Monday was my last day of work for AIG after 6.98 years (graciously rounded up to 7 for benefits purposes) and I’m enjoying a few weeks off before starting my next work adventure. More about that in a few weeks. McD, on the other hand, worked hard all week long, spending most of her time in downtown Dallas by the Trinity river.
Brent and I celebrated National Taco Day on Thursday in style at the Velvet Taco in Dallas. The shrimp and grits taco and the margarita were both excellent. After lunch, I took Brent across the street to Audio Concepts, where Diana purchased the Linn turntable that became the heart of my office sound system that I enjoy every day. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours auditioning speakers for Brent’s new office in Corning. The slight challenge is that Patty is requesting bookshelf speakers for flexibility of placement in a future retirement home. Landon did a great job of demonstrating various digital streaming player and speaker combinations for us and we’ll see what Brent decides. “Private Investigations” by Dire Straits was the track used most to compare and what a great piece of music that is. I remember being amazed by the quality of the recording when first hearing it back in my University days.
On Friday afternoon we flew to San Francisco for the much anticipated Good Shepherd 8th grade 40th anniversary reunion event on Saturday evening. We decided to take Clorinda (Diana’s Mom) for dinner at the local Peruvian restaurant, Puerto 27, but changed our minds when greeted by extremely heavy traffic on Highway 1 South. Clorinda suggested we make a quick adjustment and try dinner at the local golf club – “Kevin’s a good cook”. Turns out Kevin is a really good cook – my Dover sole, Diana’s beef medallions, and Clorinda’s lamb shank were all delicious. Left overs were used in several breakfast omelets over the remainder of the weekend. Here’s a write up on Sharp Park gold course which was designed by a very famous Scottish architect and a video that adds some more details.
Of all the public golf courses in San Francisco, Sharp Park, which opened for play in April, 1932, arguably has the most distinguished pedigree and the deepest historical roots. Located 10 miles south of San Francisco alongside Salada Beach in Pacifica (San Mateo County), the course was designed by Dr. Alister Mackenzie, the Golf Hall of Fame architect who also designed Augusta National (home of the Masters Championship), Cypress Point (often ranked as the finest course in the world), as well as scores of other famed courses around the globe.
But even among that famous company, Sharp Park is utterly unique. It is the only MacKenize course that is both public and by the sea. The layout is spectacular, featuring stunning mountain and headlands views and a host of MacKenizie’s signature design features: the use of camouflage; cloud-shaped bunkers; sprawling greens; double fairways, and shotmaking options that require careful strategic thinking by the golfer. U.S. Open Champion Ken Venturi, who grew up on San Francisco’s public courses, called Sharp Park “Dr. MacKenzie’s great gift to the American public course golfer.”
In a sense, MacKenzie transplanted a bit of Scotland and placed it on the California Coast. Sharp Parkrepresents a true public links venue, reminiscent of classics such as North Berwick and St. Andrews itself. The old-time Scottish flavor of the place is accentuated by the 1932 Spanish Revival-style clubhouse, designed by the Willis Polk office, which today houses a lively neighborhood pub.
Saturday began as a classic foggy Pacifica day. We spent the morning visiting the nephews and Amy while Adamo was lobster diving off Southern California. Those kids have way too much energy for us old folks.
I got a lot of enjoyment from watching Massimo trying to put on his socks so that he could go and play outside.
Clorinda put together what I call the “Progression of D” ahead of the reunion and I enjoyed reviewing her school photos.
We also reviewed the year book pictures to see who Diana might remember from 40 years earlier.
Diana drove her Mum to church on Saturday evening just ahead of the reunion. When she asked who was giving a ride back home, the answer was: “I’m not going home – I’m joining you at the party!” She did indeed join the party and was mentioned as a “highlight” in an email today from one of the organizers.
It was great seeing everyone getting reacquainted and enjoying old stories. I particularly enjoyed a video of a band that three of the classmates had played in back in the day.
Sunday was a nice sunny day – always seems that the fog leaves right as we depart Pacifica. Our flight was delayed a few hours for unknown reason, and so we were able to enjoy some of the lobster that Adamo had just caught before leaving.
There was plenty of time for reading this week and I finished a couple of books with some similarities. The first, “Little Fires Everywhere”, by Celeste Ng takes place in the suburban town of Shaker Heights, Ohio, where she grew up. The lives of several families become intertwined through their children and Ng’s tale of what happens behind perfectly manicured suburban lawns takes off. The characters and the story telling are excellent with just enough believable twists to keep me hooked. While reading, I wondered if a movie version was planned as the story and characters seem ideal. I just read that Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are planning a TV series.
The second book, “Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger, is based in New Bremen, Minnesota in 1961 and is narrated by Frank Drum. He recounts the story of his teenage years from the perspective of a 40 year older version of himself. 40th anniversaries are a theme this week!
“That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.”
I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as Little Fires, but it still kept my interest well and was a quick read.
I was introduced to Radio Paradise by the guys at Audio Concepts and have been enjoying the varied mix of music all week. You can choose a high fidelity FLAC stream which sounds great. Here are a couple of the songs I enjoyed.