No comparison

We’re inside of two weeks until Election Day 2024.  Have you voted, if your state supports mail-in or other early voting?  Make sure you vote when you are permitted—your voice should be heard!

Seeing Arnold Palmer’s name in the news for such a stupendously vile reason was really disappointing, but par for the course with TFG. But Arnie remains my all-time favorite golfer, solidified by an occasion where I met him.

I was just out of college and working for my hometown radio station in Paris, Kentucky, and one summer Lexington, the larger city where I have lived for most of my adult life, was about to host what was then called a Senior PGA tournament (now called the Champions Tour!) and the sponsors were having a reception for media in the region to meet and mingle with players and officials of the tour.

One of my best friends who knew of my admiration of Mr. Palmer arranged for us both to attend this reception.  Palmer was one of the players known to have committed to the event, and my friend and I arrived at the hotel ballroom that was hosting the event, adjacent to the golf course.

We hadn’t been there long when Arnold Palmer himself moved in our direction.  We both said hello to him, he greeted us warmly and noted our name tags and called us both by name.  I have never experienced a handshake so enveloping as Arnold’s, as his massive hand surrounded mine.  I thanked him for the chance to say hello and he asked “are you in a hurry?” I said that I wasn’t and he spent about fifteen minutes with me, asking about my job with the radio station, was I from the area, where did I go to school and so forth.

I read many years later that Arnold Palmer was well known for that….the gentle touch of a regular person who happened to be extremely successful and well-known to people the world over.  He never lost that demeanor and was so unfailing friendly and pleasant that meeting him was all the more special for me.  I’ve met other celebrities and some have been friendly and down to earth and some acted like they didn’t know where they were.

I share this because there was no reason for TFG’s bawdy comments about Arnold Palmer last week, as no one really cared about his privates then or now.  Arnie detailed in his autobiography that he could not stand people who cheat at golf, as they are invariably also cheating in life.  And his daughter confirmed in the past few days that Arnold was less than impressed in the couple of encounters he had with TFG in the past and was even more put off when TFG entered the political sphere.

I think most of the people in this country are good enough judges of character that the outcome of our upcoming election will be what it should, and that Arnold Palmer would find some satisfaction in seeing that.  

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