Chapter 23

MAN OF STEEL - DIABETES - SPONSORS

“Well, boyo ... it seems your radar is working just fine today, nice swing ... great shot,” David said.

I went down until I was on my two iron. I teed it up and aimed at the 260 marker, 25 yards past my usual distance with this club. I hit the ball, and it bounced off the tin marker.

“That was a two iron, correct?” David said. “Nobody can hit a two iron like me boy Johnny.”

“That’s right David,” Kelly said. “If you want it hit perfectly, Johnny seems like the only one to choose from, isn’t that right Cory?”

“That’s correct Kelly. He sure can hit the cover off the ball, can’t he?” Cory said.

That turned into a hug between the two of them, as I said, “RAZR please?”

I practiced it first, with an under swing, then a regular one and lastly with all I had. I gave back the RAZR as I headed to the tee. Kelly pulled me away.

“I want your head in this week of golf. When it’s over, win or not ... we will discuss what you said. Not Before! You are the favorite, not only to win this tournament, but Vegas is calling you odds on to getting the Grand Slam. I don’t bet for obvious reasons, but if I did, I’d put every dollar I had on you. You not only brought the ratings back to golf since Tiger’s meltdown, but you have found a place of your own and deserve all you want. Good luck, ‘Man of Steel’! She gave me a peck on the cheek, which Cory saw.

Davis stopped me, “I know your round starts in just a few minutes. Would you like to be a playing co-captain of the American Ryders Cup Team the last week of September?”

A handshake would not do, so I hugged him and said, “Absolutely Davis! It would be better if the first Grand Slam winner was from the USA and on your team, wouldn’t it?”

“It sure would ... I sure like the sound of that ... Good Luck ‘Man of Steel!’

I was playing today with Ken Duke and Zach Johnson. They must have heard that and started humming the Superman theme as Cory caught up and said, “Does that make me Supergirl?”

“You already are, my beautiful wife. LET’S PLAY SOME GOLF!”

We had a crowd, a big crowd this time.

“Our final practice round of the day includes, from Hope, Arkansas; Ken Duke!”

He doffed his cap, walked out and practice swung. Then, he settled and put a nice shot 300 yards out. The applause was nice.

“Next up, is from Iowa City, Iowa with nine PGA wins which includes a Masters win in 2007. This is ... Zach Johnson!”

His identifying smile broke out as he did the usual pre-shot ritual of his. He went up and swings beautifully with it dropping and rolling up next to Ken’s ball.

“The strong man of this threesome is just 21 years old, but he has played magnificently when it counted. From Pahrump Nevada, the winner of the last FOUR Majors, Johnny ‘The Cannon’ Masters!”

I nodded and teed it up. I went over to Cory. “Should I try it again?”

“Go ahead, you did it once, Man of Steel,” she said with a chuckle.

“Cory, my RAZR please?”

From the crowd came, “Attaboy Honey.” It was Julia.

I practiced with a big swing. “That was my Mom,” I said. It caused a nice chuckle through the onlookers on the first tee.

The ‘quiet please’ paddles went up, as I addressed the ball. I swung hard and saw it going right at the green. It landed and rolled and kept rolling and hit the pin and stopped.

“Cannon, Cannon, Cannon”

“Is it like this every time he plays?” Ken asked Zach.

“Pretty much,” he said to Ken. “Great shot, Johnny!”

“Thanks,” I said walking briskly up the fairway. Cory caught up and we held hands. “You heard mom?” she said.

“Who couldn’t?” I replied.

Both pitched near the pin. I went up and marked my ball, which bounced four feet to the left of the pin. They made their putts. I put mine down and made my two. I stopped to fix the divot I made in the green when it landed.

After nine, I was seven under. I was very accurate and never had less than 10 feet for any putt. I got out my Kit Kat bar, as Cory went off to her ‘elimination round’ as I started calling it.

I looked down and noticed that Nestle might be a possible sponsor. She caught up at the 10^th tee. I told her about my sponsor idea. She liked it!

My back nine wasn’t as good, getting only three more birdies in the process for a total round of ten under par.

After Cory, Kelly gave me a hug, then I saw mom. “Thanks for your shout out,” I said. We hugged to many cameras going off. Billy was following, but I motioned ‘No’ to him. I got a wave back, and we left.

