Ed Icionsub

LAst night I had a tough time falling asleep so I watched a little of the David Letterman show. He had John McCain on as a guest, which was a surprise since McCain lost the election and isn’t promoting a book or anything of which I am aware.

This was the first time I have seen John McCain relaxed and laughing as he joked and teased Letterman during the appearance. I was amazed at what a totally different persona he has from the live debates and limited sound bites that I ever watched while he was campaigning.

The man has a fantastic sense of humor and it is a shame he missed the first Letterman appearance, back in October. I think if more of America had seen his human side he would have done better in the election.

The spring break customs are hopefully evolving from the heydays of the 1960′s when everyone found a way to get to Daytona Beach and crowd into a cheap hotel room for a week of drinking and wanton sex with other college students. I think Daytona Beach decided that they don’t want that in their town any more, and kids have moved on to other locations. From what I can tell by watching MTV once in a while, the current hot spot for spring break is in Cancun Mexico. I wonder how the younger ones manage to get there in the first place. A lot of kids are only 19 and 20 when they are college freshmen, so going out of the country and drinking excessive alcohol for a week when you are underage seems very risky – beyond what simple lies to your parents will get you by with.

Two inches of snow on the ground and it is still two weeks before Christmas. Usually we don’t get this kind of bad weather this early. I wonder if the cycle of weather is turning so that we will be having harsher longer winters? If so, I’m seriously thinking about taking the family to Florida over the Christmas break. If it is not too late to get a sweet deal on airline tickets, I’m ready for some fun in the sun and forgetting about the cold weather up here.

Last time we went on vacation in Florida we focused on the Orlando theme parks and did not have enough time to visit Sea World. Now that the kids are a little older and past the Mickey Mouse age, I think we would all appreciate a day or two looking at whales, dolphins and penguins. I found a web site called OrlandoFunTickets.com that can get me discount tickets to Sea World Orlando. From reading their web site, there is a special deal (for a limited time) of getting a free second day at Sea World. So we can relax and take our time at Sea World, and maybe even see a couple of our favorite shows, like the killer whales, a second time.

The weather forecaster on my local TV station has just announced a “Winter Weather Advisory” for the entire region. It was bitter cold this morning and I was expecting a little rain throughout the day according to the report last night. But as the day went on the temperatures continued to drop and it has been right around freezing all afternoon. About 3:00 the rain started turning into little white pellets that bounced off the windshield and I think it was a mixture of freezing rain or sleet (I’m not sure I can tell the difference between those two but there is a technical difference) and snow.

I knew as soon as I saw the precipitation turning white that we would have a messy drive home in rush hour traffic, so I bailed early. I have little patience for slow roll, creeping traffic and decided it was better for my own peace of mind to leave an hour early and beat the crush of drivers trying to get home tonight in the dark on wet and slippery roads.

If you are walking the greens and talking on your cell phone you are not focusing on your game. Your mind is not in the right place for a good golf game. Ask any pro golfer and he or she will tell you that half of the golf game is skill and the other half is mental. I learned that years ago when I walked the greens with my Dad or my Uncle Ray. They taught me to plan my game, learn from my mistakes and to focus on the task at hand.

As a kid, we had a vacation home that bordered a gold course. My dad would play golf twice a week unless he was too busy with work. Often he would bring clients out for a round, and many business deals were made on the golf course. It was how a lot of men got business done.

When I was lucky, my dad would invite me to come along as a caddy. Sometimes he would let me play 9 holes and he would coach me on my swing and my approach. I’ve had my own bag of golf clubs since I was 8 years old, although the quality of the clubs is far superior now to the clubs that were sold back in those days. Even the quality of the golf balls themselves has evolved over the years. The newer balls are engineered for specific weather conditions and things like a golfer’s swing speed.

There is a noticeable difference in the amount of spin and the distance a ball will travel between the brands and type of ball construction. Since the cost of golf balls can really add up, it is important to find and buy the right golf balls for your needs.

