Nuggets from Dad: What's next?

 

Dear Daughters,

Three girls officially launched into the real world. We are super proud of each of you. The choices you make, the friends you keep, and how you embrace the journey ahead.

I've been thinking about what is next for Nuggets? So I removed the Aggie backdrop and rewrote the header. This will be a work in progress. With some help from my creatives, maybe I can 'flip' things a bit and land in a good spot. 

All I know for sure, I enjoy writing to my girls and occasionally to Harvey Penick and sharing with family, friends, and professional colleagues. So more nuggets to come . . .

Love,

Dad

Dear Harvey: Portsmouth UK & Hayling GC ⚓️ 🐚 🚀 ⛳️ 🕵🏼‍♀️

Harvey on the range at Austin CC

Dear Harvey,

Fantastic trip to Austin for Lucy's graduation, Emily and Kyle's engagement, and Jim Herndon's Celebration of Life. Full heart, tired body.

Hit the rails running upon return to England with a train to Portsmouth for meetings at BAE Systems. This brought back memories of growing up in small farm towns in the Tidewater, Virginia area. The nearest orthodontist was Dr. Samual E. Buxton Jr. in Portsmouth, VA. 

I recently had some significant restorative dental work, so I suppose dentistry has been on my mind. The below on Dr. Buxton is especially interesting, as I will be in Cherbourg, France (Normandy) later this week. 

"Dr. Buxton practiced general dentistry in Portsmouth until the beginning of World War II. He served in the US Navy from 1940-45 and landed with the Seabees on Normandy. It was unusual for a dentist to make an amphibious landing. He continued his service in the Naval Reserve and retired with the rank of Commander. After the war, he attended specialty training in orthodontics at the University of Michigan." [Source: Virginia Dental Journal; January/March 1995]

Both Portsmouth(s) have Naval history, though Portsmouth, UK, dates a wee bit farther than Portsmouth, VA.

"Portsmouth (UK) owes its origin to the retreat of the sea from the earlier settlement of Portchester at the head of Portsmouth Harbour. No town existed at the site until 1194, when the strategic importance of Portsea Island induced King Richard I to build a settlement there and to grant it a charter, fair, and market. The dockyard, which is still a major source of employment, dates from 1496, when the town was already a naval base." [Source: Britannica.com]

Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery: A Study in Sherlock explores the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the creation of his most famous character. It features a range of interactive displays, a 'new' Sherlock Holmes mystery, and narration by Stephen Fry, the Patron of the Collection. Come and experience the world of Sherlock Holmes and fine-tune your own powers of detection! [Source: Portsmouth website]

Other things to do in Portsmouth:

• Hovertravel to the Isle of Wright
• Visit Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum
• Explore the remains of Henry VIII's favorite ship - the Mary Rose

And, if you know the right people, you can find out how torpedoes are made at BAE's Broad Oak facility.

Spearfish is the UK Royal Navy's front-line anti-submarine and anti-surface torpedo. Modern submarines require sophisticated defensive and offensive underwater weapons to engage a wide range of surface and subsurface targets. Guided torpedoes provide this capability, and Spearfish is one of the most powerful and capable on the market. BAE Systems provides full support of Spearfish to the UK Royal Navy through a dedicated support 'workshop to waterfront' contract. [Source: BAE Systems]

Touring the factory, I had a couple of thoughts. If these things ever get deployed, we are all in big trouble. And two, the whole assembly process is much quieter than one might think. Intelligent engineers in lab coats with specific tasks building each component, but not loud. Here's a video to learn about Spearfish. (Footnote: Maybe 'loud' is not the best choice of words upon further thought. I suppose calm and quiet is better when touring a plant making bombs!)

With Cathy still in Texas, I thought it best to spend the weekend visiting Hayling Island and Hayling Golf Club. It turned out to be a great call!

I camped out at the Newtown House Hotel, recommended by Hayling GC head pro, Mark Treleaven. Newtown House is made of charming cottages renovated from an 18th Century farm, with excellent customer service, good food, and a cozy bar. I loved looking at the old ship beams and stone fireplaces throughout.

The Island reminds me of Jekyll Island, GA, with thick hedges lining streets framing modest beach cottages. It has a rustic feel and is not overdone. The Island is steeped in military history, including a World War II Heritage Trail where you learn about the history of Mulberry Harbour and its Pillboxes. Hayling is also the main place to head if you are into Kitesurfing. Colorful kites zigged and zagged through the skies throughout my visit. 

