The past three days have had their ups and downs. On Sunday afternoon I had a score of 37 on a tough par-36 nine holes - my best score ever on the back nine at my club. Today I played a match play match and got beat, 3 and 2. My much younger opponent (13 handicap to my 14) shot an 80 and kicked my butt. Kind of like life...one day can be glorious, but don't expect it to last too long.
Last week my youngest son, the music therapist, apparently got a nasty virus and now has severe hearing loss. He's getting treatment, but we are worried. Sometimes the condition doesn't get better, or much better. It's times like this when I wish my belief that God doesn't intervene much in the world is dead wrong. Good Witch is praying like crazy, and I have to admit that I am, too. This thing is a triple bogey!
Good Witch and I are also well along in our latest Teaching Company course, which is "Questions of Value", an ethics course in the philosophy genre. What is "good"? What is "right"? Do we have ethical values that are baseless, in error, or even evil? Why do we care more about the well-off neighbor next door than the starving or sick neighbor across the sea or in the poor section of town? The professor is pretty dry, but the material does make one ponder some hard questions.
There are golf ethics, too. Rather petty in the big picture of life, but rather important in a match. Play the ball as it lies. Count all your strokes. Generally, the player who is "away" should hit first. Playing golf in an ethical way adds a lot to the game.
Perhaps we should view the world as a large golf course where everyone is a member. Wouldn't it be great if everyone played by the same set of rules, an ethical set? The savings in war-making expenses alone would transform the planet. Yes, I'm a dreamer, but it's a beautiful dream.
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I've walked most of the Appalachian Trail...its ups and downs are a lot like life. I love life, but EMT work has taught me that life is uncertain for us all. Let's talk about how to make the world work. There's lots of people who've got to live with what we leave behind.
2 comments:
The first part of your post reminded me an old John Prine song with the lyris:
That's the way that the world goes 'round / You're up one day, the next your down / it's a half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown / That's the way that the world goes 'round.
Best wishes to your son for a quick and complete recovery.
If they outlawed war, only outlaws would be warriors.
Good luck to your son. That has to be scary.
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