has roast beef on Tuesday in which case your players have to be in descending alphabetical order by last name without regard for the OWGR (eg Reed, Spieth, Taylor and Uihlein) but only if Scrums doesn’t win this week in which case everyone must pick a player to win they have seen in person in a tournament where that particular player missed the cut and for those who have never been to a tournament they have to pick someone to win outside the top 50 in the OWGR who went to college above the Mason Dixon line but did NOT graduate unless Wendy breaks 80 in the next seven days in which case Taf, Cal and Sky all have to sing God save the Queen and everyone has to pick two players from the UK one of whom has to be outside the top 100 in OWGR unless there isn’t one in the field in which case your second player has to come from any country that was once a British colony which of course includes the US but only for those born in one of the original 13 colonies. And since Met has to check all this everyone’s picks have to be in by next Monday.

Or we could just do pick four with an alternate and top three count with 10 points for picking the winner. But I am still thinking about it .

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Well, I’m in a little mini-dilemma right now. It’s actually a good one…..
I have applied for a permanent position with the crew I’ve been working with We work 4-10 hour shifts, but mostly been doing 5-10’s with a bunch of 6 day weeks. I have out earned the annual wages by 65K already, and still one more month of wages coming up.
My dilemma, they are dragging their heels on calling people in on the interviews. Well, PGE just pulled the funding on all the above ground station work I was working on for last 5 months. Would of carried me through the year if they didn’t, now I’m not so sure I will still be working in 2 months.
As I’m leaving the Hinkley Compressor Station (where we based our truck out of-we’d have to drive sometimes 1 1/2 hours one way sometimes to get to the projects), which is of Erin Brakovich fame (the plant where it happened in the early 70’s), the head guy that oversees everything tells my foreman he has a position opening up in 2 weeks and that he really likes me and that I should apply. Hmmmmm, my dilemma, I’d have to move away from the beach, and it’s 5-8 hour shifts, but I’d have a permanent job earning about 45 grand less a year, cause I’m not getting buried in over time.
I’m not bitching, just sharing, finally something good is happening with this company. It’s only taken me like 6 years. We’lll see, I will mull over it, before it posts, and when it does, if I apply the head guy that oversees all the gas pipe for PGE for hundreds of miles told me to call him……
We shall see…… I told my foreman to bug my Sub-A foreman, and tell him the plant is trying to hire me…….. Light a fire under them to hire me……….haha!!

 

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Prince…RIP. and you have done one last favour…taken the focus off the insane election for a night or two…

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Scrums April 2016

An Italian Boy’s Confession
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose girl.”
The priest asks, “Is that you, little Joey Pagano?”
“‘Yes, Father, it is.”
“And who was the girl you were with?”
“I can’t tell you, Father. I don’t want to ruin her reputation.”
“Well, Joey, I’m sure to find out her name sooner or later so you may as well tell me now. Was it Tina Minetti?”
“I cannot say.”
“Was it Teresa Mazzarelli?”
“I’ll never tell.”
“Was it Nina Capelli?”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot name her.”
“Was it Cathy Piriano?”
“My lips are sealed.”
“Was it Rosa DiAngelo, then?”
“Please, Father, I cannot tell you.”
The priest sighs in frustration. “You’re very tight lipped, and I admire that. But you’ve sinned and have to atone. You cannot be an altar boy now for 4 months. Now you go and behave yourself.”
Joey walks back to his pew, and his friend Franco slides over and whispers, “What’d you get?”
“Four months vacation and five good leads!”

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There is still an enormous amount of kindness in this world.

Sir has recovered well after his two strokes, minor ones as we now know, but the degenerative Parkinson’s Disease has wiped out any progress made by the local Stroke Rehabilitation Team – a superb team to whom we are most grateful. He decided that he wasn’t confident enough to continue driving, despite being assessed as capable/legally able to do so. The husband of a fellow golfer not only looked up all kinds of sale channels when I asked for advice, but knowing that I was scared “witless” (Ok we know what I mean) about driving Sir’s car, actually offered to come to our home and drive the car/Sir to the sales office and then drive him home. As two hitherto very independent/self-sufficient people, we initially found it difficult to accept help but he, that Good Samaritan, knows how much his offer meant to us. Mission accomplished today btw.

YOU Wendy, being sane, intelligent and unbiased, will allow whatever is the best for Sir. None of us here have any doubts you have anything but the very best of intentions. I/we give you ‘my/our heads-up and my/our love’ to both of you.

