Mom's 90th and One-Up-Manship!

Today is my mom's 90th birthday and she lives by herself. Well, she does with a good support system where really the only time she is alone is when she is asleep. Even then, she has a "lifeline" clamshell transmitter tied to her phone. If she has any distress at all, she pushes the button on the little transmitter on a lanyard around her neck and the transmitter calls the service company via "On-Star", and they call my cellphone, brother's cell, and her sister's phone. So, she really is never "alone".

She has been getting cards and letters and candy all this week but today her sister Barbara and brother Jim wanted to come visit. I got a phone call early yesterday and they planned to be there about 2:00pm when I had mom back home from the beauty shop. "Ms Puffy", I call her after this visit. She gets in the car and looks in the vanity mirror and says everytime..."it makes my hair look so puffy!"

Everything worked like a timex yesterday as her brother and sister drove up just as I was getting back from getting her groceries. The living room was now decorated on a mahogony drop leaf table with a dozen red roses with baby breathe in the arrangement. This they had put in one of mother "hand" cut glass vases and they were just beautiful. There was a 2-lb box of Russell Stover sitting on mom's coffee table. I have one a vanity kit filled with new handkerchiefs and good smelling little scent balls to put wherever to make her house smell so nice. Plus a pant suit, with olive green top and pants with a muted olive design in them...I plan to give this to her today her 'real birthday'.

The one upmanship part of this story began with someone telling a story beginning with "you will never believe this..." The first story Jim told about playing golf with his doctor friend Al. They met at the country club, each in their own cars, and played a round and had lunch together. Jim and Al are walking to parking lot and Jim discovers he has lost his car keys, the only set he has with him. Al looks around on the parking lot while Jim goes back in to see if any keys have been turned in. Nope.

Al took Jim home that evening and his wife has a set of keys and she can take him back to pick up his car the next day. The next day, Kathy drops Jim off with her set of keys, when he meets his friend Al who had driven to the country club for breakfast. Kathy leaves the duo and Jim and Al have breakfast together and soon are talking about Jim's lost keys. Al suggested they go and look for the keys on the golf course and offers to help Jim if he wants to do it. The do it.

Jim said they went to the first three tees, around the ball washer, everywhere either he or Al remembered Jim being. On the 4th hole Jim is thinking this is really a waste of time. But he is game and right then Al said "remember the bad slice I had on the 4th, and you went into the rough to help me find my ball." Jim remembered where the ball landed and he looked down in the tall grass he said "only the lawnmower would find"....And there was his keys! Played 18 holes and they find them off the 4th...what the chance?

Sister Barbara spoke up...He husband Jack had played 18 holes on a par 3 in Birmingham too many years ago and it was right after they married. He got home and was showering and found his wedding ring was gone his new bride had given him. She insisted they go that night and go look for the wedding band. Jack said" but it is dark, we will never find it at night"...But her tears and will prevailed and off they go to the golf course. It is a bright moonlit night and they started looking at the first tee. Sister Barbara said she saw something shining in the grass in the moon light and went straight to it. He had lost it on the first tee and it was less than 50 feet from the first tee. She said she would never have seen it in the daylight, as the gold reflected the bright moon light. Wow! What's the chance?

Two lost item stories involving golf! Can you play "one-up-manship" and beat or match one of these. Welcome...Happy birthday mom! Thanks for loving me my almost 67 years! Son Jeff!