Unskilled Labor: Yes... there are some very nice folks

Adam

Adam is the night waterer and all around helper. He is quiet, and kind hearted. He is funny, and when he gets rolling out there on the course he does a very good job. He has a little dog named Milo who bites... (he does not bite David anymore) but he took a good chunk off of David's finger the first time David went to pet him.

Adam likes the animals we try to get him to er... eradicate. Moles, gophers, nutria. Well, he might not like those critters but he does like the squirrels and the skunks. The deal David made with him about those other animals is this: if he can trap and get rid of them... then that is all that needs to happen. No firearms will be needed. Adam had a little squirrel friend up near the 5th tee box on the hill that he would leave nuts out for... and he would get very concerned whenever Delta was up there. I have not heard nor seen signs of the squirrel so it might have left the territory. I don't think it is one of the squirrels she ate. His friend are a handful of nice fellows who work at a few different homes for children who have mental and behavioral problems. They come to visit him once in awhile for cookouts and golf.

Wyatt and Marla.
At Thanksgiving time Wyatt and Marla made us each a plate from their church's Thanksgiving Day Service feast and brought it by for us after closing. Wyatt has been more helpful than I could ever explain here. He knows the history of the machinery and what needs to be done to keep them maintained and has been a very good resource for David. I don't have a photo of them yet.

Mike and Cindy.

This is actually just Mike.

I have not caught Mike and Cindy together yet while I have my camera on hand. Gotta work on that. Their family has been around this area a long time. They have been coming more and more as Cindy is getting into golfing and Mike is taking full advantage of her enjoyment of her new hobby. On the 4th of July Mike and Cindy brought some chicken for David and I. They were at a local catholic church BBQ and thoughtfully picked up a chicken for us and brought it here to the course since we were unable to leave. Cindy had family members who lived here when this was a horse ranch.

Gayle's Group

Gayle, Don, Lowell, and Bob with his back to camera

Gayle- Former tree topper for the electric company and currently has a Christmas Tree Farm. He and his wife love antiques. He also is a terrible tease. He loves the back and forth though and he is the star of his group. They all particularly love it when David returns the teasing... and they really get to laughing if I give him a hard time as well. He calls me 'Hon'. Gayle was very ill this last winter and all his friends were so worried they checked on him frequently and would argue about his medical updates because each one of them thought they had the 'in' and that they had the most recent information. He is better now and back to his old tricks. When I went home for a visit to see my family he brought a plate of food for David one night around closing time because he knew David was "bachin' it". He is married to a red head who he calls 'the boss' and frequently mentions her temper. He was late once coming back home after golf and she was waiting for him because she had planned on going shopping. She called the course looking for him... and he was right about her being feisty.

Don- Don absolutely loves dogs. Probably all animals but he would follow Delta around trying to pet her when we first got here until she would hide from him. She finally got used to him though and he just is beside himself when she approaches him on her own now. He is a good foil for Gayle because Gayle is a relentless teaser.

Bob- Makes customized birdhouses and enjoys his woodwork and his garden. David decided to 'hazard off' an area on the course and asked Bob if he had some scraps to make the posts. Bob brought out the nicest darn hazard stakes you have ever seen, cut to exact specifications and nicely painted... he also has been bringing me some extra zucchini and cucumbers from his garden. As well as cucumbers, cucumbers, and more cucumbers. I have not had the heart to tell him 'no mas' on the cucumbers so I was glad to hear it when he said the last bag was probably the end of the season.

David, Lowell, Bob, and Von

Lowell- His wife was a caretaker for an elderly woman. The elderly woman had a daughter who was also very ill. The elderly woman passed away and then so did Lowell's wife. Now even though both of the elder ladies are gone, Lowell keeps an eye on the daughter even though they are not related in any way. He maintains her yard, and brings her meals, and takes her to appointments, and has social service workers/ legal assistance people on line to help her out if needed. Again, this woman is no relation to him, he just helps her because of his wife's acquaintance to her mother, and out of his own kindness. Oh... and he has a fantastic laugh, the kind that makes you turn your head when you hear it across the room to see who is making all that racket.

Von- Von brings us eggs from his daughter's chickens and he golfs with a group of fellows that includes our oldest golfer. We have two regular 90+ year old golfers. The one who golfs with Von is named Al. We all call him 'Big Al' even though he seems to get smaller each time I see him. Al is 94 this year I think.. or 95. Last summer he golfed 3 days a week, walking the 9 holes. While he might drive his big pickup around he said he won't use a golf cart. When he has to use a golf cart he said... he will stop golfing. Then Big Al started just golfing 2 days a week. However, this last winter was a long one for him. When the spring golfers were starting to return no one had yet heard from Al. The other fellows did not report seeing him in the obituaries so Von did a little detective work and found him and invited him back out. Al started back this summer at one day a week but after coming out a couple times we have not seen him again all summer. I think his golfing days are done.

Our other 90+ year old is Virgil.
Virgil is 93.

Anyway.. Virgil served with Patton in North Africa. and was taken prisoner at one point by the Germans. Sounds like a story right out of a movie doesn't it?

Virgil and his wife Marie

Virgil's parents had a golf course back in the day so he is a loooong time golfer. He has also been actively involved in his church throughout his life. He was a pastor for many years and I think along with baking in the army he might have done some chaplain work as well. He does use a golf cart but he also beats most of his opponents 75% to 80% of the time. He frequently golfs with the local pastor of the one church here in town (Pastor Kent) and they come out at least once a week.

