i love this story

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE EVER SHARED A PASSION OR A CONNECTION with a grandparent, you gotta read this story my friend Eddie Elliott sent out to me and a bunch of other people in his address book last week:
 
When I was around 10 years old, my grandfather bought me a set of golf clubs that included a putter, 3,5,7,and 9 irons and a wooden driver. The bag was a hard, orange plastic container that had pockets for my tees and golf balls and loose change. I have a lasting childhood memory of taking my clubs to an open field down by the Anacostia river in Maryland and hitting golf balls and then finding them in the tall grass.

As I began to improve, my grandfather brought me down to Virginia where he lived with his wife Cleo. He used to drop me off at the Deer Run golf course in Newport News, VA and I would practice all day and play nine holes with some other kids. It was such a joy to be there and I never got bored. My grandfather would come pick me up after he finished working at the machine shop he owned. We would talk about the golf and how great it was and then head on home for dinner. In the morning, I would be up putting into one of those automatic return golf holes or whacking plastic balls in the yard. When I was with Granddad, it was almost always about golf. As a matter of fact, I asked him once, "Granddad, what would you do if you couldn’t golf anymore?" "Throw some dirt on me," he replied.

Over the years, Granddad and I played golf in Myrtle Beach, all over Virginia and Maryland, Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina. Granddad almost always paid my green fees and I always promised him I would do the same for my grandson. I truly believe we found love through the game of golf. My grandfather had thick skin as many people in his generation do and he was tough. I don’t mean in a fighting way, but in a personality way. He never held back his opinion even if it was hurtful. Sometimes it felt mean spirited, but other times it felt like what you needed to hear to light your ass on fire. Anyway, if it were not for golf, I am not sure Granddad and I would have spent so much time together because he could be so tough. We loved the game and competing against each other. He hated to lose. It took me about 10 years to finally beat him and I will never forget the day. I look back on that day with such a sense of pride that I finally defeated the man who taught me the game. My mother reminds me that he had had surgery a month earlier! Whatever mom, I still won.

To read the rest of this story—and really, why wouldn't you?—check out Eddie's MySpace blog here. And while you're at it, you should buy one of his CDs.

Until tomorrow!