Perfect

The reason I haven't written in a while is because "oh nothin, same ol, how bout you" isn't my idea of a rousing entry. But amidst adapting to the new boss, fruitless apartment searching, and fruitless jdate surfing (a blog I've tried and failed to write several times), there are two sweet moments I've soaked in of late. One is my sister's graduation (the subject of my previous entry, below). The other happened just 6 hours later...

A golf ball sat at the bottom of the 10th cup at the Highfields Golf & Country Club in Grafton, MA. I was standing in the rough... on a hill... 105 yards away. This was no ace, not even a birdie... "just" a par save (which--if you don't golf--means I was royally f-ing up this hole prior to the aforementioned shot of my life). A younger Jayme would have certainly lamented: "That's an eagle shot if I didn't screw up my drive." He would eventually pat himself on the back for overcoming thick grass and a headwind. But on this day, after a single Mickelson-esk leap, I stood there for a solid minute (it's cool, there was no one with or behind me) and calmly absorbed this perfect Now. I didn't overcome the wind, the rough, nothing... I existed with it all. Pros know how to place the ball on the right slope of the green. Even plenty of amateurs can spin the ball back or sideways. Frankly, folks, I ain't that good. But on Saturday, May 17, 2008, I co-achieved perfection in a single shot.

I'm still striving for that hole-in-one. And when I get it, I'll strive for another. It's not about obtaining (the mantra of my former self), but creating--again and again. One of my two sports heroes, Nolan Ryan didn't set out to toss a record 7 no-hitters. He took the mound each day to co-create the most perfect Now he could. He just did it 7 times... with a lot of talent, 8 teammates, and a little luck each time.

One final thought: This is my 13th year playing golf. My longest hole-out prior to this day was from 30 feet. And I never owned a sand wedge until 2 hours before my 55-degree Nike hit that shot. If that's a not a reminder that passion only goes so far without the right tools... I don't know what is.

Rube