War Memorial Golf Course

John Czarnecki and I played War Memorial Golf Course this morning. We started at 7:30 a.m. and managed to play ten holes in an hour and a half before a tournament started at 9 a.m. We played Nos. 1 and 2 and 7-14. We were in such a hurry that John didn't keep score. I scored 46, or +10, with 3 pars, 4 bogies, and 3 doubles. I used 18 putts.
I have now played 36 consecutive holes without a triple bogie. I don't know what my best streak is for that kind of run.

Levy Trail 5K

I walked the Levy Trail 5K in 49:57 and went through three miles in 48:24, with splits of 16:25, 16:03, and 15:56. It's much cooler today than it's been. At 10:57 a.m., it's 70°F and drier than Joe's sense of humor.

Levy/War Memorial Golf Course/Joe report

I walked around the southern portion of Levy this morning for 36:14.
This afternoon, John Czarnecki and I played War Memorial Golf Course. My ribs felt fine. I scored 80, with nines of 41 and 39, and John 91. I had 2 birdies (on Nos. 10 and 16), 3 pars, 8 bogies, 5 doubles, and used 30 putts.
For the second time this year, I nearly had a hole in one. My 9-iron tee shot on No. 9 landed in the front fringe and rolled by the pin, inches from the hole. John and I both thought it was going in.
It appears Joe has decided on a nocturnal lifestyle. He has spent two of the last three nights outside. We'll see what happens tonight, but he's out now and completely wired (at 9:20 p.m.). I guess it's OK. I like the ol' cat between my knees when I sleep, but in truth, it's probably safer for a cat to be outside all night rather than outside all day. Plus, it's kind of fun to open up the door at 6-8 a.m. and watch Joe come running in all hungrier than two motherfuckers.
Joe acts as if he loves me just as much as Pam and Jo did, but he's a way different cat. I do occasionally have to remind him that he's no more than a fifteen-minute drive away from the dog pound where I bought him, but that has in no way deterred him from climbing into my bookshelves and tossing books onto the rug. Climbing onto my desk and swatting mugs full of pens and bookmarks onto the hardwood floors. Godamn laughing and pitching ashtrays and marbles all over the fucking bathroom. This relatively beautiful black-and-gray tabby shredded an entire roll of toilet paper in my bathtub. He likes to jump from a table in my back bedroom into the closet and attempt to climb clothes to a shelf six feet off the floor. Motherfucker has twice climbed to the top of my backdoor screen and screamed for someone to rescue him.
To summarize, I  love Joe completely.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South this afternoon in 32:49.
By the way, thank you to everyone for their Bart Starr tributes.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop late this afternoon in 32:38. My ribs are only a bit sore. Obviously, they were not broken. It's amazing, really, how much better they feel today than yesterday. I can almost swing a golf club. I have eaten a fantastically antiinflammatory diet since Wednesday morning and hope to keep it up for at least the next goddamn forty years.
You know what, it just occurred to me that Jo would have turned 12 yesterday. Man, I miss her.
By the way, Bart Starr died yesterday. He was 85. I saw lots of nice tributes to him, including a couple on Facebook.
Here's a play-by-play of the Ice Bowl. If you fast forward to exactly 50 minutes, you can watch the final drive, which is the most heralded in football history. It ended with Green Bay's third consecutive NFL championship. No other team has won three in a row:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGjg7j-qTvw

Levy Trail South

My ribs felt much better as I walked Levy Trail South late this morning in 33:47. Perhaps they are merely bruised.
When I walked in, a woman named Chevel Shepherd was about halfway through singing God Bless America from the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I'm here to tell you, I can't wait until someone posts it on Utube. Her voice was a hair froggy but otherwise lovely, and I think the frogginess might have added to the quality of what I thought was the most patriotic sounding patriotic song I have ever heard, and I am not one to get all goose-bumpy over god bless America (unless, you know, someone uses it very expertly as part of their criticism of something). By the way, I looked Miss Chevel up. She won one of those six-month televised singing tournaments. I watched her winning song and there was nothing froggy about it. I guess she tied one on last night.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South late this morning in 35:33.
Before daybreak, Wednesday, I fell and landed right-ribcage first on a large boulder in my den. It hurt, of course, but by Thursday, the pain was so severe I feared organ damage. Long story short, Dr. Bill tells me I likely have at least a couple hairline rib fractures. Perhaps mere contusions (I hope). I exercised for the first time since the fall when I walked the Levy Trail a couple of hours ago. My ribs hurt, but just a bit. My objective is to do all I can to avoid pain, which I have known as the only rib-injury treatment since a fall while fishing at Camp Clearfork in 2002. That one took about two months to get completely over.
Golf is, for the time being, completely out of the question. We'll see how I progress.

Pam's Path

I walked Pam's Path this afternoon in 1:06:36.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 32:25.
I, no shit, just spent an hour and forty-five minutes working on chip shots, combining advice given me from a book by Harvey Pinick (don't hit consecutive chips, but rather chip and then putt) and a video by Dave Pelz (place the ball in line with the right heel). I need more work, but I think I'm moving in the right direction.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 33:11.

Camp Robinson

I walked to Camp Robinson and back on the Levy Trail late this morning in 1:27:24.