Don and Del- Don and Del went to high school together and were great friends... and then they married sisters so they became brothers-in-law. They are much older now and Del suffers from I believe Parkinson's disease. They have been golfing partners for many many years. During the later parts of the winter and through this nasty spring if the weather was not too bad Don would bring Del out to golf at one of the earliest times possible because they were rather slow golfers. Del was having more and more difficulty getting around. One of the last times they were out together Del fell and Don had to help him back into the cart. Del is no longer golfing, but just out of fate one day Don happened to be here alone when another single golfer was here. They decided to join up and had such a good time they have become regular golfing partners.

Wade

Wade is our big red-headed peace-nick hippy viking that we just love. He is so friendly and just has the best time wherever he goes. You can hear him talking halfway across the course. Years ago he lived in a neighborhood where one of his neighbors had a son named Steve who had some developmental challenges. Wade became friends with the family and even though he moved away from the area maintained a relationship with the boy... now a young man... and will go and take the young fellow on outings that he enjoys.

Last summer he brought him probably once a month or so here to the golf course and treated him to a day of golf. He has not been back yet this year with Wade, but Wade moved farther away from us and closer to his work. Getting here is much more work for Wade... but he still comes and we are very glad to have him. He calls David brother... and me sister.. or Mama... or sister bear... or sister mama.

Mike and Llyssa and Chuck and Tracey.

Two couples that have become friends and we are always glad to see them coming.

Mike and Llyssa practically lived here at the peak of summer...

Mike

Llyssa

Chuck and Tracey actually do.. sorta. We always love to see them coming... and we feel like they have our backs whenever they are here on the course.

One time Mike and Llyssa happened to come in the door when David did not realize they were already inside and he came out of the office all excited asking, "are the kids here yet?!"

Mike was so embarrassed, "Oh my God! Do you guys call us 'the kids' when we are not around?"

(I think he actually liked it though.)

Dale

Dale, Mark, and Steve

Retired Air Force Flight Engineer, bare back bronc rodeo rider. I hope I have his Air Force profession correct. Very involved in Veteran's Affairs and encourages other veterans to be so as well. A Cowboy. He has become a real regular this summer. He played last year but nothing like this year. We see him at least once a week... usually much more. Dale is always willing to lend a hand with anything going on at the course and just an all around good man. He was pleased as punch the other day when for the first time.. he played with the same ball all the way through the course. When he got his first birdie we taped it up next to the course record scorecard on the wall. His wife sometimes joins him, and his friend Steve and his wife will sometimes make a foursome. He is another person who literally has our back... we had a problem with 6 golfers once and he and Max came along to help David (who was alone with the guys on the course) escort the men off the course. Personally I think he and Max were just itching for one of the fellows to say something ill-advised. He said, "sometimes.. talkin' just don't seem to work."

Max

Max and David

Cowboy, Pro Bull rider, Pro Bull Grower (Rancher I suppose they would be called. His family raised big mean bastard bulls that are ridden in pro rodeos. Those bulls can be as famous as some of the riders I guess) and now he is the head honcho engineer kinda guy for some kinda big construction pipe pump water city county state stuff. I dunno what his title is obviously. He has helped David numerous times with questions/problems with machinery on the course. He simply will not take a dime for his help and frequently 'finds' money that someone must have left as a tip for me that fell off onto the floor... so I better just take it he says and he leaves it on my counter, or under my phone, and walks out the door. He is also a good man. He golfs occasionally with his mother but most of the time comes out alone and will join up with someone.. or not. Mostly he golfs alone. He just has a great time though and loves to visit with David and has been a great friend to us. As mentioned above, he was playing with Dale out on the course when David was having trouble with those six golfers. I left the clubhouse, went and found them, and the three of us helped David with the escort. Again... I think he was just waiting for one.... wrong..... word.

"Harvey's Group"

Harvey, Carl, John, Ron, Elmer (Pete), Dick, Elmer

This group can be as many as 8 men. There are a few that sometimes join in that were not here the day we took the picture. They play three times a week, all year. Rain, snow, hail, tornado... it does not matter. The ONLY time they did not play is one time on one of their days this last winter the creek had crested and flooded up around both sides of the covered bridge... knee deep kinda flooding and we closed for the day. Had we let them out though... they would have played it. These men all know each other or each other's family members from grade school/high school. They grew up here, went away to their different travels in life, and now have come back for their retirement years.... and now play golf together every week.

Gary

David and Gary.

Gary is a concrete man. Very hard worker and he and his whole family are car folks. He has several pretty nice rides including this corvette here, and a bright yellow El Camino / Ranchero (not sure which). His wife has a gorgeous candy apple red convertible VW Bug she drove out once. He has been around a long time and has taken a liking to us and how we have improved the course. He has several daughters and once I heard him say that he has several son-in-laws and they are just as good as sons to him... and I thought it was a very nice thing for him to say (and for him to be able to say). He frequently golfs with his son-in-laws as well as the many many friends he has locally.

Dick-

Dick has been playing here for 30 years... he is not the oldest golfer but he has been around here the longest. He also LOOOOOVES Delta. I think he is in his early 80's which you would never guess. He comes in and gets right down on the ground and lays by her and talks sweet and pets her. Very nice man, and he is so very happy for David and I and the path we are on.

There really have been so many nice folks we have met here. The stories I tell seem to cover the folks we have a hard time with so I wanted to be sure to give props to some of the many folks who deserve it and who we enjoy. Some more random folks: