Joe had to go!

In just over an hour I'm going to have lunch with a really, really good friend.

Our friend Joe is off to Tucson next week. It's a great career opportunity and what is sure to be a life changing event.

I'm not sure what I'll miss about him most? Here's a sample of some of my blog posts that mention Joe. Disc golf on Saturday mornings will never be the same without Joe, Sadie and Pete (his dogs). My mind goes back to road trips and overseas trips with Joe.

Sweden the summer of 2006, my how three years has just flown by! Followed up by the British Open. A trip to Des Monies and Omaha in April of 2007 for back to back tournaments. Perhaps the most fun was the day Joe, Rich and I went to Marshall and Columbia Missouri and played 72 holes!

A picture from this years FLHW Golf Tournament captures his personality perfectly!



So long my friend! Be safe, stay in touch and come back often!

54? Let's make it an even 72!!

Yesterday was a little more that a typical Saturday in August for David. Why let Prostate Cancer and chemotherapy keep you down when you love disc golf?

Joe, Rich and I decided we had talked about a disc golf road trip long enough, it was time to act. We decided we would make a day of it and play in Marshall, MO and two different courses in Columbia, MO.

So yesterday morning Rich and I left my house at 6:00am, picked Joe up and headed 60 minutes east on I-70 to Marshall, MO. They have a great little disc course there, Indian Foothills Disc Golf Course. When we tee'd off a little before 8:00am it was damp, due to heavy dew overnight. Our feet were instantly soaked, and they remained that way for the next 12 hours. This had no impact on our day however! The course was new to Rich and myself and the three of us really had a great time, despite the face full of spider webs each us experienced multiple times. Eww!!!

By 10:30 we were in Columbia, MO at Albert Oakland Park. I love this course. It had been almost four years since I played in Columbia, certainly - BC (before cancer). The threat of rain had long passed, the sky was still overcast but the humidity was typical for an August day in the heartland! Joe shot a nice round at even par and Rich and I finished equal at +3.

Next it was off to the campus of the University of Misssouri and lunch at Shakespeare’s Pizza.
The pie was delicious and with little delay we were off for our next round at Indian Hills Disc Golf Course. The previous time I played this course I really liked it. This time, by the time we reached the back nine we couldn't wait to leave. I'm all for a challenge, but this course is in need of some serious trimming! There was at least one tree and multiple limbs on every hole that needed to be removed. I even questioned at one point whether the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department owned it or knew how to operate a saw. I'm not whining here, but the condition of this course was ridiculous.

By the time we finished it was only 4:00. We agreed we couldn't finish on a bad note. A quick phone call to Mary and we were on our way back to Oakland for round four! 72 holes of disc golf in one day!

The last round was perhaps the most fun. We played in less than 90 minutes and finished the back nine in 28 minutes! Joe and I barely missed ace's on number 16. His shot went right over the top, mine cut right across the front of the basket!

In total, it was an unbelievable day! I haven't had that much fun playing disc golf since Europe in 2006.

Here are the scores for the day (Par is 54)
Joe - 53, 54, 60, 50 = 217 or +1
David- 61, 57, 64, 57 = 239 or +23
Rich - 57, 57, 70, 57 = 241 or +25

One thing to note - I definitely had an advantage over Rich in one aspect. I had played both courses in Columbia previously. Due to the layout, my experience did not provide an advantage at Oakland however, at Indian Hills, due to the number of blind shots, I had a leg up.

In the end, the scores really didn't matter. We had a fantastic time, a nice trip and great conversation on the trip home. Thanks Rich and Joe for sharing this day with me. You both are great guys. I wonder where we'll go next?

EPILOGUE: I was slightly concerned that after all that activity I'd be a little sore today. And of course, Mary shared in my concern. Well I was not fatigued or hurting in the least bit! Take that chemotherapy and PCa!!

I am such a Wii-Knee

Perhaps I'll be the first to post a story about such a phenomenon? I have to give credit where credit is due however, it was my brother-in-law that coined the term.

Yes, I was suffering from 'Wii-Knee' over the weekend. For those of you who may not be familiar with the term 'Wii' [pronounced 'we'], it is a new video game console from Nintendo. It was sort of a run away hit over the holidays. What makes it unique is that you wave the remote control around to play the game. Tennis, swing the remote like a tennis racket, bowling, golf, baseball, etc. swing the remote like the club, bat or racket.

Well Friday night I played a few games of tennis and towards the end, I twisted a little too much and 'tweaked' my knee. I thought nothing of it but then Saturday morning when we played disc golf I noticed I was having problems squatting down. It didn't effect my game (more on that later) but occasionally there was a twinge of pain. (side note, Mary has forbid me from playing for awhile! Just when I was getting the backhand kill shot down!!)

I mentioned it to Rich while playing disc golf Saturday morning and his response was "You have Wii-knee!" which led to 'you are a wii-knee' etc., all directed my way with the light heartiness I have come to expect from our group.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday we played birthday disc golf. We played teams again because the group was large enough. After flipping for partners I realize Joe and I are partnered again. Usually this would be good news as Joe is the best player in the group. However, over the last three or four months Joe and I have been paired together and the results have been horrible. We'll play well in every aspect of the game, except when it comes to putting. I think the last time we might have even finished last!