And the golf course? A 100 percent winner, Harvey. I absolutely loved it. Assistant Pro Jon Burnes checked me in and suggested a yardage book, as the layout across dunes can be tricky for newbies. After a late lunch in a grill room, with a view of the sea you must see, I headed to the putting green and chance met member Simon Vine. Simon was kind enough to run back to his nearby beachfront home, grab his gear and show me the way around Hayling. He was a good player who knew how to work his ball in the wind, and I learned from watching a skilled links player. I was sure without Simon, I could have easily set off down the wrong fairway a time or two!

My 59th birthday ball mark from my buddy Jim Hopke continues to go places! Miss you, jHop, and the boys back at Austin CC. I'll be ready for your games when I return.

Greenskeeper's house off of 13 green, nice perk! This was a great hole where you can putt or chip your approach from as much as 100 yards out because of the slope to the green. @ACC super Bobby Stringer, you might want to rethink your next contract negotiation! I know just the place.

Simon Vine, another friend through golf. Wonderful chap. Simon tells me Hayling has many scratch and plus handicaps. I believe it! You just got that vibe around the members.

View from the balcony looking towards starters shack and the sea. The course was in superb shape with large teeing areas and wonderful green complexes. (P.S. Stay away from unforgiving Hayling gorse!)

 

The view from the grill room is pretty special!

Turkey, cranberry, and cheese toastie for lunch. Yum!

Don't miss the history of Hayling GC on the website here. Learn about founder 'Tommy' Fleetwood Sandeman, from the famous Sandeman sherry and port company. The original nine were laid out by 'The General' Joe Lloyd from Hoylake, who later won the US Open in 1897.

"In 1902 an exhibition match was held between Harry Vardon and James Braid and soon afterwards, in 1905, their contemporary, J H Taylor, was commissioned to advise on course alterations for a Fee of £11. Further course visits from Harry Colt (1919) and Taylor (1927) saw more change, but it was surely Tom Simpson who left his enduring mark on the course when his changes in 1932 and after the war in 1946 made the course very much as it is today. The renowned golf writer Bernard Darwin wrote, after playing the course, that ‘it possesses some of the finest natural seaside golfing country to be found anywhere." [Source link above, club website.]

Could not agree more with Mr. Darwin! The Newtown House offers a great deal for golf groups of six or more. Room and breakfast for £89 per night and a private dining room each night for the group to settle bets and tell lies. Good Lord willing, I must return to Hayling Island.

This was a 19th hole. A par three is played over water during high tide and only used when one of the other 18 holes is closed for maintenance. Many members consider it as good a hole as any on the course.

Want to play Hayling with me next time?

gPage

Letters to Harvey from The Kingdom:

• Dear Harvey: On business in Spain (Parador de El Saler GC) ⛵️🍤🍷🏌️‍♀️🏖
• Dear Harvey: St. Enodoc Golf Club - Church Course (Cornwall) ⛳️ ⛪️ 🎢
• Dear Harvey: Trevose Golf & Country Club (Cornwall) 🏌️‍♂️⚓️🦈
• Dear Harvey: Ernie Els or Ernie the Milk Man 🥛🍼🥛
• Dear Harvey: Grateful is the right word (#GDTBATH)
• Dear Harvey: (Uncle Charlie) McDowell trumped by (Great Uncle Fred) McLeod
• Dear Harvey: The Jack Burke Sr. Golf Legacy Tree
• Dear Harvey: gPage-A-Palooza 2022
• Dear Harvey: The Stage Golfing Society (London)
• Dear Harvey: First Woman Captain (The Richmond Golf Club)
• A couple of gems: Muirfield and North Berwick
• Tube to Tee: Sudbury Golf Club
• Hugging Harvey Goodbye and off to London for a Bit

Other 'golfy' scribblings:

