Why Watching the British Open Made Me Cry

Remembering My Father  

By Steven Mattingly

For those of you who are not golf fans, I’ll begin with a bit of recent golf history. A 40 year old recently won the prestigious British Golf Open something that as of late has been left to the younger generation of golfing giants. Being of that certain age myself (50+) it was great to see the old guy make good one more time. But it also reminded me of a time when my father was the “old guy” trying to win one more time. 

My father for the last 20 years of his working life was the golf course superintendent for a small golf course where I grew up in Kentucky. He often referred to himself as a high class dirt farmer. He had grown up the oldest of 11 children on a poor scrap of a farm with a father who was both mean and mean spirited towards his children. The ragtag assemblage of the family and their circumstances can at best be described as dirt poor. I think my father enjoyed a secret laugh each time he made the high class dirt farmer reference since he not only escaped the hard scrabble of being a farmer, he had done it with style. 

My father was also quite the competitive and successful sportsman as a teenage and young man, playing baseball on a couple of semi-pro teams until his knees and back gave out and he couldn’t jump up quickly enough from his catcher’s position. At the ripe age of 34 he took up golf and that in turn in a very roundabout way led to his becoming a golf course superintendent. For anyone who has played golf you know the frustration of the game and also know that practice does indeed make perfect in the game. My father rarely had time to practice between a 16 hour work day in the warm weather and still being a father to four children. So it was somewhat surprising the August that I was 12 that I noticed my father was carving out 15 minutes here and 20 minutes there to hit golf balls and work on his game. He had always been a good golfer by never a great one. Being a youngster I couldn’t figure out the angle until it was the week before Labor Day weekend when I realized my father had with quiet determination set about qualifying to play in a well respected and highly competitive match play golf tournament held over the three day weekend at the golf course where he was the superintendent.

Somewhat surprising to many who knew him, he qualified to play in the championship division. My father over that three day weekend got up at 4am and got me up as well since I was his helper and mowed, raked, trimmed and otherwise manicured the golf course to the pristine order for which it had become known under his tenure. He then came home 6 hours later, cleaned up and went back to the course to play his matches. To his great credit he won matches his first and second day and made it to the elite group of four for the final day. On that final day he again was up at 4am did a day’s work, and went back out to face what he knew as did I his toughest opponent, a strapping and strong 18 year old with a slamming swing that just sent the ball soaring into space. The match was fascinating to the crowd that traditionally watch this part of the tournament and to me who served as my father’s caddy throughout the tournament. 

There was never more than a difference of 1up throughout the match and it ended up even after 18 holes of play going into sudden death right at 12noon. And that’s when it happened, the responsibility of being the golf course superintendent and the desire to prove something clashed. If you know anything about Kentucky weather know that in late August it is ungodly hot and humid, two things that spelled disaster for my father’s carefully manicured greens, often referred to by many as the finest in all of Kentucky. He didn’t want to forfeit so he did what he had to do. He played the first hole of sudden death and at the end of putting pulled out the hoses (no automatic sprinkler here) and hand sprinkled the green for the time it took for his opponent to walk to the next tee, he then sprinted from the previous green to the next tee and continued the match. This continued for four holes of sudden death until my very tired father missed a very makeable four foot putt and lost the match. I thought of my father as I watch the British Open and saw the “old man” win and just cried for I knew he could have made that last putt.

Steven Mattingly is the Executive Director of Pacifica Senior Living in San Leandro, CA.

It Takes A Village

by Patricia Conlon

How many times have we heard that phrase? Usually, we attribute it to raising children. But if we stop for a moment to think, why should we limit our sense of responsibility to children? Aren’t we also, in some way, responsible for our neighbors?

When we see the older neighbor who until recently has always dressed impeccably and now appears disheveled, or the one with the recent dents in the car, or perhaps the one who struggles suddenly to remember our name after we’ve been friends for years, what course of action can we take without seeming like a buttinsky? (My apologies if “Buttinsky” is your last name; I do not mean to offend)

If you’re fortunate enough to have lived in a building long enough, you may have your neighbor’s emergency contact number. (That is something I suggest we all do – more on that another column). If so, and in the kindest manner, let them know that you’re concerned. Don’t offer to put yourself “in charge” unless you’re comfortable doing so. Give the contact person your observations, and hope they will take measures. If the neighbor’s loved ones live out of town, it’s your opportunity to educate them on the resources available in the area: Independent Senior Communities, Assisted Living Facilities, Home Health agencies, Senior Centers or advocacy groups such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Alliance for the Aging and The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County.

At Pacifica Senior Living Palm Beach , we are committed to our seniors and to serving our residents and the surrounding community. We can help, so call today if you, a loved one or your neighbor need more information. 

Sleep peacefully knowing that you’ve treated your neighbor as you would want to be treated.

Visit us on the web at www.PacificaSeniorLiving.com or call us at 561-434-0434

Patricia Conlon

Marketing Director, Pacifica Senior Living Palm Beach

Credit Score Tips for Seniors

According to a new study published in the CSA Journal (Society of Certified Senior Advisors) seniors build up greater amounts of debt and have more credit report problems than younger people. While 1 in 3 people of all ages find mistakes on their credit reports, an even larger number, 36 percent of seniors found errors. In one of four cases the errors where significant enough to have a negative effect on their credit scores.

The study also concluded that young people watch their credit score more closely, while only 1 in 4 seniors did so. The Society of Certified Senior Advisors urges seniors to regularly check their credit reports. Free consumer credit reports are available at AnnualCreditReport.com.

These are some tips to make sure your credit report is accurate:

Run an annual Credit Report: A free annual credit report is available at AnnualCreditReport.com. To get the actual credit score you’ll have to pay. But the report alone will allow you to check for errors and mistakes.

Fix Errors: By law, credit bureaus are required to correct any errors. If you spot a mistake, contact them either via website or phone or send a letter and explain what’s wrong.

Keep Copies: Make and keep copies of everything you send to the credit bureaus and request a delivery confirmation at the post office to make sure they received your mail.

Beware of Scams: A flood of companies offer to improve your credit score for a fee, but easiest and cheapest method involves a pretty basic technique: Pay your bills on time, stay well under your credit limits and keep your accounts in good standing over many years

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Pay your bills: The best way to boost a credit score is to pay bills on time and keep accounts in good standing over many years. Avoiding credit altogether can do more harm than good, since lenders want to see that consumers have experience managing credit accounts.

Don’t Co-sign for Anyone: Even spouses can harm each other’s credit by co-signing for a credit card. Once your name is on account, you’re responsible for it, even if you break up. So limit your exposure to that risk by avoiding co-signing accounts whenever possible.

Despite rumors to the contrary, having a good job does nothing to boost a credit score. In fact, income has no effect whatsoever on a score. The only thing that matters is your credit history—whether you pay your bills on time.

If you do run into financial trouble and have to resort to filing for bankruptcy, your credit score can begin to rebound after one year of making on-time, regular payments. Then, after seven to 10 years, it can fully recover.

Bottom Line: Use AnnualCreditReport.com once a year to check for any errors on your report and pay bills on time. Consider helping any older relatives to do the same.

Source: Money.USNews.com