Love Letter # 3 From My Father

I call this a love letter, because it is a treasure, that encapsulates the true meaning of love, forgiveness..and acceptance. 

The golfer was briskly advancing along the fairway, pushing his cart on the edge of the course boundary. At 8:00 AM on a Sunday, he and his threesome were something of a rarity for that time and on such a cool 50F morning. As I observed their movements and in particular the one who was encroaching onto our property (a violation of course rules) to locate his errant ball, my stinking thinking mind was digging itself deeper into the one of my hazards.

After all, what person in their "right mind" would be up so early to engage in recreational pursuits on the Sabbath? I was dressed, had made breakfast and was dutifully washing dishes getting ready to go to church and pick up a friend on the way.  In addition, the wayward golfer had in his possession probably 50 pounds of excess paunch, which would have been better exercised on a diet and a treadmill!  Me, from my judgmental, naive point of view had sized up that person's score card and had placed him in the out-of-bounds realm of my acceptance. How far my assumptions had strayed from the truth soon became painfully apparent.

"Do you want a Titleist or Callaway"? I asked the anonymous golfer search for his off target ball. "Don't I know you? - asked the golfer.  His genuine confident Scottish brogue jogged my earlier judgmental assumptions to attention and insight. "Is that you John"? - Yes how have you been? Have you been to the preserve since the fire? Yes! It's so terrible. Everything is gone.   (My father volunteered at the Bouverie Preserve in Sonoma county for years - and it was destroyed in 2017 Northern California Wildfires - My family was evacuated, luckily their home survived.)

In a matter of seconds, the previously seen as misguided, overweight, nameless person was actually a friend enjoying a favorite pastime, moving through the trauma of a life-changing disaster. For myself, it was a knock on the door to keep Step 4 (12 step program ) fresh on my daily, if not hourly scorecard.  

In golf, the word "Fore" is a warning to duck and cover from an incoming errant shot.  Interesting coincidence that Step 4 (12 step program)  is also a precaution for avoiding the pitfalls of careless assumptions while listening to oneself fearlessly and honestly is a sure fire proven tip to improve the chances of "acing" the day! 

One Day @ a Time ~ Love Pop.

Note from Rebecca:

As he read this to me, I was driving the 2 of us to go out and watch Mary Poppins at a local theatre.   The scenery en route to the theater there in Sonoma was breathtaking - even after the 2017 fire. I was so touched by my Dad's story that I told him he should publish it to Readers Digest, or some other local publication. We are awaiting the happy news it's been published (besides my blog here ;).   I can't wait to see him being recognized for the thoughtful, generous and loving writer,  man, father and grandfather he is and will continue to be.  Love you Pop! xoxox