Thirty-six with Icing

Friday was my birthday. It turned out better than I thought – given the weather forecast.

On the eve of my birthday, Char and I went out and had a nice dinner. It was just the two of us and that started the birthday celebration.

For weeks my neighbor, Nathan and I had planned on taking the day off and playing golf. Nate had made some reservations at a rather exclusive golf course. When he told me what the green fees were I kind of choked but then he added, “Oh, don’t worry you get on free because it’s your birthday.” I still worried a little because Nate and my neighbor didn’t. Plus, it had to be reserved with a credit card and they had a twenty-four cancellation policy.

The problem was the weather. They forecasted heavy rain and/or snow. So, I had Nate cancel the reservation and we decided to go to breakfast instead.

At the restaurant, we ordered breakfast and started talking about how the weather forecast was wrong (again). It was overcast but beside that not to bad. Maybe we could squeeze in nine-holes. I called my neighbor who had gone to go work. Yes, he was up for it and could be home soon. Nate called and made reservations at Willis Case golf course. It is near the house, reasonably priced and one I had never played. Before long, the three of us were out playing golf.

At Willis Case nine turned into eighteen holes because the weather held. Soon there was talk about going to another course and playing nine more holes. Somewhere along the way, the term ‘Birthday Golf’ was created. Birthday Golf - we would play until it rained. Over at Hylands Golf Course we played another eighteen holes, instead of nine. On the 11th hole, DOR (Tiffany – Daughter of Ralph) called and sang me Happy Birthday.

I’ll admit it by the 16th hole on the second round I was getting a little tired. It was also getting a little dark and I was starting to lose some golf balls. But, we finished the second eighteen. As we headed back home, it started to rain. Perfect timing.

We went to my neighbors where dinner was waiting. To my surprise, my good friend Geno (who is eight) had made me a GREAT birthday brownie. He did most the work himself and went to a lot extra trouble with the decorations. It was the perfect birthday brownie. The decorations showed golf, a tree, and a birthday crown. To top it all off, it really tasted good! We ate the whole thing. Thanks Geno!

So, it was the perfect birthday. A nice pre-birthday dinner with Char, breakfast with Nate, hearing from Tiffany, thirty-six holes of golf, a good birthday dinner, and a GREAT birthday cake.