I was in the mood for a Johnny Burger, so we went straight to the one we found when we first got here. There were banners saying, “We Support Johnny Masters!

We got in line to be seated, and a gentleman with a manager nametag came up and said, “Johnny Masters never has to wait at any Red Robin Restaurant. Follow me, Cannon!”

“Please let those who have been waiting get the next available spot. I really don’t like jumping lines just because of who I am.”

Everyone who was waiting told us to go on ahead, they were OK! People are nice!

As we started walking to our seats, those waiting stood and started to applaud us. Pretty soon everyone was. We waved them off and sat down. The manager left and a girl with the nametag Dolly walked up.

“Hello ... Dolly,” I sang making her giggle.

“Do you need a moment to look over the menu?” she said in something of a high-pitched voice.

“We will have three Johnny Burgers with all the fixings, with fries and Diet Coca-Colas,” I said.

“Will that be all, no dessert?” she asked.

“We will wait until we are done, then maybe so,” I said giving her a wink. That made her giggle again.

“You have become a flirt,” Cory said.

“What do you mean, I have become ... I have always been a flirt. It got me you, didn’t it?”

She smiled and said, “That’s right. You remember that any way you’d like. But I got you, be nice while you flirt.”

“You mean I can, if I am genuine about it?”

“Just be a good boy and think ‘What would Dad do!’

“Talk about killing a mood, but I will bet that dad was a lady’s man in his youth. He once told me that he usually had two dates a night back in college.”

“No! Really,” Kelly said.

“That was before he had met Julia. Apparently, she read him the riot act and told him that she would only date him, if he was going to be monogamous. That must have done the job. Two years later they were married, and I was born only 18 months after that.”

Our food came, and it was still steaming. She also gave us a pitcher of Coke on our table. She said that she would check on us every now and again.

She did, and eventually, we decided to order some Gooey Chocolate Brownie Cake. She took our plates and said she would be right back.

Who knows if I hadn’t hooked up with my own little sister ... that’s the kind of girl I might have ended up with? She brought it to us and said, “Enjoy!” she took a few more things from our table and left.

The Manager came by and asked, “How is Dolly treating you this evening?”

“She is a pistol,” I said. “If I wasn’t married, I would steal her from Red Robin!”

“That’s interesting to know,” he said with a chuckle.

Kelly used her shoulder on mine.

About halfway through this diabetic’s delight, Dolly came over and said, “Did you tell my daddy that you would steal me if you weren’t married?”

After a few chuckles, I said, “I didn’t know he was your father, but I did say that. You will make any young man a fabulous wife.”

“I am only 16,” she said.

I took a long drink of Coke and said, “I stand by what I said, young lady.”

“Thank you,” she said suddenly sounding, but still not looking like a 16-year-old.

“What color are her eyes, Johnny?”

“What?”

“That’s what I thought, you never looked up higher than her breasts, did you?” Kelly asked laughing.

“Busted, can you imagine when she gets pregnant how big those might get?”

“She’s 16, Cannon!”

“Yeah, sweet 16 and never been touched,” I said.

We finished up the Gooey cake, it was fabulous.

Dolly came by once more and said, “Thank you for coming.”

I took a twenty and put it in her little apron. She pulled it out and said, “That’s a very nice tip, thank you Johnny!”

We left and shook hands along the way. Manager Daddy waved good-bye to us.

I was ready for a visit to the hotel spa. We split into our separate rooms. It was late, but I knew it was open 24/7 so we went up and took our time to change and headed down to it.

As we approached a familiar color of hair was showing. The whole place seemed very quiet except for this one person who seemed in the throes of an orgasm.

“Oh, oh Johnny, fuck me again, please fuck me hard - yeah - yeah, oh boy! Put it deep, please ... I love you Johnny, prove you love me by filling me with your magic seed.”

Cory and I were totally nonplused over this. It seems that Kelly’s feelings for me might be as strong as mine are for her.

“Cory ... is my seed magic?” I asked just loud enough to be heard.

“I always thought so, Hubby!”

Kelly was still coming down from her self-imposed orgasm. “How long were you there?” she asked going under and getting her hair wet.

“Long enough to know that you are the perfect woman for me to add to my harem,” I said getting in the spa.

Kelly moved over putting some space between us. “Maybe I am not interested in sharing you with anybody,” she said.

Cory got in and sat by her on the other side, “I thought you liked it when we shared ‘the Cannon’ ... I could give you a night or two a week for some exclusivity!”

Looking first, I dropped my suit to my ankles and put Kelly on my lap. “Feel that ... that’s what you do to me every time I see you.” She leaned back and started to give me a hand job.

“What do I tell my family and the rest of the press? I am already watched all the time wherever I go,” she said.

“Just say that you needed a place to stay on our side of the country. If you can’t afford it, I will help you buy a place of your own. Hopefully, I am coming into a lot of money in a few days.”

She raised herself up and filled herself with my thickness lowering herself completely. I flexed, and she trembled. “You ... You love me that much?” She flexed back.

“With every beat of my heart,” I answered. “The choice is up to you.” I started fucking up inside her ... a clear violation of the spa rules.

“Oooh, god ... you are amazing Johnny. I can’t believe how good you feel inside me. I have thought all of these years, I liked girls more than guys, but I am now officially uni-sexual ... and I want you! Both of you! We need to be discreet. Wait until whatever happens if you ... when you ... win the Grand Slam.”

“Let me turn you around,” I said. She managed it without completely disconnecting. “Be our lookout, please Sis?”

“Fuck me, you young hard, irascible sister fucker. Come inside me to seal this deal.”

“For my sister, mother, father and step-father ... this is for all of them,” I said, and I cut loose with my nuts actually aching in the process.

“Jees, ess, ees, ugh, my, oh, ughh, ahhh. Johnny, I stopped taking the pill four days ago, I may, ugh, already be having your baby, Oooohhh.”

Hearing that added a few more spurts. Cory had a look on her face of joy, not anger.

“You better get off, somebody’s coming,” she said.

“I already did get off,” Kelly said.

“And I was cumming, that’s for sure,” I said. She got off, and Cory helped her get her bottoms back on. I simply pulled my suit up.

It was security, a nice old man in his 60s with a flashlight.

“Hey Johnny, good luck tomorrow! All of us here love you and support you, and want you to do what Arnie, Jack, and Tiger haven’t done yet. I will leave you three alone,” he said turning around and walked along with a hitch in his step.

The moment he left, Kelly started a kiss unlike any we had before. After we both took a breath, she said, “I was just shitting you about being pregnant, but I wanted to see your reaction.”

“Did I pass?”

“Damn right you did, now get to your room before I decide to let Cory eat me out.”

I pulled Cory away from her; it was so cute to see them grasping hands like that.

“We need a good rest if we are going to win this thing,” I said.

“Can I, at least suck you off?” Cory asked.

“I can’t be sure if I got any cum left though.”

“I get to taste a little of KT this way, and you,” she said putting my soft and flaccid dick in her mouth. She squeezed my nuts and it helped me get hard. She was licking every part of me, and I was fully hard faster than I expected.

We got a call on the hotel phone.

“Hello Beautiful!”

“How could you know it was me?” Kelly said.

“I figured you or my mother ... my response works either way. Were you ... checking in on us?”

There was silence.

“Uhm, yeah ... I guess so. I am really glad I don’t have to do anything, but watch you play tomorrow. I have never been so distracted by a guy before, especially one who is 20 years younger than I,” she said.

“I love you too, goodnight KT!”

We both hung up. I was getting close, and I felt Cory’s finger moving towards my ass. It might be the only way to cum right now, so I didn’t stop her.

“Cory, keep going, I am getting there ... come on” ... her finger hit the spot, and I came all I could in my sister’s mouth. After she swallowed, we got under the covers and fell asleep.

We both got up feeling great. We took a shower together, which is always fun, and we got out to dry off and there was a knock at the door.

“Helloooooooo,” I said.

“Let me in please,” Kelly said sounding anxious.

I barely got the door open as she pushed me back on the bed, “I haven’t woken up horny in seven years, and this is all your doing young man. I need satisfaction!”

“Cory, Lock and latch the door,” I asked.

“Kelly, I have never had a decent round of golf after fucking the same morning, Cory can tell you that.”

“I will fuck you then. You can be a talking dildo for all I care, Cannon.” She carefully got up and took off all of her clothes laying them down to not get creased.

“ON YOUR BACK!” she said assertively.

I was stroking myself to get hard for her. “I tee off in four hours, you have got 30 minutes, and then we leave ... got that bitch!”

She said, “Nobody’s ever talked that way to me ... and I love it!” She got on me again like in the spa but now with some friction. I was sawing in and out of her. Her face showed contentment and desperation. She turned and showed her beautiful ass to me. I reached out and started to slam it down forcing it full. She loved that, her hair all askew in the process. Cory started kissing her to get her quieter. I had never done this particular variation before. My dick certainly enjoyed it, as did Kelly. I felt my dick expanding and exploding inside this woman’s pussy. She pulled off of me, and Cory dove in and got most of my cum out by licking Kelly’s full pussy.

I looked up, and it had been exactly thirty minutes from when Kelly came through the door.

I got up and asked, “Will you make it through my first round, or will I need to fuck your ass between the front and back nine?”

“I ... I think I will be OK ... I am sorry about this. I woke up and was wet and wondered what I was going to do about it.”

“Well, when Bill Kratzert asks what happened, I will just say, ‘Kelly Tilghman came in at 8am and fucked me raw,’” I said.

“He wouldn’t know what to say if you said that,” Kelly said as we both watched Cory finishing up.

“Do you need a ride to the course? We always rent something because of our Hertz sponsorship.”

“Yeah, thank you. That would be nice,” she said.

“I talked to Davis. I am going to be his playing Co-Captain at the Ryder Cup.”

“Is that official news, or just pillow talk?” she asked me as she started getting dressed.

I thought for a moment and said, “Pillow talk ... I don’t know if our casual chat was for the public or not. I won’t mind giving you news to get a scoop, but I do need to talk to my ‘Deep Throat’ first.”

She gave a throaty laugh as Cory walked in dressed.

“What’s so funny?” she said.

“Remember when we watched ‘ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN’?”

“Yeah!”

“And the source he always met in the underground parking lot?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, I just used the term ‘Deep Throat’ and it apparently tickled Kelly’s fancy.”

“Oh, you haven’t tickled my fancy yet, but soon,” Kelly said.

“Let’s go!” Cory said.

As soon as we arrived, Cory got the clubs, and I changed my shoes.

“Do you have a shoe sponsor?” Kelly asked.

“No, I figured everybody used Foot-Joy.”

“Adidas makes them, don’t they?” Cory wondered aloud.

“Yeah, get with them ... they will design shoes to your individual specifications,” Kelly affirmed. “Maybe, I could become your sponsor advisor? There’s zero conflict of interest involved and would mean we would need long and ... tedious meetings to see what your needs would be in the upcoming golf season. Get a separate glove sponsorship, if you’d like. We do want everything fitting tight, don’t we?”

She gave me a wink as we walked to the practice range.

David had a spot saved for us again. “Hello Masters, how was your last 24 hours?”

“David, if I told you, I’d have to kill you,” I said. “Cory, check my left shoulder, I feel a pinch.”

She went under my shirt and said, “Found a new nodule. We will need to work on that tonight. Try a full swing with the seven iron.”

I did and it pinched a little on the back swing. I slowed down to a steadier swing, and it didn’t flare up at all.

“No over swinging today, Man of Steel. Keep it in control. Don’t worry, I still have good info. You won’t be able to show off on the first tee today.”

“I understand, no eagles probably,” I said as Kelly showed up.

“Did I overhear a problem with your shoulder, Johnny?” she asked.

“Just a little pinch, KT.”

“May I?” she asked Cory and me.

“Sure,” we both said.

She put her hand under my shirt, with Cory and David covering and did ... something. She pulled her hand out and said, “How’s that feel, Mr. Kent?”

“What did you do?” I asked. “It feels like before I ever visited Dr. Schick.”

“It’s something I learned when visiting Taiwan a number of years ago, it should stay like it is for up to six hours.”

“Is it legal in the United States?” David asked.

“It’s not very well known anywhere, but in Taiwan, so who says if it’s legal or not?” I loved her reasoning.

I went back and started my regular routine, this time absolutely no discomfort. I should kiss her, if I dared. While I went through my usual procedure, I heard David asking for the same procedure from Kelly. She was firm in her convictions. I doubt Anita would allow it!

When done with my practicing, I went over to David, telling him that Cory and I had hired Kelly as our Sponsorship Manager. He thought it was a good idea. He did give a wink.

My golf threesome included former winners, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

HOLE 1 – 395 YARDS – PAR 4

“The final threesome of the day involves some of the PGA’s longest hitters. At 41 years old, nicknamed ‘Lefty’ by his peers and having won 41 total PGA events. PLEASE WELCOME, Phil Mickelson!”

He got up with a long iron and hit it 260 yards or so. His fans applauded with gusto.

“Next, his nickname, Tiger, came from a friend of his fathers from long ago. He has won 78 PGA Tournaments, including 14 Majors ... PLEASE WELCOME, Tiger Woods!”

Despite his recent problems, he is still near the top of his game. He wants so badly to start winning majors again. I guess I am part of that problem.

He went and teed it up on the far-left side of the tee box, practiced once and swung. It came up just short of the funky grass in front of the green.

His crowd, ever hopeful, raised the sound up to a louder level. He smiled at them all.

I went to Cory, “Do I?” She answered, “Yes; you are the Cannon, the Man of Steel. Show these wannabees who you are?”

I took the RAZR and teed up a ball while my introduction started.

“The last of our final threesome has something to prove to himself and his father, who passed away just over a year ago. He is 21 years old. He has never ranked higher than 20^th in the world. He has a few nicknames, ‘Cannon’ started by his friend and peer Adam Scott, ‘The Gentleman Johnny’ given to him by his friend David Feherty, and recently he has gotten the moniker ‘The Man of Steel’ by our own Billy Kratzert. Whatever you want to call him, in four days we may include ‘Winner of the Grand Slam’ ... Johnny Masters!”

The crowd noise was on three sides of me. It was all I could do, just to doff my cap and smile like an idiot.

“I haven’t won anything yet!” I declared to all in the range of my voice.

That seemed to start a round of applause that included Tiger and Phil. After things were settled down, I lined up and addressed the ball. A nice easy swing and it landed on the back of the green ... and rolled into the cup for an ace. I raised my driver high ... as I walked off the tee in a daze.

Tiger and Phil came alongside me, and Tiger said, “How long do we need to make golf courses with him around, 8,000 yards?”

Phil responded, “Maybe we need to make the fairways wider.”

Cory said, “He’s already the best in getting in the fairway, gentlemen.”

“Maybe make the greens smaller?” Tiger thought aloud.

“He’s already the most accurate putter on the tour since Ben Crenshaw, present company excluded,” Cory said.

“Stabbed in the heart,” Tiger said. “Well, whether I am playing with you, or against you ... you have brought back all the people I let down plus a shitload more of the very young. Whatever happens today, will we still be buddies?”

“For all time!” Phil said putting his fist out to bump.

“For all time!” Tiger said.

“For all time!” I concurred. I saw Phil wiping his eyes a little.

“That was cool,” Cory said.

“Yeah, it was!” I admitted.

We got to Phil’s shot. He put it high, and it landed and stopped five feet from the pin. Although they were distant, you could still hear the roar of the crowd on all sides.

Everyone walked to Tiger’s ball. It was in wet grass. This would be interesting to watch. After talking it over with his caddie, I think he took a lob wedge and hit it too hard. It went very high and dropped and released to end up below the hole by about four or five feet.

The crowds were huge, and every shot would get a round of applause or a groan today. I sure didn’t want any groans.

We all walked up to the green. I found a safe path to walk and get my ball. The crowds really like me.

Both gentlemen made their putts for birdies, I got my one!

With the momentum of a double eagle better known as an Albatross, I played the front nine nice and easy, being seven under after nine holes. I hadn’t been playing the back nine very well, but Cory’s trip to the loo, reminded me to tear another piece of my Kit Kat Bar.

Kelly came up to me and asked, “Any recurrence of pain?” to which I quietly responded, “My only pain is in my pants.” That made her lightly blush as I saw Cory bounding forward.

“Did you have some candy, Cannon?” she asked sweetly.

“Your smile is my candy,” I said giving her a kiss causing the cameras to come out for a bit. The crowd is the biggest I have had following me since I got on the tour.

“Don’t forget, you have a number of responsibilities after you win this. You won’t be able to cut and run. It’s a big deal. Just remember that,” my darling wife told me.

I had honors, and I was leading by three shots already.

I took the RAZR and hit a nice and easy shot leaving about 80 yards or so. I was a little left-of-center fairway, where I usually put it.

The other guys were wary of the right side, so they ended up in the long-left sand trap, leaving a difficult approach.

We all walked together again.

“Johnny, are you still giving half your check to the MDA?” Phil asked.

“Anything I can do to help the littlest ones, especially Alena,” I said my eyes moistening a little.

“I will match that,” said Phil.

“Same here ... kids are too important,” Tiger said. “I may have one someday.”

“How many golfers have we approached, Cory?”

She said, “37, and they all have promised 25% or more.”

“Now, that is the power of the PGA,” I said as we bumped fists again and split up to our various positions.

After the other guys got on the green and were putting, I had a perfect lob shot to a flat green. While I had to stand in the sand trap, I got my lob wedge, and hit it three-quarters hard, it plopped about 25 feet from the pin, and stayed there. That was disappointing.

I felt like I was standing in the middle of a football field with fans all around me. That was the sound of the crowds today. I wonder what would surprise them more ... winning the tournament or making a horrible showing and falling to pieces. I got my putter from my girl and walked up to the green.

This was going to be the most difficult putt I had so far. Without Cory, I would play it to break to the left at the hole. She got up and looked at it. She didn’t move while we waited for Phil to putt first. “What do you think, Johnny?”

“What, I can’t read putts, that’s one of the three reasons I have you along with me.”

“Pray tell, what are the other two reasons?”

“Your smile and your tantalizing eyes,” I responded.

“Isn’t that the same thing you said to Kelly a few days ago?”

“Please, read the putt? I love you 12,000 times more than I love her.”

“It breaks left but aim at the right edge. Hit it firm. You know firm ... don’t you?”

She walked away, and it was my turn for the birdie. I aimed, and it rolled into the cup ... to go eight under for the round.

I got birdies on eleven, twelve and thirteen, got a par on fourteen, fifteen and sixteen. I birdied seventeen and eighteen for a round of 57. According to Cory I broke the course record for 18 holes, of 63, held by 13 separate golfers, including current golfing companion, Tiger Woods. It was my 15^th non-practice round in the 50s.

Due to this, I stayed and had interviews with about 30 ladies and gentlemen in the press tent. I usually scooted from these, but I felt obligated and leg weary. Cory was with me. This usually didn’t include caddies, but I guess you could say, we were ... different from the rest of them. Many of the questions were about what club was used for this or that shot during the round, after a while they asked them straight to Cory.

There was one question that came up. It was DF who asked it. I grinned and answered, “This tournament is important to me for a number of reasons. It was the last tournament my father got to see. He and I were very close. I occasionally feel him telling me to go ahead to do this or that. It’s been a year, but I still miss him every day and feel him every day.”

“You have a new member to Team Masters, Kelly Tilghman. Exactly, what is she going to do for you?”

“She has agreed to become our Sponsor Manager. To be in touch with our eleven existing sponsors we do have, with an expectation to get some more. As Tiger knows, you can’t have too many sponsors.”

That got a laugh from everyone.

“It was observed a few times today that you Tiger and Phil, were actively talking about something while walking to your next shots. Would you care to tell us what that was about?”

“Perfect timing. You asked that at the exact right time. Cory and I spoke to many of the golfers here at the PGA Championship about giving. They all have sponsors of their own and give to many worthwhile charities.

“Cory can give you the number, but what has been promised is half of what we earned this week. Some can’t give that much and are giving 25%. The money will be collected and given to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. My 50% will be given specifically to the Duchene division of the MDA. I met a young lady recently, who is six and wants to become seven, then eight ... and nine! When I first met her, I picked her up, and she said, ‘I am dying!’ I hope by giving this money that she, along with dozens of other children don’t have to say, ‘I am dying’ when they meet somebody for the first time.” I could not go on.

“Our best estimate is just under $5 million has been pledged,” Cory announced.

Davis Love III walked in and sat down next to me.

“I can announce the following: At the 39^th Ryder Cup in September, Johnny Masters has been asked to be an additional Captain’s Assistant and also as one of my Captain’s Picks. He has accepted. I believe that this young man is the future of golf. More athletic, more club head speed and an eagle eye on the greens, with the help from his wife, and caddy. I would officially like to thank him for accepting the position.”