I looked at Joe and said 'not today, not on my birthday!". In an attempted to shorten this post, we came through shooting a '-4', winning by five or six strokes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday night I had dinner with my favorite person in the world, Mary and four other people that rank right up there, my brother and sister in law (who shares a birthday with me...although her first birthday came a couple of years after mine.) and Pete and Joe.
It was fantastic! A great meal (Ahi Tuna for me) with great company! I couldn't have hoped for a better birthday!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday we got up and played in the 'Ice Bowl'. The Ice Bowl is an annual international event where each local disc golf club holds their own tournament. The money raised goes to a local charity of choice (the Bishop Sullivan Center here in KC). There are three rules for the Ice Bowl: - It cannot be canceled regardless of the weather
- No wimps, No whiners
- No excuses

We played last year as well when the weather was a balmy 60 degrees. Yesterday at 8:30am the temperature was a little different; 13 degrees!! The only thing that made it bearable was the fact there was little to no wind. I was never cold though. With four layers of clothes on top, a ski mask (thanks to Rich), two pairs of socks and 'hot hands' pocket warmers it was an all together beautiful morning. Our group of six was the second group out so we were done by 10:45. I ended up shooting +1 (55) which was good enough for about 30th place out of 210 players. We left for a few hours, enjoyed some steaming hot chicken chili and returned for the last nine holes at 3pm. Joe and I struggled in the woods and ice, Rich shot even par and likely placed in the top 20!! Official results have not been published.

We ended the day with a nice family gathering and enjoyed a great dinner complete with a delicious angel food cake that Mary made topped with fresh berries. All together, it was the birthday weekend I was hoping I would experience; full of family, friends, great food and good times!!!!

Euro Trip - 'The Open' and the close.

It's Saturday morning, the day of the Open. I'm tired, I need a long hot shower, a large hot meal and a bed, sleep…..

The amateurs started on the Ancient Course (easier of the two, if only slightly). I find my way out the 8th hole where I am paired with two chaps in the "Advanced Am's", Dan (a Brit) and Rutger (from Holland) and Kev (another Brit) who is also competing in the am’s with me. Dan and Rutger were pretty good, Kev had only played a dozen or so times before the Open. I threw an awesome first drive, followed by 71 other shots that were not so good. My putting was horrific. I blame it on exhaustion. While I had shot a 51 in KC the day before we departed, hitting putts from all over the place, I probably left 6+ strokes out on the course today due to poor putting. By no means would I have done as well as Pete's 57 (par), but if I could have hit a few putts, a round in the mid sixties was easily possible.

Like the Modern Course that we played on Friday, this course offered a challenging layout; uphill, downhill, long, short, hyzers, anhyzers, woods, fields, nettles etc. The best part of the round was when Dan offered me the use of his one-man tent on Saturday night. Additionally, he was able to also scrounge up an air mattress as well! Ah, sleep!!!!

After they regrouped the players based on our first round scores, I was paired with the three Brits; 'Richard the 5th' (one of the chaps camping next to us), Tom and Sharon. Richard played better than the rest of us proving his first round score was an anomaly. I shot one stroke better than this morning but continued to struggle with my putter. A perfect example was the long par four 7th hole; I threw a long drive that rolled just into the infamous briar trees. I was able to get off a good second shot and then left my approach about 15ft left of the pin. Doink, and my putt hits the rim of the basket and falls short for a bogey 5. I bogeyed the Hypotenuse, the 8th (800ft, 150ft drop), birdied the 9th, and 12th but continued the Jeckle and Hyde golf that had plagued me since Sweden.

Like ball golf, a large part of this game is mental. Remain positive, think positive, forget bad shots etc. I’m just going to keep repeating the exhaustion excuse. It's my own fault and in the end it didn’t take anything away from the trip, after all how lucky am I to even be here in the first place!!!

At the end of the second round I found myself in 18th out of 25 players. Pete was still holding on to second! I was able to get partially cleaned up using the cold water spigot and the soap and shampoo Mary insisted I take (I'll have to thank her for this as well!!) Dinner was a BBQ (I broke down and had about 6oz of pork before Thomas alerted me to the veggie burgers!!). Thomas was a friend of Joe's from Germany. Born and raised in Long Beach he graduated from UCLA and moved to Germany in 1999 to do support work for the Airforce. He was a pretty cool dude; he raised bee's and harvested honey, was a vegan etc. A free spirit or modern day hippy would be the best description I can come up with at this point [included here with the utmost respect]. We chatted quite a while, he asked about the bracelets and I tried to give him the details. It was the same result as when I tried to talk to Joe in Sweden, I couldn’t get the words out. I told him enough that he understood what was going on but it was again way to emotional for me to talk about it.

By 10pm I've had enough, I can barely stay awake. I find my way into the one-man tent, take off my shoes and slide onto the air mattress. I think I fell asleep in less than a minute (just like home, right Mary?). 6 1/2 hours later I'm awoken by the sound of rain. It was light, more importantly peaceful like you could not imagine. I rolled over and slept three more hours finally getting up around 7:30.

As we rose Sunday it continued to rain. Fortunately I brought a nylon wind jacket that repelled most of the moisture. I made my way to the 14^th tee. Actually we stood under the trees by thirteen with the sheep and the chaps that were playing in the group behind us. This group included Joe’s friend Matt. We teed off at 9:00am and as we played the first hole the rain stopped. By the time we finished our 5^th hole we were playing is shorts and t-shirts again. It turned into a beautiful partly cloudy day. For me, the sleep paid off, I carded an eight over 65. This was good enough to move me into 10^th place. Pete, played good enough to retain fourth place.

