He’s been hitting a golf ball for over 40 years. That morning he stepped up to the tee and smacked his Titlist 250 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. My turn soon followed, I tried to concentrate and do all those things golfers are supposed to do like keeping my head down and following through with my swing. There is a line of two story condominiums that parallel the first tee on Pointe Royale golf course. My tee shot cleared the top story and landed in the parking lot accompanied by a loud whack of impact on object unknown. My playing partner said “where’d it go?” I quickly teed up another ball and managed to hit the fairway. I’m not a very good golfer but I do enjoy playing and over the last few years I’ve managed to improve my game, mostly due to the lessons, encouragement and harassment I’ve received from a drummer. Understand I’m not in the company of lightweights here, this playing partner is not only one of the more famous guitarists to ever strum a G chord he’s also notable in the game of golf. He sponsored his own tournament in Los Angeles for a dozen years and every year he manages to win the pro-am at the Pebble Beach. He’s played with many of the great pros and is always in demand on the celebrity golf circuit. When the pros, friends, family and celebrities aren’t around though us band guys get to ride around with Glen in a golf cart chasing the little white ball. I don’t want to bore all you non-golfers with this stuff but I did manage to play one of my best rounds ever that day, missing an eagle putt by a half inch, getting a birdie, and a handful of pars. We also played the fastest 18 holes I’ve ever played, finishing in less than three hours; one doesn’t dally around the golf course when playing with Glen! We played again several days later. I was struggling along with my quirky swing, making some pretty good drives and scoring OK until Glen started telling me about swinging from the power center or belly button. I tried to incorporate his suggestions into my swing however the results were not positive and I proceeded to lose five bucks to him on the back nine.

Branson this spring could be summed up with the “three Gs”, guitars, golf and gourmet. I continually experiment with food, preparing all my own meals except for a weekly Friday night out sushi binge. Last week I made chicken enchiladas. I brought the enchilada sauce from home so they came out great; the only thing that could have made them better is if I’d been able to obtain freshly made corn tortillas. Gary’s (Glen’s drummer and golfing partner) specialties include chicken cutlets and sausage and peppers a la Italiano style. He recently made his chicken cutlets and since I’d been so generous to him with my chicken enchiladas I was expecting a nice return in cutlets. He picked me up to go to the theater the next day and handed me one lonely cutlet in foil. He said “I made cutlets last night and ate them all except this one.” We’ll see how many enchiladas he gets out of the next batch.

Thursday morning finds me on a weekly trek to nearby Hollister where there is an excellent fish market. Captain Dave makes weekly trips to the Gulf area and brings back treasures from the sea as well as Louisiana specialties. Dave is only open Thursday through Saturday so you’ve got to get in early before the restaurants get all the good stuff. Shrimp, salmon, halibut, tuna, tilapia, sea bass, mussels and catfish have all become the main course in my condo thanks to Dave. One can also obtain delicious kettle style Louisiana potato chips, hot sauces and seafood accoutrements. He recently started stocking turduckens and de-boned Cajun chickens that have been stuffed with a variety of things including crayfish and shrimp etouffeé, jambalaya, pork and rice, broccoli and cheddar etc. I’ve never had a turducken but they are a new craze and here’s how they’re created. First, a turkey is hand de-boned except for the wings and the drumsticks. The turkey is then stuffed with a de-boned duck and a de-boned chicken. Between the three meats, seasonings and stuffing is layered. Can’t get enough of that Louisiana cooking!

No matter how good life seems the other shoe can drop at any time, or as author John Irving coined in “The World According to Garp”, the undertoad is lurking just below the surface waiting to suck us under. Today marks the one year anniversary of our battle with breast cancer. My wife completed chemotherapy and radiation treatments between June 2002 and January of 2003. I never realized what a cruel, mutilating disease breast cancer could be. Notice that one never hears about breast cancer being cured, that’s because there is no cure, even after surgery and all the various treatments one must always be on the lookout for recurrence. Breast cancer can recur in the bones, liver and lungs most frequently without any warning or symptoms. It can recur in as little as a year to as long as twenty years or more after the original diagnosis. I thought we’d been through a lot in our 24 years of marriage but 2002 took us in directions we’d never imagined. I would encourage all women to become very aware of their bodies and to consult with your doctor at the first sign of any unusual lumps or bumps in the breast area. Get regular mammograms after age 40 and ask a lot of questions. If you don’t like what the doctor tells you then seek a second and third opinion. It’s not their life it’s yours and time matters, stopping this beast early increases your chances of a longer life.

National Cancer Institute - Breast Cancer Information

Ken Skaggs
May 7, 2003
11:43 A.M.
Branson, MO
ken@glencampbellshow.com

All images by Ken unless otherwise noted.

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