Off to the beach. Back in a few.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
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I couldn't possibly write this post without mentioning the other outdated tradition at our club: the men's card room.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.
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.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Update
I have my raisins soaking in gin...in a mason jar. Now a gin jar. I feel like I should hang out in a juke joint with my gin jar. And Miss Celie, of course.
Honestly? The raisins don't look very appetizing. I think it's the color. It's off-putting.
I wonder...do you continue soaking the raisins after the two weeks are up? Or do you pour any remaining liquid off after two weeks? If so, where do you pour it? Certainly not down the drain. Into a glass over ice, I presume.
Perhaps the tennis pro was right. The path of least resistance may very well have been jello shots.
Honestly? The raisins don't look very appetizing. I think it's the color. It's off-putting.
I wonder...do you continue soaking the raisins after the two weeks are up? Or do you pour any remaining liquid off after two weeks? If so, where do you pour it? Certainly not down the drain. Into a glass over ice, I presume.
Perhaps the tennis pro was right. The path of least resistance may very well have been jello shots.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Somebody's Gotta Do It
I've been spending a lot of time getting high lately...on a ladder, that is. It's the dreaded paint-the-house-syndrome and it started in the kitchen. Now it's spread to the adjacent family room and it's killing me. Painting is the kind of hard work I thought I was immune to. Apparently not. I've spent the past several days taping, spackling, sanding, painting, caulking, screaming, cussing, aggravated and exhausted. Oh, and sore. When I get up in the mornings, everything hurts. You may not believe this, but I'm not as young as I once was. The old joints and muscles moan and groan in protest, but still, I soldier on. I have to. The place is an absolute mess. The kitchen table is paint and tool central. We haven't had a sit-down meal in days. Every night for dinner we stand around our island like it's happy hour at our favorite bar and all the seats are taken...Ron and PhillyTwo in their nice work clothes and me in my not-so-nice "work clothes" with the added bonus of paint splatters up and down my arms and all over my hands. "Could you pass me a chicken wing and a napkin?" "Who needs another beer?" While I really hate this kind of work, it just makes sense that I should be the one to paint, since I'm the one who has the time to do it. The only thing that makes the work tolerable, though, is the music. I keep the t.v. tuned to the soft rock station and I can sing along to just about every song they play. Like PhillyTwo says, music makes everything better.
As for my aching joints, I may have found a "cure" for that, too. The other day at tennis, a lady told us about a home remedy to ease joint pain. You soak golden or white raisins in GIN for at least two weeks and after that, you eat 9 each day, apparently for the rest of your life. Anyhoo, your joint pain supposedly disappears. The tennis pro suggested that a daily jello shot would work just as well, but I don't think so. I think the GIN turns the plain ol' raisins into MAGIC raisins and I'm going for it. How can you not love the idea of GIN-soaked raisins as a cure for anything? I especially love the number 9. It's karmic for me. I was born on the 9th day of the 9th month and somebody tells me to eat 9 GIN-soaked raisins everyday? Oh, hell yes.
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