Stay the Course

By Al Horn

No, this is not about golf. I am an avid golfer. Ask my wife, she will tell you. I have even gone as far as to start taking lessons. My first one was a few days ago. The pro watched me hack at a mat for a few seconds then let out a heavy sigh. He thought for a moment before complimenting me on my follow through. I vaguely remembered a similar scenario in my past but couldn't place when or where it happened. About thirty-six hours later, it hit me.

My wife and I were coming home from a seminar held at a major bookstore. Some of the people from our writing group were also in attendance. Just before it started, I looked around and realized we had a complete foursome. I was feeling positive about how things would go. Just as the introductory speaker teed off, another person from our group showed up. He was forced to sit some distance from the rest of us. He wasn't too happy about it but there wasn't much we could do. I almost got up to go sit with him but my wife gave me one of those 'don't you dare' looks.

The second speaker came to the box and the crowd hushed to a silence as he addressed the hall. This speaker was much better than the first. His form was almost flawless. He employed a firm grip on the subject matter. He finished by driving his point straight down the middle. The crowd was awed for a moment then burst into applause.

The next person up was a woman that had a different approach. Where the first person employed power to reach his objective, she utilized finesse. Her opening shot seemed to be headed way to the right. We all held our breath, wondering if things would end up disastrously. Within moments, her drive eased gently back into the center. We all sighed in relief. Personally, I was a little dumbstruck to see that she had achieved the same results as the second speaker. My respect for her abilities grew enormously at the sight of such professionalism.

We followed the rest of the event from one flag to another until it finally wound up at nine. We left with a mixture of new information and reminders of things we had previously learned. I was excited to get home and start pecking at the keyboard. I had told my wife on the way home about an idea that stemmed from things I had heard. Punching out the first paragraph felt good. I then sat back to take a look at it. Over my shoulder I heard a heavy sigh. Before she left the room, my wife patted me on the shoulder, paused, then compliment me on my follow through.