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Met, on your comment about Lyds in the header… Impressive to say the least. However, even if she was a bloke and everyone would be clamoring that she is the next Tiger Woods etc… It is still a short career that can end as quickly as it began. Remember Yani Tseng? She was the Tiger Woods of the LPGA, wasn’t she just a couple years ago? Now it’s a story IF she MAKES a cut. David Duval was the number one golfer in the world too and then POOF! never won a damn thing. What Tiger did for 10 years was amazing. For now, let’s just say that Lydia is amazing and doing things no one else has ever done at such a young age. Maybe in time, she will set a standard that no one else will ever reach. Gotta love her though. Nothing about her not to like. Good kid. Good head on her shoulders. And she’s cute too!

 

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A man walks into a zoo. The only animal in the whole zoo is a dog……..its a Shitzhu.
Pathetic picks = Pathetic jokes.

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1410637427000-ed-snider-9-13 (1)Ed Snyder passed today, owner of Philadelphia Flyers. This is for Taf, Radar, Chevy and any other hockey fan. 20 years ago 4 of us are in Philly to watch US Canada hockey game. opening night gala for new hockey arena…The Staples Centre back then. No tickets available we are told at 2 in afternoon inside arena, and I see this gorgeous cleaning lady. I go straight over and try my luck .Ask her jokingly if she can score us any tickets….the innuendo eh! Sorry and on she goes. We leave and walk around building to our car…and at back door we see a UPS truck unloading huge plants. The cleaning lady is there again…so I try one more time. She looks at us 4, and asks from whence we came. Toronto we say….and she thinks…and a moment later tells us she will leave 4 tickets at will call. We gleefully thank her, and mention if she is ever in Toronto, look us up and we will get her tickets.She graciously smiled and politely said, no, I am all right. The lady was Martha Snyder…Ed Snyders wife,,,,,classy woman. All we had to do for the tickets was unload some plants. She also said…do not sell them….I expect you to be there. Centre ice…about 15 rows up…face value over 400. Nice score indeed.

This doesn’t rate anywhere near C2’s Opening Night at the Staples Center, but here goes. And I know I am going to sound very snooty and pretentious. Oh well. My wife and I had tickets to the CSO performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Music Hall. We go inside and give our tickets to an older gentleman handling admissions. He looks at our tickets and says, “Uh, these tickets are for NEXT Saturday, not tonight.” My wife and I look at each other with blank stares, more or less saying, “what now?” The old guy pulls us off to the side and says, “Wait here.” He comes back 5 minutes later and says, “Follow me.” He takes us down to the Music Hall floor, about 15 rows back, right smack in the middle, and says, “Here you go. Enjoy your evening.” I bet they were Carl Lindner’s seats, and he had to make sure Carl and his wife weren’t coming. It ended up being the Cincinnati Ballet. Not exactly what I wanted, but it was fun. One of the performances was The Diary of Anne Frank. Got to see a bunch of Nazis doing ballet. I kid you not.

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I am going to Augusta National next Wednesday for the practice round and the par 3 challenge.

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Keep sharing! You’re doin’ a better than TGC! If you see B Chamblee…punch him in the mouth for me 🙂 Thanks! 🙂
Have a blast!

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It is time for me to turn in my purple-and-green plaid Slingers jacket and ride off into the sunset. I hate doing it during my favorite golf week of the year, but circumstances have made it necessary. Only metro has known about the physical challenges I have faced since last June. I have had 2 minor heart procedures (my wife told me not to call any heart procedure “minor” LOL), but they were corrective and they worked. The doctors said that whatever I had won’t affect my longevity and quality of life, so I am thankful for that. A few stressful things recently have forced me to come to the conclusion that I need to simplify my life even more than I have done prior to this.

So it is with a heavy heart (pun intended) that I climb down out of the Treehouse one last time. I want to thank Metro for creating an environment in which we could each express ourselves honestly and have a fun time doing it. You’re the best! Fellow Slingers, thanks for years of fun and companionship. I pray the highest and best blessings on you all. Adios, amigos!!


Mate… I’ve said this to you in our emails, so I will say it here too.
Have a break for a bit. We will be here and the door is always open.Most of all … get well soon. I want to able to have some sort of reservation when I say FECK out loud 🙂

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Billy’s final post. I have been a Slinger for a very long time. And you guys are amazing. But over the past year or so my priorities have changed. I haven’t done anything golf related in months. My passion today is long range rifle shooting. Hoping to enter some events this year. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a West Coast Slinger tour event this year. I’d be more than happy to sponsor it. Hoping the slingers will still include me in their emails going forward. There isn’t enough space here for me to praise Lee. Absolutely one of the coolest people I’ve ever meet., I remember the 1st time we played together. At the 500 Club in Phoenix she and I sat out on the patio after our round and I listened to her tell stories about golf’s greatest. How many people do you know that have had a personal relationship with Golf Hall of Famer’s Ernie Els and Gary Player? She is a special lady. My feelings for the Slinger family will never change. I just won’t be here week to week anymore. Off to new exciting adventures. Please wish me well and feel free to reach out to me. LOVE YOU GUYS!

