Search Nuggets

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Dear Harvey: Stick-to-it-ness, Tattoos, and the Supernatural

Harvey on the range at ACC
Dear Harvey,

I am on a roll. Three letters in three days. Take your time writing back.

This is an unusual note titled 'Stick-to-it-ness, Tattoos, and the Supernatural.' Got your attention? I promise it is all tied to golf and will never waste your time.

In yesterday's letter, I shared about Emily and Kyle's wedding on 15 April 2023 and how much I appreciated everyone at Austin Country Club: Dear Harvey: Thanks Austin CC for an amazing wedding (Emily & Kyle). I also posted some fun photos from the ceremony.

Highlights for me were walking Emily down the aisle and delivering my father-of-the-bride wedding toast. I shared my toast here on Nuggets: A little bit of History, Heart, and Hope (Emily & Kyle). In my remarks, I talked about how Emily and Kyle were college athletes and what it took to persevere through those years (i.e., stick-to-it-ness.) 

One story I did not share was about a tattoo that Emily got (while playing on her university golf team) on the inside of her middle finger. The tattoo was of a golf flagstick, and it was a symbol to herself of how she needed to stick to it. She always told me that I was supposed to get a matching 'stamp,' but of course, I never did . . . until . . . two days before the wedding. I showed it to Emily right before I walked her down the aisle. An extraordinary moment.

The photo on the left was taken the day after the wedding. (Emily's tattoo is fading and may require a touchup!) After we took that picture, Emily wanted a 'selfie' with our hands in a certain position near our faces. She spent some time getting my hand where she wanted it and then snapped the photo below. When I later looked at the picture, I saw what appeared to be a face in the circle made by my thumb and index finger.


Call me crazy, but I am convinced my deceased father, Gene, was in the house! Here's a blow-up of that area, followed by a special photo taken by my Aunt Dianne after giving Dad a copy of something I wrote and dedicated to him years ago called Releasing the Churn.





Do you see the smile and the glasses and the resemblance?

I sure do,

gPage

I will always treasure this special moment with Emily!

Letters to Harvey from The Kingdom:

Other 'golfy' scribblings:
"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
Posted by at