What kind of Day has it been?

          Everyday the goal is to wake up and then go out and search for all that is Good in the World or at least my part of it anyway.

          Monday was one of those days that gives me hope in the fact that there are still Good people 🙏 doing Good deeds for others around them. 

           The day began with a trip across the street to introduce myself to the Carroll County High School golf ⛳ coach, Kristopher Goad. Mr. Goad and his Cavilers were set to compete in a dual match along with the Blue Devils of Grayson County around 1pm if the weather would cooperate.

           Carroll County is my home, hopefully for the remaining time here on Earth and like many other rural towns, cities and villages there is no daily newspaper that covers the area. Three separate weekly papers do what they can to provide news to the residents but there's no chance that a high school regular season golf match is going to be covered by the media.

             Having been a high school golfer just over four decades ago now, I have a soft spot for the young men and women that play the sport for a number of reasons. The first being that the season starts well before the school year does so there's no threat of a fan base to support your efforts as your classmates are still enjoying their summer.

             Next on the list is the expense of actually playing the sport. The cost of golf clubs, golf balls and green fees and possible lessons add up quickly for both the students and the parents. While many a golfer dreams of playing on the PGA or LPGA tour one day the reality is that most competitive golf careers begin and end at the high school level.

              After introducing myself to Goad before the match I committed the day to writing ✍ the best story that I could find over what turned out to be the next eight hours. There's never an agenda when the day starts, just a search for Positive things about what presents itself to me.

            In no particular order here's a list of things that made me smile. I will start out with Goad himself and the commitment he has for providing the opportunity for his golfers to compete for CCHS.

          Goad played golf ⛳ for the Cavilers during his time at the school and found a great deal of success during that period. Now he's giving back to the next generation in a manner that makes perfect sense. The day started around 11am when he picked up his team and drove them out to Stone Mountain Road to the course.

             Arriving in plenty of time for each of his players to hit balls at the range and roll some putts before the meet started at 1pm. Fast forward to 7:30pm when the final golfer turned their scorecard into the Coaches. Next up came a brief team meeting to insure that each player received some guidance from their Coach about what they will be doing next.

               One of the golfers 🏌️‍♂️left his book bag in the van so that was the next errand on the list before returning the school van back to the campus and then finally calling it a day. That amount of effort would be impressive if Goad had a six figure shoe contract with Nike, let alone for the bonus pay that comes with being a high school golf coach!

                Next on the list for wanting to smile was the amazing number of folks - parents, siblings, friends and Grandparents that took the time, effort and money 💰 to make the drive out to the Golf Course to support their loved one. Some of the people were coming from work and others from Grayson County all the way to our Mountaintop and then plopping down $20.00 for the use of a Golf Cart just to show love and support - Priceless.

                 Let's not forget to applaud 👏 the students themselves for first attending school then riding to the golf course to then walk 18 (very beautiful) incredibly hilly holes over a six plus hour round of golf. I overhead the folks from Grayson County mentioning the possibility of a stop at Taco Bell on the way back to their school. My best guess is that they made it back to their homes between 9 and 10 pm.

                  The possible highlight of my eight hours was spending 2 or 3 of them in the Pro Shop with Bo Goins. Everyone should be lucky enough to spend that amount of time with such a Top Notch individual. While Bo is 20+ years younger than me I want to one day grow up to be Bo.

                  Last but not least was the young man that was handling the carts for the afternoon and then well into the evening last night. As my wife and I were heading into town to pick up our groceries after I wrapped things up he finally made it to the range to pick up golf balls. Good thing his equipment came with a headlight.

                   Kudos to Sherry for checking everyone in and the grounds crew for working so hard after such a heavy rain 🌧 on Sunday night.

                  Just a side note, CCHS won the match 393-443.

                   If you run into Mr. Goad Tuesday and he looks a little worn out, know that he earned it as did his counterpart from Grayson County.

                    As for me, I will wake up tomorrow and continue my search for all that is Good!