Golf Fans Sighted: AT&T Under Way

After my early morning swim I started to see them.  Yes it's true, golf fans are peeking out from behind signposts and over steering wheels, looking for arrows pointing the way to shuttle bus stops.  There is very limited private vehicle access to Pebble Beach.  The intrepid fans who are bound and determined to see early morning golf action are everywhere.

For intstance, I spotted a cluster of fans - men all dressed in requisite Docker pants, knit shirts and vests and the usual black baseball caps - walking along Foam Street examining store fronts together.  It was an odd thing to see at 7:30 in the morning.  It's not a street tourists usually stroll down for any reason and looks utilitarian at best. I can't say I really know what they were doing in that part of town at that early hour, but they looked harmless, curious, excited.  Just a little off course.

Locals who have been volunteering at the tournament for years ever since it was called The Crosby are talking about what it was like to do various jobs from year to year, and they're feeling quite a bit of nostalgia.  The tournament has been around long enough that people mark phases of their lives with it.  Most begin volunteering when they are teens in high school and continue on when they can.  It's usually the best way for them to see the action as well as behind the scenes.  I recall friends of mine in high school who used to carry leader boards when they were high school students, especially boys who were on the golf team.  It was quite a plum job and earned them bragging rights.

Today was the first day of play, which will continue on until Sunday.  We'll see if this fine weather holds.  So far it has been spectacular and a huge contrast to two years ago when the event was rained out  in spite of heroic efforts by greenskeepers to squeegee off greens and provide shelter for fans and players.  It was awful.

As a matter of fact, with Valentine's Day coming up, the AT&T in full swing (oops, pun), and gorgeous weather shining in every direction, folks are getting a little giddy around here.  A fine state of affairs for everyone.

People Watching at Pebble

I was unable to post yesterday due to technical difficulties which have been surmounted, so here I am once more, intrepid blogger that I am.

In the middle of this week, we will begin play on the AT&T Pro-Am Golf Tournament over in Pebble Beach as well as two other courses.  Locals call the whole kaboodle Pebble Beach, so you may as well do the same.  Everything within the confines of the smartly guarded gates of Del Monte Forest is referred to as Pebble Beach, including Spanish Bay, Monterey Peninsula Country Club course, Spyglass Hill, Cypress Point, Poppy Hills and of course Pebble Beach itself.  Just like every country in Africa is called Africa by Americans.  We are just so odd that way.  Just lump it all into one and call it Pebble Beach, and you're good.

So, back to Pebble Beach.  The pros have been doing practice rounds to get used to the various courses and adjust to wind, sun, lack of snow and deer wandering around on the greens.  Up until today the weather has been summer-like and stunningly perfect.  Just to put a scare into the hearts of organizers, the weather is changing; it's blustery and much cooler outside.  Whitecaps are dancing across the waters of the bay like charging herds of sheep.  Or maybe like dolphins.  Dolphins are fast, but sheep are white, so I'm going with sheep.  Fast sheep.  There is a gusting wind from the northwest that is spanking flags out to horizontal on their posts, which should make tee shots be rather unpredictable at times for the golfers.

It is said that Bill Murray is in fine form this year and ready to play ball.  Always a fan favorite, galleries lean in close to overhear his quips and try for autographs.  Local boy and one of Pebble's august owners, Clint Eastwood may show his face here or there.  He and his friends are usually busy with guests and duties, but he may make some official appearances if he's in town.  Other fairly recognizable celebrities are signed up to start play on Thursday.  Most take the game very seriously, even clowns like Mr. Murray, and do their best to put on a sporting show for the galleries.  Fans often try to spot Mr. Eastwood at The Hogs Breath Inn in Carmel, but they'd have better luck in the evening down at Old Mission Ranch in the lounge where jazz musicians gather after hours.  Mr. Eastwood is a long-time fan of jazz and tasteful tunes, and he is more often seen there (he owns the Inn, by the way) than anywhere else.

Have fun exploring the Peninsula if you're here for the tournament - or any other time for that matter.  Carmel will be dense with fans once the rounds are done for the day, but relaxing, eye-catching beauty is rampant here this time of year, so almost anywhere you go will feel like a really great idea.  Just watch your hat.  That wind is tricky.

