Saturday was one of those days
Do you ever get the feeling that today just isn't your day?
No matter what you do, things just go wrong.
I had one of those days Saturday.
Deb, Rachael and I went to Cincinnati so Rachael could play a practice round on a course she'll play next month, and we went to a Cincinnati Reds game later that night.
First the experience on the golf course.
We were paired with a nice couple, probably in their late 50s or early 60s. A very pleasant couple, and the man was happy to know Rachael played golf for Ball State. He has a friend who is a Ball State graduate, and he loves everything to do with BSU.
Everything was normal. The course was beautiful, Rachael was playing well, and I was playing poorly. Nothing new there.
About halfway through the round we were on this long par 5. Of course I hit my second shot to the right near some trees, and Rachael and I went over to find it. We located it, and waited for the lady to hit.
She was about 50 or so yards back to my left, with an approach shot over a lake. The green was a little to her left, and I was to her right, out of the way.
At least that's what I thought.
I heard this "Fore!" and I turned around and, smack, the ball hit me on the left side of my chest.
To be honest, I believe she hit the ball off the toe of the club and it didn't have a lot of steam. But it still hurt.
I was recently diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, which means the left side of my heart is enlarged (my cardiologist is still trying to determine what's wrong).
After the ball hit me, I turned to Rachael and said, "That hit me in the heart." I meant to say chest, but all I could think about was my heart.
It didn't drop me to the ground, which was good. Rachael was concerned that I would hyperventilate, but that didn't happen either.
After a couple of minutes I kept playing. Of course, my next shot went into the water!
We finished the round with no other problems (unless you consider my game a problem).
We went straight from the course (which, by the way, is right behind the Cincinnati tennis stadium and near Kings Island; it's a Jack Nicklaus design) to Great American Ball Park to watch the Reds play the St. Louis Cardinals.
I knew we'd have to pay $10 to $20 to park. Once we got close, Rachael noticed a sign that said $10 parking. I didn't figure we'd find anything cheaper, so I headed that way.
And that's when the day could have gotten really bad.
I was on a one-way street heading west, with some concrete barriers to my right. I had a green light, so I turned right.
I didn't see the "No Right Turn" sign.
On the other side of the concrete barriers was another one-way street heading west. As I pulled out and got just past the barriers, there was a car in the middle lane that just missed us. It had to be going at least 40 mph.
Behind that, in the first lane, was another car that stopped just in time. They gave us a dirty look, I waved sorry -- because it was totally my fault!! -- and pulled close to the garage.
After thanking God we weren't killed, I realized what had just happened.
Deb was on that side in the passenger's seat, and Rachael was behind her. Like I said, it could have been really bad.
The night ended on a high note. We all had a great time at the Reds game. The first 20,000 fans received a free jersey of the first African-American player to play for the Reds (Chuck Harmon).
And the Reds won 4-3, with the final out coming at the plate.
It was a fun trip, but it could have been a disaster.
Chris is the general manager/editor of the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at 847-4487 or 1-800-947-4487 or by e-mail at cpruett79@gmail.com.
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