We had planned on leaving about 2:00pm in order to get Joe and Matt back to Heathrow for their flight to Paris. The top five players in each division go on to play a 9 hole final, this was to begin at 1:30. Pete was about to inform the tournament Director that he was unable to play when Joe garnered a ride with an English bloke he’d played with earlier in the day. A quick good-bye to Matt and Joe and Pete and I made our way out to the 10^th tee for the final 9 holes.

Except for a few long delays for ‘rules’ determinations, nothing eventful happened in the finals. Pete was able to hold his own and finished quite impressively in 4^th place!

Pete and I returned to Heathrow taking a route that took us through South Hampton and about 15-20 miles north of the southern coast of England. It was a relaxing drive as we listened to the BBC broadcast of Tiger Woods winning his 11^th major, the other British Open. There was a lot of weekend traffic headed back to London and we were parked on the M3 on several occasions for 20-30 minutes. By the time we returned the car and got back to the terminal at Heathrow it was after 9:00pm. Pete found us a place to stay but by the time we dropped our bags and walked to the Pub/Tavern they had stopped serving food. A few pints of Guinness, a quick shower and it was lights out by a little after 11:00pm. The bed could have been made of nails, it didn’t matter. 8 hours of sleep later and I felt a little more like my old self.

We arrived at Heathrow by 10am even though our flight didn’t leave until 2pm. We found an internet terminal and used the time to catch up on email and I believe I even posted an entry here? Our flight was 2 hours late departing because they had to return to the terminal and allow a sick woman off the plane. New rules require that is a passenger departs, so must their luggage. Being that we were on a 747, this took quite a long time to complete. So even before we took off Pete and I are freaking out. Were we had built three hours and forty minutes time in order to get from JFK to LaGuardia, we would now have about ninety minutes. We would also now be required to go to luggage area after the rude female drill sergeant from Virgin made us check our luggage. I did my best to find things to occupy my mind; ‘King Kong’ and ‘16 Blocks’ took up almost 5 hours. The former was terrible on a 7” seatback screen, the latter was your typical Bruce Willis flick, though slightly more entertaining.

Our flight departed LaGuardia at 7:40, we got off the 747 at 6:00. Immigration was a breeze and we were at the luggage carousel by 6:10. At 7:00 our bags final came off the conveyor belt! Forty minutes left….no possible way we would make it. However, thanks to a great cabby, Pete’s impersonation of OJ through the terminal and the wonderful folks at Midwest Airlines we made it.!!! I walked in the house at 10:59pm, did some laundry, took a shower and was off to the Lake 7 hours later. The Lake…..well that’s a whole other story!

EPILOUGE
And so, this journey like all journeys, must come to an end. Was it worth it? That’s a hard thing to try to evaluate at this point. From a disc golf sense, hell yes it was! We played almost 200 holes of golf in 6 days, on three spectacular courses, we met some really, really good people that we all hope to see again here in the states one day soon. We saw so many things that many people are never fortunate enough to see at all; I thank God once again.

From a personal sense it was good to get away from Cancer. I thought about it a lot less than I normally do and for long periods of time not at all. There were several times when it came up and as I mentioned previously, it was too emotional to discuss. Looking back, it was the thoughts of Mary and Brad that weighed so heavily on me at those moments. I missed them; I wished that they were with me. I really think we were so busy all the time and so taken in by our surroundings and the golf that I was able to forget, if even just for a little while. That alone made it worth it.

Finally, Pete – I could thank you a million times for allowing me to tag along, to intrude and that wouldn’t be enough. Fate brought us together 7 years ago, it’s hard to believe a lifetime of memories can be stuffed into seven short years. While at Rockhurst, each Saturday morning on the course, through all the other BS that has happened in your life and mine and finally while on this trip. Mary is my soul mate, you are and will always be my friend, compadre, my mate (in the British sense) and I love you like a brother. I thank God this evening for your friendship. Let’s do it again next year, but perhaps this time we can stay stateside….I read that Wisconsin has 88 courses, the same number as Sweden!!!

Eurotrip - Stockholm Day 2

It's day two in Stockholm. I awoke at 7:30, 6 straight hours of sleep for me is good! I went to back to bed until 8:50, showered and then hit the city market right next to our hotel. It was CHILLY out! The overnight low was in the high 50's, it felt great! [I noticed it was around 100 degrees in KC the day before].

I made the mistake of buying some cherries from some Middle Eastern vendor. They were good but the guy tried to sell me every other variety of fruit in his stand in addition to a few cherries. Back off dude, I just wanted a few cherries. He was offended when I departed with just the cherries, he’ll get over it.

I made the mistake of buying some cherries from some Middle Eastern vendor. They were good but the guy tried to sell me every other variety of fruit in his stand in addition to a few cherries. Back off dude, I just wanted a few cherries. He was offended when I departed with just the cherries, he’ll get over it.

Pete, Joe and I had agreed to meet around 9:15 so I took stroll a few block around the hotel. Found 'Wayne's Coffee' (http://www.waynescoffee.com/). From the looks of the place, décor, the signage, fonts etc. you would have thought you would have thought you were in Starbuck's. The only difference is their primary color was navy blue. Is there a lawsuit here somewhere?

After meeting Pete and Joe we decided to visit Wayne's world for breakfast. [observation: nobody smokes. Well except Pete]

Finished a light breakfast and it was off to the Gamla Stag. For those of you who have not been to Europe this was your typical old town area; cobblestone streets, in this case completely pedestrian. It was familiar to us at first, and then we realized it was the same pedestrian street we tried to drive down last night as we were mis-directed while trying to find the hotel! Good thing it was deserted at that hour!