AT&T Golf Tournament Prep Revving Up

The whole Monterey Peninsula is beginning to gear up for the AT&T Pro-Am golf tournament that's coming to town soon.  After the Super Bowl of course.

Many folks around the area are very devoted golf fans and not only play the game frequently but love to volunteer at this traditional tournament that was begun years ago by Bing Crosby.  Locals called it The Crosby, and that was that.  As a matter of fact, those of us who heard the tournament referred to by that name for so many years still automatically call it that.  Officially it's The AT&T for short.

The unique format of the tournament and the early date on the pro golf calendar made the tournament a special favorite for pros and a chance for autograph hounds to get an up close and personal view of not only those pros but celebrity performers and famous people who also played golf.  Mr. Crosby was himself a big fan of the game and rounded up a good number of his celebrity friends to play, too.  Traditionally, a hefty amount of money was donated to local charities, a tradition that continues to this day.

Dozens of volunteer groups perform all manner of preparatory service duties to help the tournament run smoothly, and hundreds of volunteers put in a lot of time making sure the logistics and needs of the fans and players are handled smoothly.  There are a few senior citizens who have been volunteering at the tournament nearly every year since its inception, mostly doing clerical work or helping set up.

Our local swim club has for years had the assignment of passing out golf tournament programs to all the local hotels and motels that asked for them.

With so many citizens pitching in to help, the whole area feels a part of it all.  There is no denying that golf is an expensive game and requires a huge investment by those who have a great deal of money to produce and maintain courses.  Cost often excludes the local blue-collar segment of society from really participating in the game much.  So, the effort of the AT&T tournament to at least donate money to service clubs to benefit kids and underprivileged people takes the sting out of feeling excluded by virtue of economic hardship.

If the weather cooperates and behaves itself this year, golf fans and players will have an excited gallery of fans to cheer their play, and the teens, kids and older locals will be doing their best to help make it all look easy and beautiful.

Misha The Therapy Dog Plays Santa

A very large dog that could have been mistaken for a very small horse with a long pink tongue came to work wearing a very unique costume.  Jingling bells, a flared red skirt and a santa hat made up her ensemble, and she wore it with flair and style.

This is Misha, a mellow Great Dane therapy dog.  She comes to work dressed in holiday regalia and delights patients and staff alike.  Misha is about
150 lb and is about three and a half years old.  She has been selected and trained to go around the hospital cheering people up and giving them something to smile about, and sometimes just the sight of an animal or being able to touch her soft clean fur triggers a positive, healing response in people.  I wonder if little kids see her as an equal.  Surely, she is much bigger than most of them.  Sometimes people pour their hearts out to therapy dogs when no one else has been able to gain their trust.  A dog simply shows up and stands there; the rest is magic.

There are quite a few dogs whose owners volunteer to bring them in for visits every few days.  They're on a schedule, and these quiet canines take their job seriously.  When they put on their official green vests, they know where they're going and what is expected.

In the squadron, as I call it, are a bichon, a doberman, an Australian shepherd, and a standard-sized poodle.  Misha showed up in her nose-to-tail finery and never blinked an eye, standing quietly on her leash and accepting comments, praise and dog cookies whenever offered.  When she wants to relax, she swings her hind quarters around and sets them down on a chair.  It's easy for her since her back goes nearly up to my waist.  She has her toenails painted red, has a blinking lighted collar and a few accessories I doubt many other dogs would put up with but that she doesn't mind in the slightest.  Considering she had the entire staff crowded around her smiling and laughing, the job she does is unique and very much appreciated.

Journey Begun: Visionary Hero

There is a friend of mine with a wonderful vision that is calling him forward on a journey that he finds irresistible but, at times, intensely difficult:  "It's like pushing a snowball up an active volcano."

He is Mark Temple, a Canadian swim coach of some renown in his country but little known outside of it except to swimming cognoscenti.  Having coached dozens of Canadian Olympians in his career, he has mastered his craft and loves it.  He is dynamic, knowledgable and passionate about all things aquatic.  Now he intends to bring the world of swimming as he knows it (think Michael Phelps) to this beautiful area where he now lives.

