Doc replied, “Joe and I will play you two sandbaggers.”
“Like taking candy from a baby,” Alex joked as he and Jake enjoyed a high-five.
“Couldn’t have said it better, pard,” Jake laughed.
Doc leaned over and ripped some grass from the ground and gently tossed it in the air. “The wind’s right at us and it’s a two hundred yard carry over deep rough to that damned fairway,” he complained.
“You’re the one who always wants to play Crooked Stick, Doc, there are other courses around here, ya know,” Jake barked.
Doc addressed the ball and prepared to hit his drive. The group suddenly fell quiet as he slowly lifted his club and swung hard at the ball. There was a sharp metallic clicking sound as his driver blasted into the ball.
“Great drive, Doc!” Joe shouted. “Looks like another big day for the good guys.”
The other men hit their drives with all of them successfully reaching the distant fairway. They jumped aboard their carts and sped down the asphalt pathway toward their next shot.
“Tough day at the office?” Jake asked. Golf tees and loose change bounced in the cart’s console as they drove along the bumpy path.
“Yeah, seems like they’re all tough lately. The board doesn’t want me to pay back the bailout money and I’m determined to do it.”
Jake shook his head. “The Government is throwing money around like it grows on trees. That stimulus bill is huge. It’s kind of scary, but I’ll take it, I guess.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, we’ve been chosen to help install broadband throughout Marion County. It’s a huge project and should make us well for the year. It’s not really needed. We’re replacing an existing system, but what the hay? If they got an extra hundred mil to throw around, we’ll take it.”
“Nice deal. You install the unneeded broadband and take your money and run. It’s different with the TARP money, it’s more long term. They get inside your organization and soon they’re running every facet of your business. It’s not long before they’re telling you when you can go to the bathroom.” The brakes squeaked as the cart jerked to a stop.
“You’re up, short knocker,” Jake joked.
“What are we Jake? About 130?”
Jake leaned over the side of the cart and looked down. “This sprinkler head right here says 136. Looks like a wedge.”
Suddenly, Joe Patterson shouted from across the fairway at the two men. “I was there yesterday Alex, it’s about 165. Hit a seven!”
“Thanks Joe,” he shouted back at his opponent. Alex watched as Joe and Doc, their shoulders shaking in laughter, continued toward their balls.
“Seven my foot,” Alex said quietly. He reached into his bag and lifted out his pitching wedge. “If I hit a seven iron from here, I’ll fly the green by thirty yards.”
“Those ass-holes will do anything for twenty bucks,” Jake laughed.
Alex made a couple of practice swings, took his final stance, held still over the ball, lifted the club up slowly and took a nice steady swing. A large divot flew into the air as the ball smacked off the clubface and shot toward the green, bouncing twice and then rolling down an incline to within ten feet of the hole.
“Great shot, partner!” Jake exclaimed.
He and Alex chuckled, they turned and watched Joe and Doc both hit their shots into a greenside bunker. The two shook their heads as they angrily slammed their clubs in their bags and jumped back in the cart.
Suddenly, the smile disappeared from Alex’s face. “I worry about my grandkids Jake. With all this massive spending taking place in Washington, we’re going to leave them with a bankrupt country that’s supported by a bankrupt Government.”
“Yeah, I know Alex. I worry about my grandkids a lot too.”
They arrived at Jake’s ball. “You‘re up, long knocker.”
Jake hopped out of the cart, yanked his gap wedge from the bag. He took a couple quick swings and knocked the ball up on the green about twenty feet above the hole.
Jake paused and looked at Alex, “I’m glad you’re making a stand at the bank Alex. We need more people to do that.”
“Thanks Jake, but I’ve got a big problem.”
“What’s that?”
“We just had our monthly board meeting and they seem to be leaning toward keeping the bailout.”
“Hmmm….that’s not good,” Jake lamented as he hopped in the cart. “Better update your resume.”
Alex shook his head as he accelerated up a steep hill toward the green. Jake was a seasoned business man, and very savvy in the ways of the business world. He knew that if Alex didn’t keep the money and the bank struggled, he would be the one the bank blamed. With the economy so weak, and with the passage of the massive health care legislation, there would be further strains on the business community. It could be years before the economy returned anywhere close to prior levels. Alex would be in a very precarious situation.
Alex yanked his putter from the bag and watched his opponents blast from the bunker—both shots landing well short of the pin.
“Was that bet forty a hole?” Jake shouted.
“We said twenty,” Joe retorted.
Doc two putted for a bogey but the feisty Joe canned a thirty footer for a par.
“We need this one, Jake,” Alex reminded.
Jake walked around the green gazing at his twenty-footer from every possible angle. The others waited patiently, leaning on their putters, observing the familiar dance. After what seemed an eternity, Jake approached his ball and made two excruciatingly slow practice swings and then finally addressed the ball. After another lengthy pause, with his head shooting back and forth from hole to ball innumerable times, he finally stroked the ball; it slid by and came to a halt some six inches past the hole. He strolled forward and made his tap in for a par.
“Damn!” Jake extorted as he bent over to remove his ball from the hole. “It’s up to you, Alex. Knock it in.”
“Looks like a double-breaker to me,” Doc chided Alex as he quickly lined up his ten-footer.
As Alex lined up the putt, he thought of the changing situation at the bank and the heartfelt pleas from Nicky to cash it all in and move to their beloved lake home. It made him realize just how fleeting life’s circumstances could be. Moving was a million miles from his mind just a few weeks ago. Alex took a deep breath and softly stroked the ball down the hill toward the hole and then threw his arms in the air in disgust.
“Thought you had it,” Joe mused as he watched the ball dip down in the hole and then pop out. “Too bad, bucko.”
Although disappointed by the near miss, Alex smiled warmly
