Day Fifty-Five - 6.13.10 - Golf & Family

Today the rains held of long enough for me to walk 18 holes at a local golf course with some friends. It was an enjoyable round, and mentally I did my best to focus as if I were in full on competition mode. In ten days, I'll depart for Elmira, New York, to play in a 4 day golf tournament with my Uncle Mike. Elmira is the town in which my Uncles Mike and David, Aunt Annie Pie, and my father grew up. This tournament, which takes place at the Elmira Country Club, has a distinct place in the history of my family. For years, my late father and my Uncle Mike competed on the sloped fairways and fast greens of this beautiful and challenging track.

As for Elmira itself, I unfortunately recall very little of my past visits, most of which occurred as a young boy. My most recent visits, and consequently the most vivid in my memory, were for the funerals of my grandmother and my Uncle David. As much as I am looking forward to four days of golf, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with the Grady side of my family (Aunt Annie Pie still lives there) and to exploring and forming fond new memories of the city where my father, his brothers, and his sister were raised by Grandpa Thom and Grandma Marg.