Our travels were limited but what we saw of Stockholm it is very cool; clean, well kept old buildings etc.. I could have walked the streets for days with hundreds of small shops, eateries and more. The exchange rate makes shopping for

gifts quite favorable. I was able to get Brad and others tee shirts etc. for around $10. I only wish I had more time to look at more Swedish items.

We made our way to the area where the Stockholm Jazz Fest was being held. Nothing was happening at the time, the shows were at night. Sting was playing on Friday, would have been fun but England calls. We had a nice lunch at an outdoor café; an awesome bowl of fish soup and a hearty garden salad with smoked salmon!

Around 2:00pm we found ourselves back at Jarva for another round. I vowed to play better, I didn't at first. I threw a 37 on the front but a +1 29 on the back including a birdie on the very tough 18th.

We attempted get directions to a nearby course, Lilljon's. It took us about an hour to find it, we even had to ask two other Swedes for directions. It turns out the last kid was a few hundred yards from the park entrance and did not know it! In the end what we found was disc golfer heaven. The course was beautiful. Dispersed through a forest of granite out croppings, ferns, hundred foot pines, birch and other trees. It was spectacular! There were short, tight holes through the trees. There were longer, more open holes through meadows. Uphill, downhill on and on, it was priceless.

We were greeted at the first and second holes by campers. Their tents, though not in the way, were pitched right in the middle of the fairway! The lady on the first hole apologized as she stood in amazement. She had no idea she was camped in the fairway, it was apparent she had no idea what disc golf was! The campers on hole two were friendly as well but they tried to recruit Pete and get us to attend their religious services that evening. We continued on avoiding being rude.

Proceeding without a map, it took us quite sometime to get through the first round, perhaps three hours. We went back to the car for water and a light snack.

It was almost 8:00pm at this point but the course and 18 more holes were calling! Joe lit up the last round shooting a blistering -8 (50). I was up and down, good shot, bad shot etc.. Fatigue caught up with me, a premonition of days ahead.

We made our way back to the hotel, dropped off the car and headed out for dinner. It was a little after 10 but we found our way to the 'Bar Calonia'. The menu claimed a Mexican cuisine, it was good, but far from the Mexican we are use to in the Midwest. We washed the meal down with several local pilsners again and headed back to hotel around midnight.

Tired, but surviving on the adrenalin of the day, we nuzzled up to the bar at the Hotel Rica. Pete was working his magic again on the lass at the front desk, Joe and I spent the time getting to know each other a little better. In retrospect listening to him was like listening to myself at 22. He's a great young man, has his head on straight and has a charming personality. We talked about school, disc golf (of course), love, life etc. it was an inspiring conversation.

One thing to note - I couldn't talk about me, cancer, Mary etc.. I'm not sure if Joe asked or if it the conversation just migrated to the subject but as I tried to speak, the emotions exploded. As many of you have witnessed I can talk about this all day. I can talk about my case, the need for testing, on and on, an on. Most times I can get through these conversations with very little or no emotion. Tonight for some reason I couldn’t talk about it. Joe understood, we moved on to other subjects.

Between the conversation and the constant use of the hotel's internet terminal the next thing we knew it was almost two o'clock. Pete and I had made separate trips to 7/11 for a few Heineken's and I gave up a little after two in the morning. A long overdue call to Mary and I shut down at 3:00am. I can't remember the last time I stayed up passed midnight much less 3:00am.
[Tomorrow morning I must find a gift for Mary]

I had decided to just wrap up Sweden and the British Open in one last post, but realized it's going to have to be two posts; this one will conclude our time in Sweden and get us to the site of the British Open. The next and last post will be the Open and a wrap up of the trip as a whole. I just went through my journal and there is way too much to convey in one post.

Stockholm; Thursday 7/20
OK, 3am was a little late to be up, especially since we golfed until 10pm. Exhaustion is an understatement. I'm up and out by 9:55 in order to get to the stores when they open at 10am. I am in search of a gift for Mary. I cannot explain how difficult a task this is! Jewelry really makes no sense, it's not like there are these incredible bargains, plus I'd rather go to 'Carl' back home. The clothes over here are a little weird, after all men wear Capri's!!! No kidding! (click on the picture, look at the guy in the hat about 10 feet in front of Pete!! I told Mary I was going to bring a pair back but I couldn't do it...she was relieved!)

I bought her a t-shirt with Moose on it [inside joke here, it would take to long to explain]. I leave with nothing substantial, I'm going to be in trouble!! Hopefully, I'll find something on Monday if I have time in London?!

So as I walked around and people watched (with my iPod producing the mellow sounds of Kenny Chesney's 'Old Blue Chair') I couldn't help but take a few minutes to thank God for blessing me. Seriously, regardless of my current health issues, how many people get this opportunity! I could have walked and walked and walked for hours…..serene. I would really like to come back here someday and take more of it in, this is such a beautiful city.

Pete and Joe are slow rising and we eat a quick breakfast and head to Jarva. [Joe is contemplating writing a story "How to survive Europe on the sandwich", very funny but oh so true!]. We played 18 holes, my round was the same, nothing to brag about. We stopped to grab lunch, sandwich materials (go figure) and headed to Lilljon's. It was yet another beautiful day in Sweden, temperature in low 70's, sunny, very few clouds.

It was after two o'clock when we arrived. We ate and headed off to the first tee. Though the tents were still in place, no campers were to be found. As a matter of fact there was hardly a soul in the park at all. I played a few strokes better than yesterday, Joe and Pete a few worse. Regardless, it was sad to depart and head to the airport.