I've been writing recently about relating personal transformation and effort to The Hero's Journey, so eloquently delineated by Joseph Campbell.  Mark, energetic visionary that he is, has embarked on a new journey, and his progress is easily paralleled with the classic monomyth.  Dragons, monsters, difficult stony paths await any hero who embarks on a difficult path, no matter how great their vision or sense of purpose.  It's never easy, but then again great effort produces great results for those who undertake the journey wisely.  

There is also a tidy model that describes what Mark has done so far:  V x D x F > R  This model was taught to the attendees of the Chautauqua at Mt. Madonna last July.  V stands for vision.  The individual or entity must have a strong vision of what they would like to accomplish, or a new idea.  D stands for dissatisfaction.  There must be a strong enough dissatisfaction with things as they are to motivate the person to undergo effort to make the change occur.  F stands for first steps, which must be done to initiate change.  All of these must occur before R, resistance, can be overcome.  All of them must be greater than the resistance to the change envisioned for the action to succeed.

Often, impulsively, we take first steps but have no vision; we're just mad about something.  We don't get very far.  Or, we have a vision but falter and no steps are taken.  Resistance to change cannot be overcome and the idea fails.

Mark Temple has a very strong vision, based on experience in several very successful coaching experiences, of building an international aquatics center at Cal State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB).  He sees the potential and relates it to teaching children water safety, hosting international training sessions for swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming, diving, masters swimming, and providing a beautiful aquatics facility to serve our community.  It fills a void and creates a wonderful potential in many ways.

Mark has worked in effective aquatics programs before, has seen incredible centers used by people of all ages, and has enjoyed what the Monterey Peninsula already offers to golfers and dazzled admirers of nature.

First steps have been taken.  Monterey Peninsula Swim Association Foundation has been formed.  People are becoming curious, interested, involved.  They are being asked to take the journey with him; he is putting out the call.

The journey for Mark Temple has begun.  He has to get the snowball up the volcano, but his vision will hold him in good stead.  Vision and energy are things he has in abundance, but he will still encounter obstacles, frustration and pitfalls.  It's the nature of taking a journey.  He believes in the worth of the effort.  He intends to bring home a treasure, and when he does he return, he will be changed, for the journey always changes the hero.

Pacific Grove: Nothing's Changed In Spite Of Many Changes

There was at one time a very large salt-water pool in Pacific Grove at Lover's Point.  Now it's a volleyball court.  There were lots of people who used the plunge, as it was called, probably even on invigoratingly cool days like today.  The shore inlet is tranquil and quiet, safe for everyone.  Back in the early 1900s, someone examined the natural curve of the shoreline and decided it needed improvement, lit some dynamite and blew the smithereens out of it.  That was nearly the only noise ever to affect the sensibilities of the town, other than church bells on Sundays.  Even the blast itself was for the good of all, wasn't it?  I should think so.  

We have had our pranksters, as most towns do, but we have always recovered from them and remain to this day God fearing and law abiding.  One gentleman brought in a small herd of buffalo to amuse himself and drove it right through town.  It ended up at Lovers Point, and the wooly beasts ran all over, back and forth, trying to elude capture.  They even swam out into the water, around and back until they were corralled.  

Another fellow years later got himself up onto the highest part of the Holman's Building and decided to sit on the flagpole for as long as he could, trying to set a record.  It was a popular thing back in the day to roller skate around flagpoles on tall buildings.  The problem for him was, other than a lack of toilet facilities on the pole, Scotch Bakery was down there right across Lighthouse Avenue from him.  I'll bet he could smell the fresh doughnuts every morning.  He eventually got down, and now even Scotch's is gone.   

Gone, too, is the large livery stable that stood between Fountain and Grand Avenues on Pine Avenue, not too far from where I sit here writing.  There, a citizen could stable their team of horses or rent one for the day to ride out to the sand dunes.  Of course, the little train that ran every day could take you to Asilomar, too, and you could lie about with your picnic and your sweetheart by the lake over there.  

That's all gone now, but the town is still just exactly the same.  The land and weather shape events here, always have, just like every place shapes its people.  They say you could take every last person out of France, repopulate it with new people, and they'd all be the same as they are now.  Pacific Grove's seagulls screaming, doves cooing, waves rumbling at the shore and, of course, wind rushing across the point of the bay make us exactly who we are.  Top it all off with dripping cold fog in the summer and there's no place quite like it.