Baby Steps

Ron and I belong to Green Meadow Country Club, which is actually located in Alcoa, but is only about fifteen minutes from our house in West Knoxville. Just having the title  "country club" brings things to mind that don't necessarily apply to our little club. Sure, we have a very nice golf course, and yes, we have a super-nice tennis facility, a top-notch swimming pool and a comfortable clubhouse. Still, we've always referred to Green Meadow as the working man's country club, because compared to some of the other country clubs in the Knoxville area, ours is...well...affordable. The club was established in 1925, in the south, so there are a few things that fall within the long-established traditions of the club that have never been challenged. And that's about to change. One of the big yearly events, the member-member golf tournament, takes place this week-end and unless the "establishment" is willing to put aside its tradition of having only men compete in the tournament, the shit's gonna hit the fan. Two women have signed up to compete this year and as of this morning (Friday), the board has not voted on whether or not to allow them to do so.** Keep in mind, the two-day tournament starts tomorrow. This is a tough one for the good ol' boys to swallow. There are two major issues at hand:
1. Will the women be allowed to play in the member-member golf tourney, heretofore exclusively a male only event?
2. Which tees will they have to play from?
Many of the members (men, of course) are arguing that if they allow the women to compete, they must play from the white tees, just like the men do. They justify this by pointing out that the seniors cannot play from their gold tees in this competition; therefore the women shouldn't get to play from their red tees. I actually agree with their position on this. Yes, by all means the women should be able to play in the member-member, absolutely. It's 2010 people. Loosen up. I do agree, though, the women should have to play on a par with the men, so to speak...from the whites. Then, when they beat the men, there will be no crying foul.
But, we'll see.

I couldn't possibly write this post without mentioning the other outdated tradition at our club: the men's card room. No women are allowed. That's a killer for me. They're in there playing my game - poker - and I'm not allowed to join. My money's no good.

They have a justification for that silly rule, too. When the men spend countless hours playing cards at the club, their wives don't have to worry that there are any shenanigans going on...well, other than the smoking, the drinking and the gambling. The wives are secure in the knowledge that no loose women are rubbing all over their husbands, which would then lead straight to debauchery. They figured all this out way back when Calvin Coolidge was President, F. Scott Fitzgerald was publishing his Great Gatsby, the Ziegfeld Follies were the darlings of Broadway, and other than poker, Prohibition was the name of the game. Does that mean they weren't drinking in the men's card room? Yeah, riiiiight.

**Oops! The member-member tournament isn't until June. So, that explains why they haven't rushed to make a decision. I stand by the rest of the story...until I get another call, that is.