Life in prison – Golf prison………

O.K. it’s just an expression, and honestly, way over stated. Here is the deal. Golf Tournaments like the PGA Championship where we are now, and the Masters each April ,are interesting events in that you have flurries of hyper activity, usually early morning before the golfers tee off, or late afternoon when they are finished, mostly mornings. During a couple of hours you do 90% of the days work, the rest of the day you’re, “on call”. Golf events are great for catching up on reports and working on teaching programs. They are also great for catching up with old client friends that you seldom get to see. I had a nice long visit this morning with Dom Furore, a great golf shooter for Golf Digest who has become a dear friend over the years of seeing each other annually at the Masters. He is truly a great shooter and really, really nice guy. He has shot many of the images you’ve seen of Tiger both on and off the course. For a long time he was the official family photographer. Another wonderful shooter that will drop by this week is Fred Vurich. Fred’s a former Sports Illustrated photographer who now works for a number of major magazines, another incredible shooter with a strong of Golf covers to his credit, he also shoots a number of other sports as well. Fred is also a brother!

The facility here at Johns Creek Country
Club is very nice, good food service,
and run by a first class team of PGA
folks. The problem is it’s golf. My idea
of dying and going to hell is to find
myself required to watch baseball and
golf for eternity. The last few holes of
a tournament are usually exciting, but
I have little interest in much of the rest
of it. If they played the World Series
in my back yard, I doubt I would watch
it from my back porch. Don’t get me
wrong, I think it is great to have sports
interests, mine are college and pro
football and college basketball, but
I’m not nearly the rabid sports fan
I was when I was younger. I worked
for a short time as the official photo-
grapher for the Washington Redskins
and seeing pro ball up close caused
me to be less of a fan than I was before.
I have a problem with us, (society),
making heroes out of athletes. I can
see a policeman or fireman or a
good teacher is a hero. But someone
that can hit, shoot, or throw and catch
a ball seems a little less important in the
big picture of life. At least for me, Heroes should be people who’s actions or life have made a big
difference in the lives of others. A teacher that changes the outlook and hope for a child, a law enforcement person or fireman that places his life in jeopardy to save another, or a pastor that fervently preaches God’s Word to show others the way to salvation, those are heroes to me. I love
football and I love to watch the great players and appreciate their athletic skills, but they are
not risking their lives in service of society. The other thing is that professional athletes are very well compensated for their work. There is nothing wrong with making a good salary, but when you consider how much so many do for society and how little they are compensated it dulls the glamour of athletes to me. As I’m writing this blog entry the TV is on in the corner of our little office and a parade of golfers are being interviewed in the interview room. I know it’s part of the sports world, but I find it interesting that so many reports, photographers, video crews, and network personnel show up to cover these major sporting events. It is a reflection of our society that we need heroes, so we create them.

Now, I’m not bashing sports, or musicians, or movie stars, but as for me, if I’m going to idolize someone, I think it will be a man who sacrificed His life so I might have mine, forgiven and living abundently…….

Be blessed,

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: D7000, 12-24 and 10.5 lenses.