• I Knew Harvey Invitational Golf and Dinner + Ode to Harvey (tribute poem)
• Dear Harvey: "Up against a kid" by Bo Links (slightly modified for gender)
• Dear Harvey: Life is long if you know how to use it
• Stay Whole Tuesday: Stillness, Rome, Herb Brooks, and Harvey Penick
• Patty Sheehan: "Some kind of peacefulness about what you are doing."
• Oscillate, as in Oscillating Dynamic Variable Resistance
• All bets are won or lost on the first tee
• 5.5.05 - 5.5.20 It has been 15 (Bart Star) years since I wrote this . . . Stay Whole!
• Pete Dye (1925 - 2020)
• Dear Harvey: Ace on 16
• Swing sequence - 4th of July (thanks, Emily)
• Fit as a Fiddle Friday: Deceleration with Tom Kite
• My Flat Ass Fitness Rules (12 of them)
• Rudy's 360 boys with Tom Kite - two-time NCAA champions!
• Roane Puett: Austin CC Legendary Golf Member and Friend
• It's complicated: A special video clip from Emily's college golf experience
• Celebrating Dan Bates: Why do men have a hard time getting to know each other?

"Millions of people were charmed by the homespun golf advice dispensed in Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, a sports classic that became the best-selling sports book of all time. Yet, beyond the Texas golf courses where Penick happily toiled for the better part of eight decades, few people knew the self-made golf pro who coaxed the best out of countless greats -- Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright -- all champions who considered Penick their coach and lifelong friend." - Kevin Robbins, author of Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf.

"And if you play golf, you are my friend." - Harvey Penick

Dear Harvey: On business in Spain (Parador de El Saler GC) ⛵️🍤🍷🏌️‍♀️🏖

Harvey on practice tee at Austin CC

Dear Harvey,

Flashback to early April when Cathy joined me in Barcelona for a sales meeting. I failed to get this in the mail, perhaps due to the NCAA Tournament, staying up all night cheering the Tar Heels unexpected run to the Final Four. It still feels like we won a championship, even though we came up one-half short! By the way, I never heard back from JJ Redick?

This may not look like work, but I promise I'm making a difference here. While my teammates and I planned strategy around Common Data Environments (CDE) for enterprise manufacturing clients like GE, JCI, Unilever, and BAE Systems, Cathy took to bike tours and a city completely rejuvenated following the 1992 Olympics. 

"The 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona were an enormous success, both as an international sporting event and as the catalyst for wide scale urban renewal of the city." Ref: The summer when Barcelona dazzled the world.

I saw a bit of Barcelona from the Southern Cross during our 'team activity' mid-week. Except for Vancouver, I could not recall a more picturesque portside city. Most of my colleagues loved the sailing excursion, but a few were seasick by the time we returned to port. Considering my lack of sleep, I had flashbacks to a deep-sea fishing excursion in the Outer Banks of North Carolina during college days with good friend Tabb Evans, our fathers, and my dad's good buddy Ed Carter Nettles. We nearly had a triple grand slam that day, but I was not in good stead after partying too much the night before. A Carolina grand slam consists of a blue marlin, a white marlin, and a sailfish, so it was remarkable to nearly do it three times. 

By the end of the week, we had a grasp of where Autodesk is going with CDE in the Building Information Modeling (BIM) space and Product Information Modeling (PIM.) Think of Tom Kite's more analytical (left-brain) approach to golf versus Ben Crenshaw's (right-brain) creative style, and you get a sense of the world I live in at Autodesk. It takes both types to solve BIG problems like climate change. Stay tuned for some exciting customer visits that will stretch your engineering brain.

Before leaving Barcelona, I walked with Cathy to see incredible architecture, followed by dinner with colleagues at Botafumeiro, a place recommended by a friend at Tube to Tee: Sudbury Golf Club, Hemant Patel. Without a doubt, the best restaurant recommendation I have ever received, and that sentiment was echoed by all who joined us. Thanks, Hemant!

The next day, we rented a car (steering wheel back on the left) and headed south to another seaside city, Valencia. On the way down, I surprised my bride (birthday) with a wine tour of Ferrer Bobet near the little town of Falset Tarragona. Shout out to my good buddy Jay Hallberg, Austin CC, and his colleague Jose Peralta on the ground in Spain. Check out Vineify, one of Jay's business ventures, not yet available in Europe but good to go in the USA!

Our global team is building a better way to buy wine that brings joy to consumers, takes the hassle out of buying wine, and helps the wine industry sell more higher-quality wines. We're open for business in Austin! Join our waitlist.