Billy

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I’m starting to REALLY enjoy this empty nester business. Typically we have Easter dinners but with both my kids spreading their wings and doing their own stuff this weekend we were on our own for Easter for the first time in like forever.
Yesterday we played golf on a little par 3 course in Pismo and I know it was hard for my wife that we wouldn’t have a family dinner. So I told her I’d do anything she wanted today and guess what…….she wanted to go back golfing because she had so much fun yesterday. And although it was only 9 holes on a par 3 it’s like 100 years ago that I played golf on a Saturday AND a Sunday !!!

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An adjunct to the ISIS – Muslim theme further down the page.
Worth a read and a thought… or 2

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Played today, great weather, best round of the year so far (82) but looking for better things to come. Still rusty and nursing a sore knee (sun was in my eyes, had a rock in my shoe etc . . . )

This year is the year!

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Lovely sunny day today with little wind for the Easter Trophy. Played so much better than I did yesterday (having sensibly taken a85dc72235e69af4defe322ce98af167painkillers before the round for a sore back/hip). Hit the 1st green for the first time in ages and made a par. Two great shots on the 2nd but got too cute with the 3rd shot and found the hazard. Settled down pretty well after that. Think I have worked out what I was doing wrong with the driver yesterday, as today the drives were all going straight – which also meant somewhat longer.

Wonder if 8ed can identify with me, but by the time we came to the 15th I knew I had a great chance of winning the trophy and I think I put myself under too much pressure. “Choker”? – No, not exactly. 2 putted the 15th from up close & 3 putted the 16th to only make 1 point on each, and knew that if it came to the crunch I would probably lose it on countback, which I duly did. I guess I should be grateful to have played well and come 2nd, but there is that bit of me that I know I shall probably replay in my sleep tonight – the putts which went in the hole and then jumped out for example, when I should really balance them against the shots when I was probably luckier than I deserved.

Hey, the good news is that the dreadful Lesley came 3rd. “Always look on the bright side ……”

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randy mike at brewers 2016Well, my brother leaves today. He’s back to the Milwaukee area. We took in 2 Brewer BB games, and they won both.
He did a few side trips hiking in the foothills while I worked. We had a few fast food meals, and trust me, I haven’t had many of those the last 25 years. The weather was beyond great for his visit. Around 85-90F and 100% sun (well, except at night?).
Good time. He’s single. No stress trying to satisfy anyone else.

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Selfie today age 55…I will post next year….one year with a toddler! Yikes!

HA!!!
Here’s my selfie for today and it’s not even my birthday :

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hedgehopper68 April 2016

A recent study has found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it.

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Hedge…all the best to you and your family. Your connection with your brother reminded me of this story. Partner at acct firm I worked at, he was adopted. His biological mother was a teen in 1945, and a returning soldier knocked her up in Halifax. She could not raise child, so Foster home he went. Finally adopted, and had the best parents. Very loved and he became just a prince of a guy and very successful. Years later, his parents have long since passed, he gets an urge to look up his Biological. with the tools available today….he finds her. Turns out…they were living 5 minutes apart from each other for over 20 years….in Toronto. (migratory birds not only species with honing devices). Her two children from her life had sadly passed away, and she was living alone in her 80’s. They reunited and spent 5 or so very happy years before her death.

 

Thank you for sharing that, C2. It’s a shame how life works out sometimes. For every story like mine and your friends, there are dozens that never get the fulfillment of finding their biological families. I always tell my sons that life doesn’t run in a straight line. I’m still learning about aunts, uncles, and cousins I’ve never met. LOL A “new” cousin sent me this on Facebook Messenger today. Her mom and my mom were best friends in Kentucky around 1950 when they were both expecting. Soon after I was born my mom divorced my dad. He had been “running around” as they used to say. Interestingly enough, the brother (Dwight) that just passed away was born 11 months after me. Anyway, here’s what she said:
“I am so sorry for your loss. I am so grateful you two found each other. For years every time he saw mom he would go over every detail of what she knew about you no matter how old the info was. He would then periodically call me asking if mom ever thought of anything new. You two finding each other was one of his happiest days and brought a fulfillment to him. Prayers for all of you. She told Dwight the story of the last time she saw you as a child. We all felt as if we were there. She always said your mom was a fine lady.”

One of the many things I love about Slingers is that we can fight like dogs and cats on any number of issues, but when real-life problems occur we always rally around each other. Thanks, gang!

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Nice article in the local paper about Branden Grace and how he is an up and comer. I am considering a letter to the editor on how he has absolutely screwed me the last three times I picked him

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I just heard that Tom Brady has endorsed Donald Trump.

Trump said he was going to reduce inflation, and Brady said, “Hey, I‘m all for that!“