GOLFING WITH CHAZ

Chaz, a fellow MTV teacher, and I played a lot of golf together in the old days when we would throw towels on our heads and start walking 18 holes in Southern Illinois noon heat and humidity. The bee poster reminded me of one incident.

As we were walking up a long par five at Indian Hills, a swarm of bees was circling like a tornado. They got very close to Chaz who had the misfortune of hitting his second shot into the rough on the right side, disturbing the bees or at least getting in their path. Running uphill with golf clubs strapped over his shoulder was a funny sight. Especially since he was able to avoid them.

A funnier incident occurred at another course, but I wasn't in his group that day. At a short par 3 on the back nine, Chaz heard nature call. He went running (again) with his clubs over his shoulder, jingling and jangling, all the way to the clubhouse. He ran into the lower level clubhouse, feeling good--he had made it. One problem: it was a one-holer and it was occupied. Surveying the situation, he knew his only possiblity was the sink. At some point in time (this was the Watergate era) he knocked the sink away from the wall. It sheered the water pipe causing the water to rush out onto the floor. It frightened the man on the stool, and he came running out to see what the problem was.

Chaz escaped detection that day. Two weeks later, sporting a ball cap pulled down over his head as low as it would go, he returned to the scene where they were still talking about the idiot who decided to use the sink for a purpose other than what it intended for.