I want to hear some ... how bout some stories what you had been working on Yoda?.. Interested to hear !
I've got plenty of stories, Nuke, just not enough time to write them!
But there are two I've been wanting to tell since my trip to Moline, Illinois, and the John Deere Classic. I'll put the first one up in the next day or so.
Tuesday morning, AirTran Flight 338 out of Atlanta to Moline, Illinois.
Brian Gay had called late and wanted to work at the John Deere Classic. Moline is not exactly a 'destination' city, and as I stared at my boarding pass, I knew I would be at the rear of the plane, a smaller Boeing 717.
Seat 29A.
Only two rows from the back. Just $70 more would have bought a Business Class ticket, but none were available. No telling who I might have met 'up there'.
As I entered the plane and walked toward my seat, things were a little confusing. To my left were seats D-E-F. To my right were seats A and C. Later I would learn that the B-717 eliminates the middle 'B' seats that exist on the larger B-737.
As a Zone 3 passenger, I was among the last to board. I settled in, buckled up and pulled out enough reading material to keep me busy for the next couple of hours.
Then came the 'stand-byes'.
One of these was on the right side of the aisle just a few rows in front of me, trying (with some difficulty) to fit his carry-on in the crowded overhead bin above seat 24D. As he struggled, a flight attendant passed me on her way to the rear of the plane. I got her attention, and as she leaned down toward me, I said:
"It's not every day you see a two-time Masters Champion and Ryder Cup Captain struggling with his baggage in coach."
"What?!" she said as I nodded toward the passenger.
"Are you kidding me!" she said in a whisper loud enough for 29 D-E-F and 30 D-E-F and A-C to hear.
"Are you kidding me!" she repeated as heads turned and The Champion's identity dawned upon her.
Obviously a golfer!
And with that, she made straightaway for The Man himself.
She and he exchanged a few words, and then both walked from his seat and past me to the back of the plane -- only a birdie putt away-- where they stood exchanging pleasantries as the plane prepared for takeoff. Obviously, they were waiting for a seat to manifest itself in Business Class, but alas, t'was not to be. Meanwhile, somebody else -- goodness knows who -- had appropriated Bernhard's seat 24D.
By some great good fortune, only one seat remained on Flight 338 to Moline, and that was 29C.
Right by me.
Turns out Bernhard had been delayed the afternoon before for more than two hours in Orlando when the flight's passenger manifest didn't match up with who was actually on board. That caused him to miss his Atlanta connection, and he was given an overnight hotel and booked out on a morning flight.
Only he wasn't told it would be stand-by. Otherwise, he said, "I would have booked another flight or even flown by private plane. Never stand-by."
And so, we spent the next hour chatting about this and that. First, about a booklet I had read about his conversion to Christianity. Then, about his career and life-long German golf teacher, and about my career and improbable circumstance as a golf instructor. His family. My family. About an hour into the flight, he pulled out his hand-tabbed Bible and began to study, and I went to my own materials.
After we landed and were taxi-ing to the gate, the interior lights dimmed, and I asked if he would pray with me.
"Yes, of course," he said, and we bowed our heads.
I led and offered prayers for him and his family.
He put his hand on my knee and, by name, did the same for me and my family.
Woody Allen once stated, “99 percent of success is showing up”. Both of you are dedicated and that is what put you on the same airplane. Great work.
I always loved Langer’s golf swing and now have a greater insight into the man. Thank you!
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Archimedes suggested,Give Me A Lever Long Enough and I Will Move The World.
That reminds me how I usually bugs my dad for story.. He always have a new story for us Every single day. and it was real interesting. He was a teacher by training. haha.
I enjoyed your story as much as my father's.
Keep going !
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God :God is love.
Latest incubator: Finally appreciate why Hogan wrote 19 pages on GRIP. I bet he could write another 40 pages.
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