OVERHEARD
"Guys, could you turn your fucking tone off? Jesus Christ."
—Rory McIlroy, PGA Tour junior ambassador, to a cell phone bastard from the No. 16 tee box at Bethpage State Park Black course

DO NOT HOLD BACK BET EVERYTHING YOU HAVE NO KIDDING BORROW AS MUCH AS ANYONE WILL GIVE YOU LOCK OF TWO MOTHERFUCKERS' LIFETIMES AND SHIT PREAKNESS STAKES CINCH

Bet a cold $10 exacta with Owendale (No. 5) over Alwaysmining (No. 7). Hedge with a $2 exacta with Alwaysmining over Owendale. The former should pay something like $900 and the latter right around $90.

Results: Owendale finished third and Alwaysmining tenth in the Preakness field of thirteen.

Pam's Path

I walked Pam's Path this morning in 1:08:34. I'm not sure whether or not this is a record, but it took exactly fourteen minutes for spring to turn to summer in Levy. Overnight, it's hotter than two motherfuckers here.

OVERHEARD
"Brooks Koepka is doing a Secretariat."
—golf teacher and pgatour.com analyst Michael Breed after Koepka sunk a long birdie putt to go to 12-under par on No. 16 on Day 2 of the PGA Championship. It was a world-class analogy, considering the proximity of Bethpage State Park Golf Courses and Belmont Park Race Track, where Secretariat did this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V18ui3Rtjz4

Levy Trail South/War Memorial Golf Course

I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 33:14.
A bit later, John Czarnecki and I played War Memorial Golf Course. John scored 93 and I scored 96. It was by far my worst round in months. I had nines of 48 and 48 and used 35 putts. I think I had one par. I know I never once hit a drive worth a darn.

Levy Trail South/Joe report

I alternated one-minute jogs with four-minute walks to complete Levy Trail South this evening in 33:14.
My goal is to get to sleep early so as not to miss Tiger's and Pete's PGA Championship tee times tomorrow morning.
It is amazing how much Joe has grown in the six weeks since I brought him home. I haven't weighed him, but I believe he is already the largest cat who's lived with me. He doesn't look like a kitten anymore.

Pam's Path

I forgot to record that I walked Pam's Path late this morning in 1:04:53. Today was a big landscaping day at my place on Orange Street. No kidding, drive to Fort Worth and you can see the pile of branches piled up at the edges of my yard and the street.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:25.

Hash/War Memorial Golf Course

I was out for 1:18:28 this afternoon on a long fucking Little Rock Hash run from a bar on Main Street.
Afterward, I played the back nine at War Memorial Golf Course with a friendly young fellow named Jeff Grimes. I'm not sure what Jeff scored, but I had a 40, with 3 pars, 5 bogies, and 1 triple. I used 15 putts.
We received tragic though not completely unexpected news Friday. The new Little Rock mayor plans to close War Memorial and Hindman Golf Courses at the end of June. The only the good thing is, I checked at Burns Park this morning to learn they have a deal for seniors that lets us play unlimited rounds on each of its two courses for $400 a year, so I guess we'll be OK. Nevertheless, if the asswad in Little Rock gets his way, I'm gonna really, really miss those two courses.

Pam's Path

I walked Pam's Path late this afternoon in 1:04:41. It's cold here. No shit, my heater has been on since late yesterday afternoon.

Levy Trail South/Levy Trail South/War Memorial Golf Course

I walked Levy Trail South late Thursday afternoon in 32:15.
This morning, I walked Levy Trail South in 30:43. Afterward, beginning at 9:30, John Czarnecki and I played War Memorial Golf Course. I scored 85 and John 93. I had nines of 41 and 44, with 2 pars, 13 bogies, 1 double, and 2 triples. I used 36 putts.

Pam's Path

I walked Pam's Path tonight in 1:04:54. The south side of Levy is nearly flooded. It rained harder than two motherfuckers most of the day.

Levy Trail North

I walked Levy Trail North this evening in 33:24.

Levy Trail South/War Memorial Golf Course

I walked the Levy Trail South this morning in 32:31.
Beginning at lunchtime today, John Czarnecki, Ed Pennington, and I played a round of golf at War Memorial Golf Course. Ed scored 83. I scored 90 and John 94. I had nines of 46 and 44 and used 31 putts. I didn't hit almost any full shots worth a shit. My legs were and are shot, I'm guessing from the eight miles I walked yesterday.

Oaklawn Park/Oaklawn Park/Pam's Path-Poplar Street Loop/War Memorial Golf Course/Levy Trail South

I walked Pam's Path and the Poplar Street Loop late this morning in 1:40:17, which puts me within two miles of twenty for the week.
Beginning at about 6:30 p.m., I played nine holes at War Memorial Golf Course with John. We played Holes 7-14 and 18, which have a total par of 33, one more than the front and back nines. I scored a 43, with 2 pars, 5 bogies, 1 double, and 1 triple, and used 18 putts.
Shortly afterward, I walked Levy Trail South in 34:03.to keep my streak alive
I walked a little over two miles after I turned in stories at Oaklawn Park on Friday and Saturday night.
I lost one $10 bet on the Kentucky Derby to finish the Oaklawn season down $32. It was my first losing season since 2016.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 30:46 and will leave for Oaklawn Park in fifteen minutes. I have to write four goddamn stories today. I hope to find time to walk at least two more miles today. Otherwise, I will have to walk ten over the weekend to keep my streak alive.

Hot Springs

HOT SPRINGS—After a day at Oaklawn Park today, I walked for 34:05 out and back from my car in the track parking lot.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South this evening in 34:13.