Bacelona to Ferrer Bobet to Valencia (4th bubble is El Saler)

As wine tours go, this ranks top of my list. Here is how Jose set things up:

Hi, again, Page,

So, you have more or less two hours by road from Barcelona to Ferrer Bobet winery. Just before to arrive to Tarragona, you have to take the road to the inland and keep the Mediterranean Sea at your back directly to the mountains. Here you have the GPS coordinates: North 41 10’ 09’’  Est 0 51’ 18’’. It is the kilometre 6.5 of the road T-740 Falset from Porrera. 

The visit is programmed at 12:00. The expected duration is between 60-90 minutes. Please, ask for Elena, she will be in charge. Don’t forget to try his Special Selection Old Vines (a 100% Carignan-based) in case it is not included in your taste. The 2016 is my favourite. You can if you want to ask Elena to buy some bottles even if there is not really a boutique in the Estate.

 

Then, you take the road to Falset (15 minutes more or less). You have a reservation for two at 14:00 in the restaurant ‘El Celler de l’Aspic’. The reservation is to my name, Jose Peralta. The staff had a small problem with yours.

 

And Happy Birthday to your wife!

 

Jose

Elena was remarkable. Her smart and happy vibe reminded me of my Grandmother, Gabriella Van Patten McDowell, though I don't recall Gaymom drinking even a sip of wine. I'll share photos and a video or two to give a sense of Elena's personality and the winery itself. What an incredible tasting room and view!

"The winery works like a boat squared between vineyards, an object that rests its precarious balance in the undominated landscape of this hidden corner of the Priorat." [Photo above and text from website]

After wine tasting and lunch, we made our way to Valencia and checked into the Las Arenas Balneario Resort. We rose early the following day and headed out for a game at the unique Parador de El Saler. The website gives the golf course a bit too much hype, but it is located in Le Saler Natural Park on the Mediterranean Sea, and what is not there in terms of course conditions is made up for with stunning seaside views and spectacular wildlife. (Read between the lines, and you might surmise I lost too many golf balls off of tight fairways and in gnarly rough.) 

We were paired with Ferdinando Maritien and his partner Elizabeth (from Madrid), who added spice and fun to our round. There was a language barrier, but the golf camaraderie connected us fine. "If you play golf . . . 

Check out below putt by Cathy and our new friend celebrating to give you an idea of the fun we had:

After El Saler, it was beach and pool time. I'm not the best at just sitting still, but this is not a bad gig if one must. 

Even though on vacation, I used that table as a desk for a few hours each day. 

I sent this video to my high school mates with a straightforward question. Did we ever have these 'football' skills?

We enjoyed more incredible food in Valencia, especially seafood. We also ended up in the middle of a Passover celebration on Saturday night after our dinner in the village. Check out scenes from the ceremony below.

Highly recommend Civera in Valencia for its amazing seafood, atmosphere, & service.

We will be back in Spain (Madrid) in mid-June. Beautiful people, fantastic food, and breathtaking scenery. If Spain were a US state, it would rank right up there among my favorites.

Next up, Hayling Golf Club,

gPage

Letters to Harvey from The Kingdom:

• Dear Harvey: Bucket list month of July 🎾 ⛳️🏆
• Dear Harvey: Portsmouth UK & Hayling GC ⚓️ 🐚 🚀 ⛳️ 🕵🏼‍♀️
• Dear Harvey: On business in Spain (Parador de El Saler GC) ⛵️🍤🍷🏌️‍♀️🏖
• Dear Harvey: St. Enodoc Golf Club - Church Course (Cornwall) ⛳️ ⛪️ 🎢
• Dear Harvey: Trevose Golf & Country Club (Cornwall) 🏌️‍♂️⚓️🦈
• Dear Harvey: Ernie Els or Ernie the Milk Man 🥛🍼🥛
• Dear Harvey: Grateful is the right word (#GDTBATH)
• Dear Harvey: (Uncle Charlie) McDowell trumped by (Great Uncle Fred) McLeod
• Dear Harvey: The Jack Burke Sr. Golf Legacy Tree
• Dear Harvey: gPage-A-Palooza 2022
• Dear Harvey: The Stage Golfing Society (London)
• Dear Harvey: First Woman Captain (The Richmond Golf Club)
• A couple of gems: Muirfield and North Berwick
• Tube to Tee: Sudbury Golf Club
• Hugging Harvey Goodbye and off to London for a Bit