The balls used by beginning players or people who only play once in a while are harder, like the Titleist NXT Tour. Players that are able to build up some skill and hit the greens more often will appreciate a ball with medium spin and 2 or 3 piece construction.

The pros use a softer ball with 3 or even 4 piece construction. I played with the Titleist Pro V1 and was amazed at the difference. I think it is good to try out different brands on the driving range or on a short course, just to see if it is worth switching. A good way to try out a variety of balls is to buy used golf balls. If you are interested in saving some money on golf balls, check out the web site Lost Golf Balls.com and order their cheap golf balls. It’s the best place I’ve found for quality used golf balls at deep discounted prices.

Times have changed with all this electronic help we have now. IT used to be that you could escape to the golf course for 4 or 5 hours and it would really be an escape. Everyone accepted the fact that you would be on the golf course and not reachable except in the most dire emergency. If it was truly an emergency you had a chance of reaching someone at the club house who would find a cart and go searching the greens to find you and give you the urgent message.

Then along came cell phones and text messages and even the golf course is not a sanctuary any more. Personally, I have no problem turning off my phone when I am going out on the course or into a show at the theater. But most guys seem to be addicted to their phones and it is very common to see guys walking the gold course with a cell phone at their ear. In my mind, that defeats the whole purpose of being on a golf course. You should be able to soak in the great outdoors and the fresh air. You need to listen to the water running in the creek or river. You need to hear the birds in the trees and watch the rabbits or squirrels scamper across the grass.

The new Lee Ann Womack song called, “Last Call” brings back memories. What guy hasn’t made a booty call from a bar in the early morning hours? It has a good video with Lee Ann dressed up for a night on the town and walking around the streets of a big city, I believe it is New York City in the shoot, but I could be wrong. Most big cities look alike at night to me.

The point is that she got the call on her cell phone and recognized the incoming call number so chose to not answer the call. Interesting video and song lyrics. Not a man-haters song like Martina usually does, but still a put down.

The guys we met last night were from the U.K. and since all my ancestors were British we had enough in common to talk for a bit. I have not been “across the pond” to visit London yet, but I hope to go this summer if the economy turns around.

The older gentleman, William, was giving the younger one a hard time about his recent motorbike purchase. Over here a lot of people have been buying motorcycles this past year because the price of gas went sky high over the summer. Motorcycles get such better gas mileage that it is easy to justify buying a bike for short commutes.

Over here it can be hard to get affordable motorcycle insurance, so I asked about that. He said that he used the web site autonetinsurance.co.uk to get quotes on his motorcycle insurance and that it was fast and easy to take care of it. No problem for him to find good rates and get signed up right online. I wish it was that easy here in the States.

Last night we were talking with some guys from out of town looking for a nice place to hang out for a bit after dinner. Most tourists like to go downtown to the Broadway and Second Avenue honky tonks to get the Music City “experience” but the locals don’t normally go down there – too trashy and noisy.

There are some nice lounges and sophisticated bars just minutes from downtown, which is where I like to go for a quiet hour before heading home. Evidently the concierge from Lowe’s Vanderbilt Hotel sent these guys to the same place I like, so we met at the bar and struck up a conversation.

Every year the local hospital runs a special sale at Christmas as a fund raiser. I heard about it on the TV morning show that promotes local events.

The fundraiser is a special “one price” sale for a variety of merchandise, like a flea market but a little nicer. Everything on display is name brand and decent quality – not the knock offs like you find at a real flea market. It’s very cool to walk around and know that everything is priced at the same price – no digging or routing for hidden price tags. Everything cost a flat six dollars – from watches to leather wallets to kids toys.

The fundraiser is only for a couple days, as they tend to sell out all their merchandise. Locals know that if you want the best selection to get their early on the first day, as by the second days everything has been picked over but there are still some good bargains.