So, I got a little writing done this week. Re-worked many “rough drafts” to make them more readable as well as breaking out stories within stories. While doing all of this, I thought it might be good time to “inventory” the stories so I know “how many” and “from who” I have. I then reviewed my outline to learn how well it meshed.
Here’s what I have so far…
“People” – 5 stories
“Dan” – 6 stories
“Moose” – 2 stories
“Book Layout” – 2 stories
“All Others” – 2 stories
Which totals 17 stories, so I still have a fair a writing head of me.
My goal for the next week is to print out what I have and to begin putting them in “book order”. This will allow me to “rough read through” and establish a “flow” for the book. I am hoping it will help define the type of stories I need to write.
In the meantime, here’s a little something to read – a story from my “People” file…
– Ken Henry – The Club Pro at Glen Flora Country Club
Ken was an Olympic speed skater. So good in fact he won a Gold Medal in the 500m at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Norway. He was also chosen to light the flame which opened the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. After a bit of research I learned Ken was the first American to win an Olympic Games and a World Championship in speed skating. He was inducted into the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1970. Ha, just discovered he and I have the same birthday – January 7. Wow….
Wish I had known all of that when I was just a kid…
Ken was the person who trained the caddies, ran the pro shop and basically oversaw the entire golf operation at Glen Flora. He was also the one who handed the golf cart keys to the “driving eligible” caddies so the carts could be brought to the pro shop from their storage location. Oh, what a feeling to be “allowed” to drive a cart up from the basement! Oh, Ken had a marvelous sense of humor, but the first time he tricked you, you wouldn’t think so. Ken knew the young kids always wanted to drive the carts, and I was one of them, so when he asked “hey kid, do you know how to drive?” I quickly answered “yes”. His response “here, drive this broom around and clean this place up.” How mean was that? But the next time he asked, I still responded in the affirmative, and ya know what – I got to bring up a cart! Sweet!
Other than bringing up the carts, the caddies never really interacted with Mr Henry. If you wanted to interact with Ken, you needed to be either the caddy master or work in the bag room – the room where the members’ clubs were wiped down and stored after every round. Fortunately, I was given that opportunity a few years down the road.
The nice part about working in the bag room is that you could still caddy in the morning and report to work in the afternoon as that is when all the members were done golfing and their clubs were ready to clean. It was a great way to make more money without being out in the hot sun all day long. An added benefit were the tips I earned when members asked for their clubs to be taken to their car. It was generally $2-$3, which was a lot easier than carrying a bag for 18 holes! While I enjoyed the bag room, I much preferred being a caddy out on the course.
Dan’s View 