HB, JP!

First tee box, Dearborn Holes Golf Course, a really long time ago.
Note Rouge River coursing in background.  Infamously, together, we
shanked 38 balls into it that day.  Long drive of the day winner, the
 Birthday Boy himself, 81 yards (hooked directly into the woods)

Now that Johnny Boy has reached the profound level of maturity possessed
by his older siblings (with his dear sister boldly leading the way and Mick-Mouse
dragging his feet at the rear), it is fitting to take a brief glance back -- which brings
us to this photo.  It was recently discovered quite by accident in a dusty corner of a
desolate attic at the very bottom of a misplaced antique storage chest underneath
the yellowed, brittle newspaper that lined its bottom. The long-forgotten shot was
taken the first time the brothers ever played golf together...which turned out to be
the last time for decades.

'Tearing up the course' is usually a good thing and suggests a low score as in
'Boy, you really tore it up today!'  However, in this particular case, we literally
tore the place up, young hacks that we were, and having been observed doing
so by the ranger-owner, we were summarily Banned For Life at DHGC
(actually Dearborn Hills, but widely and snidely called Dearborn Holes due
to its unkempt, unruly, unmowed and divot-plagued fairways and greens).

After our abject humiliation, it would be decades before we would regroup on a
 golf course (but, fortunately, have since made up for lost time).  Still, it's always
worth a moment's reflection on that very first time (whatever the category),
however painful such a memory may be.



All the Best on Your Big Day, Johann!