Levy Trail South

It is cloudy and muggier than two motherfuckers. They say it will rain about five feet tomorrow. I walked Levy Trail South in 33:19 this morning and came back in sweating for the first time this year.
Now I'm leaving for my third round of golf in three days. John and I plan to play Hindman Park.
John scored 91 and I scored 95, with nines of 47 and 48. I used 36 putts. I was delighted to watch John play the best golf of his life. Heck, man, I'm pretty sure his best round at War Memorial is 92. I, no kidding, saw John score a 149 at Hindman in late 2016.
On the other hand, I struggled most of the day, perhaps as a result of general fatigue. I'm not sure how I scored as low 95. The only good thing is that I played Nos. 9 and 18 in 4 and 5, respectively.

Levy Trail Loop/War Memorial Golf Course

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 31:22.
Ed and I played War Memorial Golf Course today. Ed scored 82 and I scored 84, with nines of 40 and 44. I had 1 birdie, 3 pars, 8 bogies, 5 doubles, 1 triple, and used 38 putts. My birdie, with an eight-iron on No. 4 from 123 yards, hit three feet in the front of the cup and stopped four inches away. It's my new closest to a hole-in-one.

Levy Trail 5K/War Memorial Golf Course

I walked the Levy Trail 5K this afternoon in 47:43 and went through one mile in 15:40 and three in 46:17. It's nearly perfect out. I think I'll golf for a couple of hours this evening.
I played War Memorial Golf Course this afternoon and evening. I took me two hours and 27 minutes to play a round in 82, with nines of 40 and 42. I had 5 pars, 8 bogies, and 5 doubles and used 33 putts. Now I'm watching a replay of the Reds-Cardinals game as Joe plays in the yard with his Siamese buddy.

Pam's Path/ Joe report

This morning's walk was reminiscent for me of eight-minute-a-mile jogs from c. 1976-1986, back when that felt like a pace I could maintain virtually forever. So, it was demonstrative of how far I have fallen. I walked Pam's Path in 1:06:55, with splits of 17:08, 16:58, 16:47 and 16:03.
Among Jo Sr.'s (as John Czarnecki refers to her) admirable traits were her ways of greeting me. When I came in from walks or trips away in my car, she would nearly always run from wherever she was to greet me. I'm not sure Joe Jr. will ever do that, but I did get him to run from the backyard by my making my universal pet-attracting verbal clicking sound after today's walk. He hesitated in my front yard but made it to the end of the driveway within a minute or so. We'll see how he progresses.

Levy Trail Loop/War Memorial Golf Course

I walked the Levy Trail Loop early this afternoon in 32:02.
John and I played War Memorial Golf Course late this afternoon and evening. I scored 85, with nines of 41 and 44, and John 100. I had 5 pars, 7 bogies, 4 doubles, and 2 triples, and used 30 putts. My streak of holes without a three-putt ended at 28. It's now at nine.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop early this afternoon in 33:15.

I PLAN TO STAB...
...the next person who says boom, unless they're referring to an explosion or collision or the like. Please, give this motherfucker a rest

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South at lunchtime today in 34:00.

War Memorial Golf Course/Lakewood Lake No. 3

Four other Geezers and I walked from Lakewood Lake No. 3 this morning for 1:34:40.
Yesterday afternoon and evening, John Czarnecki and I played War Memorial Park Golf Course. I scored 89 and John 94. I had nines of 48 and 41 and used 33 putts. It was my first round in a while without at least one three-putt. I'm on a streak of 26 holes without one. My longest is 47, from, I think, 1997. I don't see that record falling.

Levy Trail

I walked and jogged three miles on the Levy Trail at lunchtime today in 42:18.

Oaklawn Park

HOT SPRINGS—I walked for 34:07 beginning at about 8 o'clock tonight from the Oaklawn Park parking lot after I covered the Rainbow and Rainbow Miss Stakes for the paper.
I left Joe outside all day today. He seemed delighted when I returned. I was pleased to see how well he passed his sternest indoor-outdoor-cat test yet. Two weeks and two days in, I love him dearly already, this cat Joe. You should see him.