Our flight to London was the only leg of the journey that was not crowded. The three of us spread out and had our own personal rows. I fulfilled my goal of finding something for Mary by purchasing a strand of Japanese pearls and matching earrings from ‘duty free’. They are very unique, and quite pretty, if I do say so myself.

Friday July 21 (London/Salisbury/Beaminster)
We altered our plans slightly and decided to make a stop at Stonehenge on the way to the tournament. Salisbury was about half way to Beaminster, 90 minutes from London. The drive was an experience to say the least. Pete was the pilot of our Peugeot SUW (sport utility wagon; much like a Chrysler Pacifica).

Not only was the steering wheel on the wrong side, it was a manual transmission! I rode co-pilot, Joseph was the navigator, with Matt acting as the narrator. We made it to Salisbury by about 1:00am but having no idea where Stonehenge was in relation to the town we just pulled over, parked the car and tried to get a few hours of sleep. I tossed and turned until about 4:45 when the sunrise began to wake the others. We decided to try to find Stonehenge before the sun actually rose and thanks to a very friendly British chap we were there by 6:15ish. Only one problem - it doesn’t open until 9:00! Here are the photos we took while passing the monument at 35 miles per hour.
By 7:30 we had made our way to Crewkern, a few miles from Beaminster and Whitcome Farm, the site of the British Open. Starving, we began our hunt for food. As it turns out the town does not come to life until 8:00am. The grocery store was closed and all of the restaurants (both of them) were closed. About to give up, we found refuge at "The King Edward Inn". We had a comfortable English breakfast and were off to the grocery by 8:30.

The grocery presented yet another dilemma, with no cooler or means to cook, what to buy? Chips and salsa, fruit, bread, granola bars, beer and large quantities of bottled water.

We were able to find Whitcome Farm and a place to camp without incident. Having nothing else to do, we were playing our practice round by 11:00ish. We brought some of the London heat with us; high 70's but very muggy! The farm had two course, the Ancient and the Modern. The former slightly easier, the latter was a beast! Without directions or a map we found our way on to the Modern course. This place was massive! The elevation change between the first hole (low point) and the eighth hole (apex) was probably 400'. Not the Rockies but when you are use to the flat lands of Kansas, this was spectacular. A few downers; stinging nettles and briar trees. The course was lined with both. We have nettles on a few course here in Kansas but they are wisps compared to these terrors. For those of you not familiar with nettles, read this, look at the photo as well!!!. [http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Nettle.html] By the time we finished our practice round both my shins felt as if they had Novocain injections! It took several hours for the sensation to subside. Additionally, my legs were covered with scratches from the briars as we had our share of errand shots. I shot a respectable 69 but the climb up the hills of this sheep farm took the remaining energy I had.

Here are a few shot of the course:
Joe on #7, last time we ever saw this disc!!













#8 The Hypotenuse, the 8th (800ft, 150ft drop)

Pete, Joe and Matt on #12 (give you an idea of the elevation change)

Joe tee's off on #14 (click on the picture and you can see the basket)

The four of us signed up for mixed doubles. This provided a good opportunity to catch a glimpse of a few holes on the Ancient Course. Pete and I were paired with 'Penn and Teller' two gents from Sweden and Finland. Again, a long story behind the moniker Pete gave them, kind of funny but not worth sharing here. We shot -3 as a team, they shot -8 and took third place.

By 9:00pm I called it a night at tried to sleep in the back seat of the SUW. At this point I had gotten about 6 hours of sleep since Wednesday. I was exhausted, the Peugeot offered little relief. By 6:00am, after getting maybe 2 hours of sleep amongst the seat belts, shoes and other various items I gave up the fight. The sun was rising and the day of the tournament had arrived.

NEXT UP: The Open and a wrap!

Don't pull my leg and a flashback

I was released from the Orthopedic doctor yesterday and now I have a few less appointments to deal with each month! She said that I can go ahead and start putting more and more stress on my leg.  I rode our stationary bike for five minutes this morning with no pain, no issues.  Over the next few weeks I'll add jump rope and leg exercises that involve weights.  She just suggested I work my way back to my previous levels over a few weeks.

 

I played a full round of disc golf on Saturday.  We had a large crowd of 10 so we played partners. I was paired with Joe, we have a history of coming up short when paying on the same team.  We continued the tradition by missing 5 or 6 easy putts.  Joe carried us with his huge drives but I was able to hit a 30 foot putt from the bushes to card a birdie on the 9th hole, it was pretty cool! We finished second, one stroke out of the lead. I will continue to play with a modified throw for at least a few more weeks, likely the rest of the summer.  The traditional back hand throw puts a tremendous amount of stress on ones right ankle.

 

One year this week Joe, Pete and I were in Sweden and England.

Here's part of the journey: http://prostatecancerat42.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html

It seems like a lot longer ago to me!  I'd like to thank Joe and Pete again for allowing me to join them, it was an incredible experience, I'd love to go back!

Chopsticks

Mary, Brad and I watched the movie "Big" on Friday night. I must have seen this movie fifty times. I still love it every time. The scene that takes place in the FAO Schwarz toy story is one of my favorite parts of the movie. I'm not sure why? Perhaps it's Robert Loggia acting like a little kid with Tom Hanks as they play 'Chopsticks' on the big piano.

On another note, here is yet another example of the irony of what I am going through. As I've mentioned my PSA continues to climb and on June 9th I will begin Chemotherapy as part of a clinical trial. So what does one do when facing events like this? How about play disc golf three days in a row!

