ABBEY AND PEBBLE

It's been a very quiet day around here.  SWMBO went off for her regular lunch date with her daughter.  I spent the afternoon reading a book about Ed Abbey and occasionally watching the Pebble Beach golf tournament on television.

Ed Abbey was a complex and conflicted man.  I was surprised to read early in the book (Adventures with Ed by Jack Loeffler) that Abbey once went to San Francisco to visit some relatives and came away enchanted with the city.  This is a man who spent days, weeks, months, years and decades wandering around in the wilderness of the southwestern United States, railing about overpopulation and the degradation of the land by developers.  But, on the other hand, I don't know how anyone can not be seduced by the beauty and cosmopolitaness of San Francisco.  My favorite uncle lived there for 60 years.  I have visited the city several times and I, too, love it.

So, Pebble Beach.  It's kind of a silly golf tournament, which is a pro-am letting some of the silliest examples of golfing ability (like ESPN announcer Chris Berman) participate right alongside the professionals who make their living at this.  But I guess it raises a lot of money for charity so it's not all bad.  I freely admit that I have been a fan of Tiger Woods all these years, through his off-course scandals as well as the good years.  He's finally back playing well and is expected to have a great year on the tour.  As of right now, he's 6 under par for the first two days and 6 shots behind the leader.  Two days to play and with Tiger playing at his best six shots is nothing to make up.

Have a good weekend everybody!