I've always been a sports fan, but lately my eyes are on golf. Not on anyone superfamous like you-know-who, but on the other "TW" - Tom Watson. He of the cool threads from Ralph Lauren, the easy smile, the all-American spirit, I have not watched someone play so gracefully and effortlessly in a sport that really fits gentlemen.
Someone who perseveres through the ages, a man who still wins against an unforgiving course or fortuitous events, must be like a solid rock. He stands firm in times of adversity and does not waver in the face of hardship. He does not apologize for his age, but is the first to admit the reality of his mortality. And yet he remains humble, as the sport continually humbles our spirit; he stays soft and yielding, like the land he has learned to respect.
Many a times, we have seen towering men diminished by the passing of years. Not Tom Watson.
My admiration for the man, the golfer, the heart of gold, is like a ladder ascending - not to the castle where he is king, but to the little sun-lit clearing he wants to call his own.
My daughter and I sat down to watch an old movie - my choice on Netflix - and we found ourselves watching Corey Haim as Lucas. I told her it was one of my most memorable movies (although frankly the details are fuzzy). But it was the music that jogged my memory.
Dave Grusin. His music is so unmistakable I would know it anywhere. There was a time in my life when although I was trained in classical piano, I had the opportunity to be in a jazz fusion band (Orleans) where I learned the intricacies and complexities (but also the satisfaction) of thinking outside the (classical music) box. Yes, jazz teaches you to break those walls. It somehow breaks you free. An express biography of Dave Grusin can be read here.
And here's one of his most famous tunes, Mountain Dance, on YouTube:
