Chapter 4

Keith Badger came to Ron’s house to install and set up the electric generator. Ron could tell Keith had done this type of installation before as he was quick in doing it. It didn’t take him long to construct the platform or to install the oversize muffler and vent the exhaust to the outside. Keith completed this work before noon. Giving Ron the owner’s manual, Keith briefed him on the generator’s operation.

Ron headed to Costco to purchase a battery for the generator and to an auto parts store for a trickle battery charger. At Home Depot he purchased two long extension cords and a small gas can. He felt a sense of satisfaction in having this generator installed. At the same time, he didn’t want to ever to have the need to use it.

While he enjoyed golfing, there was a limit as to how much golfing Ron could do before he would lose interest in doing it. Because of that, he made an effort to do other things for a change of pace. He did a drive to the outlet mall in Ellenton to visit the stores that were there. He purchased two shirts, a sweater, and a jacket. The golf store had a good selection of clubs but he only purchased a pair of golf shoes that were on sale.

The next day he drove across the Sunshine Bridge and toured the St. Petersburg area. The downtown area was modern but relatively small. A portion of the road he drove on hosted a car race he had watched when it was televised.

After driving to Fort Desoto county park, he did a walking tour of the fort and couldn’t say the fort impressed him. He walked on the pier near the fort and watched the people who were there fishing. Most of them were casting a weighted silver spoon or were using live bait they had cast netted. If he had to guess as to the number of bait fish that he saw in the water around the pier, he would think one hundred thousand would be in the ballpark.

The people fishing were friendly and told him what they were doing and what they hoped to catch. One gentleman told him that about twenty years ago before there was work done on refurbishing this pier, a portion of a motion picture called “The Punisher” was filmed here. He said John Travolta was one of the stars of that movie. The funny thing he said is that they made this pier look like a bridge and had a car drive from the end of the pier making it appear that a road was there. Ron made a mental note to find and watch that movie.

Waking up the following morning Ron thought doing this sightseeing was nice but laughing to himself he thought it was time to get back to golf. Today was the day members could golf with non-members.

At the club he could see there were more golfers at the course waiting to tee off than normal, but he as a single should be able to get a tee time.

Ron spent time hitting balls at the driving range and practiced his putting on the putting green before he went into the pro shop to see what time he could tee off. The assistant pro said he could get off in about forty-five minutes unless he wanted to join a threesome of women who were teeing off in ten minutes. Since Ron didn’t want to wait that long, he said he would golf with the women. If the women were bad golfers he thought he come up with an excuse that would let him quit after nine holes.

At the first tee, they all introduced themselves. The ladies were Joni, Karin, and Rene. He wrote their names on the scorecard so he wouldn’t forget. Any thought he had that they were novice golfers was quickly dispelled. They asked Ron what was his course handicap. Saying they were planning to play a nine point game, but since they now were a foursome they would pair-up into two-person teams and play the best team netball. The losers would buy the drinks after the round. These ladies knew how to make an adjustment in the strokes given because of the differing tees course rating since Ron was playing off the white tees and they were playing off the red tees.

The women took a stance where they were standing in a triangle formation. Rene threw a spinning tee in the air to see who would partner with Ron. The tee landed on the ground and pointed at Karin. She would ride with Ron and be his partner during this round of golf.

Ron had no objection, not that he could in riding with Karin. She was a fairly attractive lady about his age. She had short light brown hair, a slim figure, and nice legs. He could see her legs because of the skort she was wearing.

In riding with Karin during the round of golf, she told Ron that she and Rene were friends with Joni who was a member of this club. They all had become friends in high school when they were on the school’s golf team. That friendship continued through the years and they periodically got together for a round of golf which was why they were here today.

Karin asked Ron what he did for a living. He told her he was married and he was a dentist from up north. Right now he said he was a snowbird and wasn’t quite sure what his long-term plans were about living in this area.

Karin said she was divorced and retired from teaching last year. The early retirement incentive they offered was too good to pass up. She said she lives in St. Pete Beach and recently became a member of a country club in St Petersburg. For something to do and to supplement her pension she is also a part-time salesperson for Bifty Athletic shoes. Selling these shoes she said in the long run will be monetarily rewarding for her along with doing some substitute teaching.

Regarding the other two ladies, Karin said that Joni is an attorney working for the law firm of Traylor and Traylor in Sarasota and Rene is a loan officer at a bank.

It turned out to be a good round of golf. The ladies were not overly long from the tee, but they hit the ball straight, had a good short game, and were good putters. They played fast but the pace of play was dictated by the foursome in front whose pace was controlled by the foursome in front of them and so on. The match that they played resulted in Karin and Ron winning since they were two holes up with one to play.