The framed poem hung in the kitchen, by the kitchen table. I noticed it the first time I stayed at Uncle Bill and Aunt Tia’s home in Monte Sereno; they had picked me up at the San Jose airport, a 20 year old college junior in the Bay Area for a summer internship at Lockheed Missiles and Space.
Uncle Bill was my grandmother’s younger brother, but at 6′2″, by no means a “little” brother. And I didn’t know it at the time, but I was blessed by the chance to get to know my great Uncle Bill that summer, as he died of complications from a stroke less than 3 years later.
There are lots of Bill and Tia stories. Lots. They brought laughter and excitement into every room, into every gathering. And love, too. They adored each other.
And they also loved the game of golf. Hence this poem in their kitchen. Although it was written more than a century ago in Scotland, it seemed to epitomize how my Uncle Bill and Aunt Tia felt about golf. I myself don’t play, but have to respect a game that elicits this kind of description.
GOLF is a science, the study of a lifetime in which you may exhaust yourself but never your subject. It is a contest, a duel or a melee, calling for courage, skill, strategy and self-control. It is a test of temper, a trial of honor, and a revealer of character. It affords a chance to play the man and act the gentleman. It means going into God’s out-of-door, getting close to nature, fresh air, exercise, a sweeping away of mental cobwebs, genuine recreation of tired tissues. It is a cure for care, an antidote to worry. It includes companionship with friends, social intercourse, opportunities for courtesy, kindliness and generosity to an opponent. It promotes not only physical health but moral force.
—David R. Forgan, 1899, SCOTLAND
—David R. Forgan, 1899, SCOTLAND
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This is absolutely Superb!!
It will certainly make the rounds in Sun City friends and I might even post it in our monthly Magazine of “News and Views”
I shall also sent it to everyone in the family!
Is this OK! Truly a Gem!!
Thats beautiful and broad in its application. Thank you for sharing it. Very thought provoking.
Glad you liked it, Ben. Bill and Tia just loved golf, and if it really does sweep away mental cobwebs, that must be a good thing.
I knew you and Dad would like this post, Mom. Can’t you just picture Bill and Tia at their kitchen table, talking up a storm, pouring the wine, and drinking deeply of life? Love you.
Hi Claire:
Your Mom sent a note to me about the Poem.
I have no patience for it other than the 19th Hole. Hope all is well. Love Uncle Bill
I cherish the evening I spent with Bill and Tia when I was out there for an IBM class. Wow, could they drink wine. Put me on my butt. I never saw them play golf, but if they played as well as they drank, well, they must have played well under Par. Beautiful Poem. The game still sucks though
I think we all have some good Bill and Tia stories, Uncle Bill — perhaps we should compile them and pass them along to the next generation. Somehow those two just inspire stories. Reams of them.
Big hug to you and Aunt Lib! Love, Claire
p.s. Thx for the comment. I love comments.
well isn’t this nice to finally find you, you see after our last visit i didn’t have an address. real pity. anyway i have an 15 x 14 to send to claire. i just got her address yesterday because she mailed her christmas card to our old address. we have been in a new home for two years. annie got married last april and she is having a baby boy in three weeks. that will make three boys and three girls for us. no matter what your feelings are i will always love you and always have. as always, claire, your family’s picture was lovely.
annie