Other 'golfy' scribblings:

• I Knew Harvey Invitational Golf and Dinner + Ode to Harvey (tribute poem)
• Dear Harvey: "Up against a kid" by Bo Links (slightly modified for gender)
• Dear Harvey: Life is long if you know how to use it
• Stay Whole Tuesday: Stillness, Rome, Herb Brooks, and Harvey Penick
• Patty Sheehan: "Some kind of peacefulness about what you are doing."
• Oscillate, as in Oscillating Dynamic Variable Resistance
• All bets are won or lost on the first tee
• 5.5.05 - 5.5.20 It has been 15 (Bart Star) years since I wrote this . . . Stay Whole!
• Pete Dye (1925 - 2020)
• Dear Harvey: Ace on 16
• Swing sequence - 4th of July (thanks, Emily)
• Fit as a Fiddle Friday: Deceleration with Tom Kite
• My Flat Ass Fitness Rules (12 of them)
• Rudy's 360 boys with Tom Kite - two-time NCAA champions!
• Roane Puett: Austin CC Legendary Golf Member and Friend
• It's complicated: A special video clip from Emily's college golf experience
• Celebrating Dan Bates: Why do men have a hard time getting to know each other?

"Millions of people were charmed by the homespun golf advice dispensed in Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, a sports classic that became the best-selling sports book of all time. Yet, beyond the Texas golf courses where Penick happily toiled for the better part of eight decades, few people knew the self-made golf pro who coaxed the best out of countless greats -- Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright -- all champions who considered Penick their coach and lifelong friend." - Kevin Robbins, author of Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf.

"And if you play golf, you are my friend." - Harvey Penick

Celebration of Life: James Dewey Herndon (1931-2021)

Dear Jim,

It was an honor to be asked (by Mikey) to open and close your celebration of life service in Austin on Sunday. Held at the Historic Charles Johnson House on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, with a great crowd of family and friends. 

I loved meeting so many special people who came to pay their respects and hearing special memories from your son, James, UT tennis coach Jeff Moore, and Mikey.

I tried to capture your spirit in my opening prayer and remarks and my closing poem from your 87th birthday with slight modifications: Just a Growing Boy from Oklahoma.

Jim, I will always treasure the five years we had together as neighbors and friends!

Rest in peace, and hook'em horns in heaven!

Page

Opening Prayer and Remarks

Dear Lord and Savior, we have gathered today to honor and celebrate the life of Colonel James Dewey Herndon (Jim) Obituary link

Be with each of us today as we think about what Jim meant to us. Help us feel and see today as a celebration, a time of joy, a time of remembering and being thankful for the good that Jim did in this world and for what Jim meant to so many people.

A devoted husband, a loving father, a friend, a neighbor, a cheerleader, a warrior, a patriot, a comedian, a confidant, a fixer, a doer, and a lover of life. Bountifully optimistic. Humble. Kind. Intelligent. Wise. 

Lord, we appreciate how Jim loved his family; he loved his friends, community, and country. He was a man of courage and faith, and he understood the human spirit at a level very few can reach. 

His death leaves a void in our hearts and in our community. But his presence, his ability to listen even after he lost most of his hearing, remains a gift that we all can be so grateful for having shared.

In Christ's name, we pray,

Amen

My name is G Page Singletary

My wife Cathy and our three girls, plus their significant others: Sally, Taylor, Emily, Kyle, Lucy, and Trey, we were Jim’s neighbor and Jim’s friend from November of 2016 until his passing five years later. 

When Cathy and I moved to our home at 3901 A Belmont Park Drive, my good friend Doug Duke said I think my best friends live in 3901 B Belmont Park Drive. That was Mikey and Jim Herndon, our next-door neighbors, and that was our good fortune.

I am honored to be here and grateful Mikey asked me to open and close this ceremony of life. I loved Jim. I learned from Jim. I laughed with Jim. I turned to Jim in times of need. Jim personified the words ‘friend and neighbor’ and had such a beautiful approach to life.

So, as I prayed for, today should be a day of celebration. Jim would want it precisely that way. 

You know what he would say if he were here, and I believe he is here . . .

“Was anybody shooting at you?” 

No, not really.

"Then button it up and stop acting silly!"