My friend, Ed, turns 104 on Friday. He was the subject of my first blog when he turned 100. Since then, I’ve posted 417 stories and he’s aged four years. At 104 his gait is a bit slower, and he can’t hit the golf ball as far as he once did, but his poker game is just as sharp.
Ed broke the joint just below his hip last August. He ended up in the hospital, had a couple of pins placed in the joint, and followed that with some time in a rehab center. You can’t keep a good man down, so he’s at home now. He’s had to modify his routine, but he’s keepin on keeping on. That’s a good thing. A lesser man may have thrown in the towel, but Ed’s not that kind of guy. There’s no quit in him.
Part of Ruth’s and my agreement to sell our lake home, and move to a condo, included me returning to play poker with the guys every two weeks. The last time I saw Ed was at a poker game a week prior to his fall. I’ve never seen one man draw so many full houses. It was uncanny. Hand after hand, full house after full house. He won BIG that night. He never boasts when he wins, but he does get the biggest grin you’ve ever seen. It’s his way of saying, “Silly boys. You can’t beat me.”
Several years ago, on one of Ed’s off nights at the table, I offered to buy his watch for $10.00. I figure any time a guy is down on his luck, he can use the extra money. He declined. On another off night, I made the same offer. Once again he turned me down. My play for the watch was all in fun. He went on to explain that he’d never sell the watch because his wife, Eleanor, had given it to him. It was a fine Hamilton and she was the love of his life. I also learned she’d given the same model to their son, Craig, another one of the poker boys.
A year or so passed before I made the same offer. “I’ll give you $10.00 for your watch.” This time he removed the watch and handed it to me. I was stunned. I had no words. How was I going to take such a precious gift from this man? I fumbled with my words as I tried to back track my offer. I couldn’t take his watch, but he held it out to me. And then he laughed. One of the other poker boys brought a watch to the game hoping I’d make the offer. Ed’s offer to sell was a fake, just like mine, but that time he got the best of me.
I planned to visit Ed in rehab before we left for Florida, but the place was blocked from visitors after a rehab worker contracted the coronavirus. I’ve spoken to him via telephone a few times, and things are going well. His spirits are good and he’s learned to navigate his house with the aide of a walker. The long term goal is the get rid of the walker and hit the links again. It’s the off season in Michigan, so he’s got the winter to get into playing shape.
When he’s able to play, he’ll have to begin slowly. Perhaps a hole, or two, a day to get started. I’m very confident if he takes that approach he’ll be able to string eighteen holes together over the course of a week, or so, and be back to shooting his age. All serious golfers know that shooting your age is a great goal. Shot for shot, he’s the best 100 year plus golfer I’ve ever played with. His game is much like how he’s lived his life, straight and true. What you see is what you get.
I’ll let you know how the year goes when I post Ed 105 next November.