Pam's Path

I alternated one-minute runs with four-minute walks to complete Pam's Path this morning in 54:46, with intervals of 14:14, 13:45, 13:32, and 13:15.
On the cat front, Joe left our house in escape-like fashion today for the first time. I opened the kitchen door to adjust my TV antenna and, boom, he dashed out as if he were getting away with something. That's a big step for him, and it pleased me quite a bit. Also, another thing, he has developed a relationship with the feral Siamese cat I recently wrote about here. They seem to get along, sort of like Pam and Chris did. Unlike Jo, I think Joe might not mind if I were to adopt a step-brother or sister for him.
And one more thing. Joe, unlike every other cat who's lived with me (Pam Sr., Pam, Samantha, Jo, and Ruth) has consistently put up a significant fuss very early in the morning. This son of a bitch seems to get a big kick out of curling up around my face and purring louder than two motherfuckers at 5 a.m.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop late this afternoon in 33:09. I wore blue jeans and a sweatshirt and five minutes after I started, it began to rain harder than two motherfuckers. It kind of made me feel as if I looked like an idiot, with water dripping off the brim of my Adidas hat onto soggy clothes as I walked through rush hour.

Levy Trail Loop/War Memorial Golf Course

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 28:56.
This morning and early afternoon, John, Ed, and I played War Memorial Golf Course. I scored 79, Ed 85, and John 91. I had nines of 41 and 38, with 1 birdie, 6 pars, 7 bogies, 3 doubles, and 1 triple. I used 36 putts. It was my third time under 80 on this course since I came out of golf retirement and my first since Nov. 1, 2017.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
Has anyone other than I (or, perhaps, everyone including I) ever noticed that only bums—complete, utter bottom-of-the-barrel bums—wear their hoods up in comfortable weather?

OVERHEARD
"Ed said, 'Tiger Woods couldn't have hit that shot any better.' "
—John to Pete after Pete hit a 60° wedge from thirty yards to four feet after a terribly pulled tee shot on the Par 3 No. 16. Pete missed the putt

Levy Trail

Seven other Geezers and I walked for 1:03:14 on the Levy Trail this morning.

Lakewood Lake No. 2

Three other Geezers and I walked for a little over fifty minutes this morning around Lakewood Lake No. 2.

Levy Trail North

I walked Levy Trail North this morning in 32:08.

Oaklawn

HOT SPRINGS—I walked around the inside of Oaklawn's facility this morning, to stay out of a literal mid-American typhoon, for 39:11. Today is the Arkansas Derby, so, with the new schedule, there are three weeks left in the season. Through 11 weeks, my original $40 voucher has dwindled to $22.

OVERHEARD
"Somebody needs to kick Cody in the balls."
—one Oaklawn employee to another on the second floor of the grandstands before the track opened on Arkansas Derby Day

Levy Trail South

I alternated two-minute jogs with three-minute walks to complete Levy Trail South tonight in 28:04. I arrived home from Oaklawn Park at about 10 p.m. It wasn't until 10:30 or so that I remembered I had failed to walk or run at least two miles today. Fuck.
It was nice to have a cat to return to. Joe didn't exactly run to the door, but he did sit a few feet inside it as I opened the door. He's a little sick, sneezing and such as if he has a cold. Dr. Weiner thinks he has a viral infection.
I covered the Fantasy Stakes, the filly version of the Arkansas Derby this afternoon. I think I wrote a pretty good paragraph. At least I think. Let's see.

PARAGRAPH OF THE DAY

Santana, Jr., had Lady Apple on the rail, subtly removed from the contest to his filly’s right side, and she moved slowly enough relative to the frontrunners that her gradual advance went unnoticed by most.

Having read that, perhaps it is better understood with the proceeding graphs of narrative and quotes.

Lady Apple, still in third, was within two lengths at the head of the stretch, but the finish appeared shaped to resolve the stretch-run battle between Motion Emotion and Brill, trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer.

“We had a great trip, honestly,” Geroux said. “We broke right off the pace, and for a minute in the stretch, I thought we would win it, but there were three very good horses in that race.”

“I thought the big difference was when Brill kind of pushed us around the turn,” Van Berg said. “I wish they could’ve both taken a little longer to take a little breather. I think they would’ve both finished stronger, but [Smith] slowed him down between the quarter and the half. He did what he was supposed to do.”