On Friday I played nine holes and qualified (along with my friend Gary) to represent our company in the 'Kansas City Corporate Challenge'. The event, is like a corporate Olympics and lasts for several weeks. The men's disc golf event is next Sunday morning.

Saturday, most of the usual gang played and I got a little lesson from young Joe....I added about fifty feet to my average drive! The rest of my game needs a tune up but my drives are looking good!

Even after 5 hours working in the yard yesterday, I played again today with Pete, Joe and Steve. We played at a course I haven't played at since last summer. This course is longer and harder than our usual course but I shot really good on the front nine but two bad holes on the back cost me a good round.

So after that lead in, one that was probably much too long, I recant - after what I am going through with Prostate Cancer, I can't believe I played three days straight AND worked in the yard yesterday? Is this crazy or what? No fatigue, no pain.....no worries!!

And now we reach the point where I wax philosophical.....
We are on the 10th hole yesterday, Steve and I started discussing this one particularly loud sound bird. After locating a stunningly beautiful male Cardinal we further discussed the fact that unlike most birds, the male Cardinal is the more colorful bird.

Big deal right? Then yesterday afternoon, I take a break from mowing the grass and I'm sitting on the back steps and I hear the same song. No sooner do I find the Cardinal when up flies his mate. They sit there for a minute or two and off they fly together.

I wish there was more, but that's the story, just a moment of time from a beautiful spring weekend.

Plus Two

It's two days after Thanksgiving and what a great holiday it has been this year.

We spent Turkey Day with all of our family here in Kansas City, yesterday I returned to the disc golf course and today I am off to the Missouri-Kansas football game.

I ate way too much on Thursday, but it felt good and was as expected, quite delicious.

Though I didn't play particularly well on the disc golf course, it was great to get back out on the disc course yesterday. I played pain free! It was also one of my last few rounds with Joe before he moves away. The sadness will grow as we get closer to his departure date.

The weather was spring like, high in the mid 60's. Mary, Brad and I put up the Christmas tree and I got the outdoor decorations up as well.

Last night Mary and I had a great dinner at Bristol and then saw a comedy show. It was quite funny but the sex jokes got a little tiring after two hours.

Now I am off to the MU- KU football game! Once again, the weather is ideal and I predict a Tiger victory!

Disc Golf Overload

Friday it was 70 degrees, so Gary and I skipped out of work at 3 in order to enjoy the weather and get in a quick round of disc golf.

We decided to play a course in Olathe, KS that we don't go to very often. In the past I found the trees tended to be in the way, misplaced is a better description.

It seems in the past year they've done a lot of trimming, I really like the course now. Could be the trimming, or the fact I really took it to Gary. Sorry G, but I've only beat you a few times, and to take you by eight strokes was pretty darn cool!

Saturday it was warm again but windy. We decided to play at Wyandotte County Park as a warm up for a tournament on Sunday. There were nine of us and because the course is so long, we broke into three groups. I thought I shot horribly, but the wind was unkind to everyone and I was only beaten by three strokes, by Joe of course!

So Sunday rolls around and in additional to losing an hour of sleep, we lost any semblance of good weather. When we arrived at 8:30 the wind was howling at a steady 20mph with gusts over 30. In addition, the temperature was 45, at the most. It was a LONG day and in the end, I finished 5th out of 11 players in my division. It was fun and I met a few new players that promised to play in our FLHW Disc Golf Tournament on May 9th.

Monday I woke up a little stiff, but by this morning I was back to normal.

After all that, I just checked the forecast and it looks like the weekend is looking up!!!

Smiles and Frowns

I spent the weekend in Des Moines, IA and Omaha, NE playing in disc golf tournaments. All I can say is, what a blast!

We, my Brother In Law Rich, Pete and Joe left before 6:00am on Saturday to play in a doubles tournament in Des Moines. The weather was fantastic, chilly at first, but we were in jackets for the second round (2:00pm). Both of our groups player horribly. At least the course was really challenging and quite beautiful.

Immediately after turning in our score cards we headed to Omaha. We spent Saturday night in the old freight or wharf district. A very nice area with cobblestone streets, refurbished warehouses turned into shops, restaurants, etc. Pete knew of a brew-pub / restaurant / pool hall that turned out to be a great way to end the day. On the way back to the hotel we stopped for gas only to find out first hand why Omaha has the highest per-capita number of people living below the poverty line. It's a long story, no one got hurt, but let's just say there were a few tense moments!

Sunday morning the temperature in Omaha only went down to 40 and reached the mid-sixties before the day was over. The disc golf course was amazing. Here's a shot of #3, the island hole. It was 250 feet, anything not in the grass is out of bounds. The tee was to the right of the bridge in the background.



I called Mary on my walk to the first tee and told her I was done with tournaments. The courses are just too long for a player of my caliber (I was whining basically). For you ball golfers just imagine playing from the black tee boxes when you are used to the whites. Our 'home course', Rosedale is about 6,000ft in length, the Des Moines course was 8,000 and the Omaha course was over 9.000.

By the end of the day I had withdrawn my statement, as I played well. Not good enough to win, but respectable enough to beat the four other guys in my group for the afternoon round. Also, I missed a hole-in-one by inches! It was a wonderful experience and the ride home was even more fun as Pete got us from Omaha to KC in about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Normally, it's about three hours!
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Last night I watched the Soprano's episode from Sunday night. I have always been a big fan of the show. It's a little sad that this is the end. Personally, I think these last episodes are as good as the show was at it's peak a few years ago. A portion of Sunday's episode focused on Johnny Sac. Johnny is serving time for racketeering but he is also battling lung cancer. Turns out that two rounds of chemo did not work, the cancer has metastasized to his brain, bones, etc.. The doctor tells him he has 3 months or so to live.

