| Decatur Country Club - Kem Carr Nautilus Award |
February 22, 2007
Kem:
I just heard about your little misadventure today.
Before you leave Decatur Country Club the Weenies golf group will
officially present you with the "Nautilus Award". I have heard of people
dumb enough to attend the submarine races, but you are the first one I
have heard of who actually tried to get a front row seat.
The story is better told by Mike Vickery, but
essentially Kem was looking for two badly misplayed balls hooked to the
left of the pine trees on hole #1 last Sunday. The temperature was about
40 degrees with a nice breeze to lower the chill factor. When Kem
looked up, his cart, bag, and clubs had rolled down the hill and were 5
feet out in the lake across from #1 green. They were slowly sinking as
they rolled out towards the ledge that drops off into 30 feet of water.
With retirement approaching and money obviously a consideration in the
purchase of new clubs, Kem waded out in the lake up to his chest and
grabbed the handle of his golf cart. As told by Vickery, the cart and
Kem were still slowly heading down the slope towards the drop off when
John Murphree arrived and held out his driver. Kem grabbed the driver
and was pulled to safety by Murph just in the nick of time.
More amazing than the rescue effort by Murph was the
fact that Kem continued his round, playing holes #2, and 3 while
soaking wet. His wife brought him dry clothes which he donned on the 4th
tee (obviously a violation of club dress code and regulations), then he
continued and finished his round. (Note: I have not heard what his wife
said when she brought Kem dry clothes or when he went home, but I can
imagine she got her money's worth.)
As bad as this sounds, it does not seem to justify
having to move across the country just to avoid further embarrassment
when playing with his golf buddies. I am optimistic I will be able to
find e-mail addresses for some of his new colleagues in Washington. No
doubt he will need a keeper once he moves there. Hopefully he will find a
course or club with shallow ponds and lakes where he can play safely.
Perhaps we could chip in and buy him a snorkel as a going away gift.
And let us not forget to give kudos to Murph, who
wins the "Lifeguard Of The Month" award for February. I can only assume
he is planning to buy a new driver, else he would have never risked the
present club to save Kem.
The only thing that would have made this tale even
better would be if Kem had pulled harder than Murph. Then we could have
promoted Decatur Country Club as "Sea World Alabama", allowing us to
raise dues and initiation fees while attracting many new members to our
winter swimming program.
In other Decatur Country Club news, the course
superintendent reported a major fish kill last week in the lake bordered
by holes # 1, 17, and 18. The cause is unknown, although a few
survivors were found flopping on the bank laughing their guts out. One
of the shelled denizens of the lake was very helpful with the writing of
this story. He remembered every tiny detail of the adventure
(fortunately he had turtle recall). He was truly shell-shocked by the
near disaster that befell Kem, but he is doing souper now.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I must admit
it would be more fitting had it happened Saturday during the Iron Man
tournament. I expect this to become a DCC legend in a few more years. Oh
yeah, and one other thing. Look at the last e-mail address in the list
of people receiving this e-mail.
Golfmeister
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At 07:21 PM 2/22/2007, Kem M. Carr wrote:
Thanks John. I will truly miss my golf friends. I
have most of March to
play. It is important for me as the weather and
water on the first tee
warms up to enjoy a round of dry golf.
Special thanks to Murph who unselfishly shared his
heater assisted golf cart
on Sunday. Let me acknowledge the care and grooming
on the main lake at the first tee. I noticed virtual no sediment, algae or
fish smell in my golf bag
after my round on Sunday. That is no accident and I
appreciate it.
You may ask why does one try to swim in 30 degree
water while playing a
weenies match? Because it is there my friend,
because it is there.
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