Santana, Jr., had Lady Apple on the rail, subtly removed from the contest to his filly’s right side, and she moved slowly enough relative to the frontrunners that her gradual advance went unnoticed by most.

Levy Trail 5K/Pam's Path

I walked the Levy Trail 5K yesterday morning in a little under forty-eight minutes. Late this afternoon, I walked Pam's Path in 59:46, with two-mile splits of 30:28 and 29:18.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:52.

Lakewood Lake No. 2

Four other Geezers and I walked for 1:29:59 around and near Lakewood Lake No. 2 this morning.
Joe was still asleep when I got up at 6:30 this morning. Hufuckingrray. He chased my chip shots all over the front yard this afternoon. Later, he went out on his own and hung out a bit with a feral Siamese who has named my and dead Tom's yards home over the last week or so. They seem to at least not mind each other. Joe has, at times, displayed world-class potential. We'll see.

Levy Trail 5K

Joe's gonna take some training. He woke me up at 4:30 a.m. today, so I spent a good part of the morning, afternoon, and evening getting him used to outdoors, which I don't think he had experienced before. He was out for about thirty minutes before I walked this evening. I left him out as I walked the Levy Trail 5K in 49:09 and went through three miles in 47:38. When I got back, he was hiding behind my washing machine. This could take a while, but I hope that before long I can put him out if he wakes me up considerably before fucking daybreak.

Pam's Path

Joe let me sleep until 7:30 this morning, and he is now eating like a regular cat. After I gave him some of that homemade sardine-salmon stuff, I alternated four-minute walks with one-minute jogs to complete Pam's Path in 58:34.

War Memorial Golf Course/Levy Trail South

John Czarnecki and I played War Memorial Golf Course this morning and early afternoon. I scored 86 and John 106. I had nines of 46 and 40, with 4 pars, 6 bogies, and 8 doubles, and I used 34 putts.
Early this evening, I walked Levy Trail South in 34:55.
By the way, I adopted a cat yesterday from Little Rock Animal Village, which is off the final street you take to drive into First Tee. He's a seven-month-old tabby, a textbook gray tiger. He seems absolutely crazy about me. I think he's wonderful,* but he didn't eat a thing yesterday. Nothing. I bought three different bags of cat food, and he wouldn't touch any of it. I had some canned cat food left over from Jo, but he wouldn't eat that either. Finally, this morning, I got him to eat a few slivers of canned sardines. After golf, I made him a sardine-canned salmon version of the stuff I fed Pam for a while, with rice, green beans, and carrots, but heavier on fish, and he got into it pretty good. A little later, he made a minor dent in some dry stuff, so I'm not quite as worried as I sit here with him watching the Red most likely lose another close game.
I was going to name him Chuck after the Chuck Pet Smart screwed over thirteen years ago, but I spent all day yesterday calling him Jo. Before I went to bed, I decided, fuck it, I'll just call him Joe.
*Joe meows a bit too much, like every time I leave a room he's in. He slept with me last night, but I woke up at 4:45 with him curled up on the pillow against my face, purring like two motherfuckers. I believe those are minor flaws he can work on. Furthermore, he's gone back to the dry food bowl a couple of more times tonight, so I'm relieved

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this evening in 33:24.

Levy Trail 5K

I walked the Levy Trail 5K this morning in 48:45, with a three-mile split of 47:18.
The fucking North Little Rock cat pound in Burns Park has lost any shot of me as a customer. Listen to this insanity: They have a new policy that prevents cat shoppers from opening the cages they keep their cats in. Simple as that. You have to make up your mind on adoption based on the feedback you get through the cage. The head honcho woman told me it was established to prevent the spread of potential illnesses between cats.
"If one throws up, they all throw up," she said.
I told her there was no way I would adopt a cat I could not hold and who did not pass the lap test. It's too bad because they had three really cute boys in there.

OVERHEARD
"My sister died of that six months ago."
—Seventy-year-old woman in line at the Kroger pharmacy after an older, somewhat frail woman in front told her she had COPD. Neither the older woman nor I could fucking believe the response

Pam's Path

I walked Pam's Path at lunchtime today, with splits of 16:34, 32:34 for the middle two miles, and 15:34.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 33:40.