In the past two years, I have tried to avoid shows with subjects like this, they hit a little too close to home. As I watched it I sat there and thought "what will it be like for me?". Before I go any further, let me say this "I don't plan on this happening for a number of years!!!". The topic just got me wondering, I certainly am not prepared mentally, but will I ever be? It's a horrible way to die. You hang on and your body is basically eaten away as the cancer takes over. How screwed up is that? Again, I'm not obsessing about this, just another thought that I share here, nothing more.

My mind was elsewhere

Today we played a casual round of disc golf, Pete, Steve, Joe, Steve and myself. We all played rather terribly but the weather was ideal and the camaraderie top notch as we relived this past weeks events.

My thoughts were elsewhere as I could not help let my mind wander to the upcoming week. My friend Dan has his monthly follow up, please send a few prayers his way, Another friend John has a birthday tomorrow, Happy Birthday John!! Melissa turned the big 30 today, congratulations youngster!
Most importantly tomorrow is our 18th wedding anniversary and that weighed heavily on my mind.

I had already acquired a card and gifts for my lovely bride but I could not help wonder 'how many more?" I pray for 20 and I hope for 25. Somewhat sobering to read, my apologies, but that's where I was at and where my mind shifts to from time to time. I don't dwell on it too long either as I continue to try to focus on what's right and what's good with my current condition. I am not sure there are many 46 year old men that could play 153 holes of disc golf in seven days, much less do it with advanced Prostate cancer. Seriously, I even cam home and mowed the grass!

I'm sharing this not in the hope of receiving accolades but because that is what this blog is all about, this is how I'm dealing with it, leading and living a "normal" life to the best of my ability. I hope and pray that there are others who find it and read it and are inspired to fight on!

Dan, my thoughts and prayers are with you tomorrow. John and Melissa, peace be with you both. Mary, well I'll have much more to say about this tomorrow!

Euro Trip - 7/16-17

7/16
My odometer flipped to 10K miles on the way to pick up Peter. Nothing significant about that fact, it's just an observation.

We're at the airport, it's starting to set in, we're leaving. I'm getting really excited - I'm already missing Mary and Brad.

I played one last round of disc golf yesterday. I shot my best round ever (-3/51) I had 5 birdies, 2 bogies, it was awesome! Hopefully more rounds like that are ahead!

So we are off to Chicago, then NYC before leaving for London tomorrow night at 7:50pm. Our flight to NYC was 45 minutes late, great start, good thing I have my iPod and a few books!!!
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7/17 (NYC)
We stayed up late, had Peruvian food, as the Ethiopian restaurant Phil had recommended had changed hands. Joe's friend Patrick from KC was in town doing mission work so he came by to visit as well. The four of us had a number of beers, talked and talked and talked while listening to way to much Steely Dan~ "Phil, can I put on___ NO!". Got to bed about 1:30am.

Phil, Pete's friend from KU is originally from Paola, KS. He graduated and left the Midwest 20+ years ago. Said he'd never go back. He has lived in the same apartment for 20 years. I'm not sure how he does it. He's an editor/writer and the lifestyle of a New Yorker is so different. He pays equivalent to a midwest mortgage payment for 750 sq ft. in New York. I'd go nuts! He's a great guy. We talked this morning for an hour or so while Pete slept. Turns out Phil had brain cancer a few years back, all clear now but it apparently took 18+ months for the doctors to get his medications right. He said it was a real struggle. I told him more about what was going on with me and we discussed Pete's daughter Maggie a bit. I found it interesting how after knowing each other for 12 hours we could be so open with rather heavy emotional topics. Must be that part of that Midwestern upbringing.

We left around 9:30 and started just walking the streets; the UN, Grand Central Station, NYC Library, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral (I lit a candle for Mom, Mary, Brad, John W., Karen, Rick in Houston and all the other PC survivors). We missed Mass. The place was gigantic, yet beautiful, so much stained glass! We walked through Central Park and found our way to an enormous Whole Foods Market under the Columbus traffic circle.

We ate sushi and then continued our walking tour until about 2:30. We got cleaned up and caught a cab at 4:00pm to avoid some of the traffic issues at rush hour. A little more than 14 hours until touch down in London, the anticipation is mounting.

latitude 64

We played 54 holes today, we must have walked 56 Kilometers...or whatever......
We were able to play until 10pm again. The directions we printed are not very good and/or the Swede's just don't know their way around their own city?

This second course is carved out of the woods, there were no other players there, none! There were people in the park itself, but they were campers, swimmers etc. It was very beautiful, again, many pictures to follow. Joe kicked our tails shooting a 50 on one round.

We stayed up way to late, had a few beers, ate a great meal, it's off to the Open tomorrow after playing 36 more!!

The list grows.......

It's been a week, I know. But after the ups and downs of the holidays and the early part of this month, I simply don't feel that there is a lot to share.

Time is flying though! It's been three weeks since my scans and my next blood test is in a week. I still feel great and continue to work out 4 to 5 times a week. My back has been much better over the last few weeks as well.

There continues to be conflicting stories on PSA tests. The most current is in regards to whether PSA tests help prevent or predict the onset of PC. Yet earlier this week, I read a story that the number of advanced PC cases per 100K had dropped from over 20 to around 7 in 2002. Here is a great source for breaking news: PC NEWS (look for the articles on Joe Thiesman and the one on hot peppers - ironically, I can't satisfy my craving for spicy foods!)

Winter returned to KC today after a particularly balmy beginning of the year. We are expecting freezing rain and snow tonight but highs in the upper 40's tomorrow, and yes, we will be teeing off as usual at 7:30 tomorrow morning!
Next week will mark the point where I cross over a new age marker (not sure what else to call this?). I was 42 when I was diagnosed with PC and I will be 43 when I …… beat PC? Hey - it's my birthday, I can dream if I want to!!

Please add these folks to your prayers:
- John W. who begins Chemo next week
- Karen, a young neighbor of a friend who's blood cancer has been deteced but has to just "watch and wait" for what she and her family (and all of us!) hope is many, many years.
- Ken, the husband of a co-worker
- Nancy F.'s brother who also has PC
- The father of our neighbor, also has PC
…and to all the rest of those inflicted with cancer.
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The patron saint of those suffering with cancer is St. Peregrine;

Born wealthy (1260), he spent a worldly youth, and became involved in politics. Peregrine was initially strongly anti-Catholic. During a popular revolt, he struck the papal peace negotiator, Saint Philip Benizi, across the face. Saint Philip calmly turned the other cheek, prayed for the youth, and Peregine converted.
He received a vision of Our Lady who told him to go to Siena, Italy, and there to join the Servites. After training and ordination, they assigned him to his home town. He lived and worked, as much as possible, in complete silence, in solitude, and without sitting down for 30 years in an attempt to do penance for his early life. When he did speak, he was known as a fervant preacher, excellent orator, and gentle confessor. Founded a Servite house at Forli.
A victim of a spreading cancer in his foot, Peregrine was scheduled for an amputation. The night before the operation, he spent in prayer; that night received a vision of Christ who healed him with a touch. The next morning, Peregrine found his cancer completely healed.

A Prayer to St. Peregrine for Sick Relatives and Friends
O great St. Peregrine, you have been called "The Mighty", the "The Wonder Worker" because of the numerous miracles which you obtained from God for those who have turned to you in their need.
For so many years you bore in your own flesh this cancerous disease that destroys the very fiber of our being. You turned to God when the power of human beings could do no more, and you were favored with the vision of Jesus coming down from His cross to heal your affliction. I now ask God to heal these sick persons whom I entrust to you: (Here mention their names)
Aided by your powerful intercession, I shall sing with Mary a hymn of gratitude to God for His great goodness and mercy. Amen.

Time out for a bit of braggadocio....

I haven't written much about disc golf lately, probably because my game hasn't been worth chronicling! Yesterday morning was an ideal day for disc golf. Yes it was November 27th (Happy 74th Pops!) but the temperature at 7:30am was a balmy 58 degrees. I choose shorts, a tee shirt and a sweat shirt, the sweat shirt was gone by 8:15! The groups course of choice for fall/winter disc golf is a track that is literally cut through the woods. It provides ideal protection from the wind and the elements and provides visuals like a small white tailed deer that we have seen the last few weeks.

So, I slugged my way through the first nine holes and carded an unimpressive 6 over, 33. When I started the 10th hole by slamming my tee shot off one of several thousand oak trees, I thought the back nine would be reflective of the front. However, a great approach shot and a gimme putt and I carded a par. The next hole, #11, is the postcard hole. The tee box sticks out over a valley about 40 feet below. The basket lies about 300 feet ahead on the other side of the valley. The basket is closely guarded by a giant 100 foot oak and several hundred of it's smaller brethren. When my tee shot left my hand I knew it was a good one. It followed an untraceable path through the branches and planted itself ten feet beyond the hole. An easy putt and it was off to the next hole - things were changing! The next hole is much easier, uphill and most of the trees lie at the end of the shot, at the top of the hill. Again, when it left my hand I knew it was good. Due to the elevation change it is difficult to guess how close it landed, when we arrived we found it lying 6ft to the left of the basket. Three holes into the back nine and I'm -2!! #13 is my hole-in-one hole (see entry from mid February). The pin position yesterday made this another 300 foot hole, but it's all downhill requiring nothing more than a straight drive. Easier said than done! My drive floated about 80% of the way to the hole, hit a tree, rolled a little more, leaving me about a 30 foot downhill putt for bird. I jammed it in the basket! Walking to the 14th at -3 was a very, very good feeling, unbelievable! On 14 and 15 I made relatively routine pars, nothing spectacular. The 16th is perhaps the shortest hole on the course, perhaps 150 feet. However it's all uphill (perhaps 25 feet above the tee pad) and slopes severely right to left. Any tee shot that is the slightest bit to the left is usually a bogey at best. The basket was tucked in a position that put it tightly behind a small grove of trees. Any chance of birdie requires an ideally placed tee shot. Mine was anything but ideal. It reached the top of the hill but was at least 40 feet short. All that stood between my disc and the basket was the tangled grove of trees. I could have taken the safe route and just flicked it out to the right side and left myself a 12ft+ putt for par but I thought, what the heck! A quick flip of the wrist and the APX sliced through the trees, BAM! My forth birdie in seven holes! 17 was another routine par and I blew my putt on 18 carding my first bogey on the back, proving once again I was mortal! In the end a 24, three under par was good enough to win the day at 57 - three over! Thanks Pete, Joe and Rich for allowing me to gloat a little!