For those of you who've read "Loopers" you will remember this trip from my brief description of it in the final chapter. And perhaps you were thinking, "He hitchhiked 6200 miles across the country with his golf clubs, caught 125 rides, played 37 golf courses and raised over $20,000 for pancreatic cancer research? I want to read that story!"Well, I am writing that story now and it is a true joy to relive that incredible summer of 2008 - all of the kind, generous people I met on the road and the amazing experiences we had together… catching a ride on a plane over the Rockies, on a boat across the Great Lakes and a raft down a Class 5 river in Quebec, just to name a few.
Most rewarding of all was the effect the journey had on my relationship with my father. He was skeptical at first, but as he followed my blog and saw one unlikely adventure and act of human kindness lead to another, he became a believer. And when I arrived home sunburned and flea bitten after 100 days on the road he was beaming so brightly it was like he wasn't sick at all. We spent the next 8 months together, making for lost time, sharing many of the ideas, stories and feelings we probably should've shared all along. Yes, I wish that had been the beginning of many years enjoying each other's company and finally, truly being friends, but I am very grateful we had those 8 months together. It has made all the difference in the world to me since his passing knowing that we weren't so different after all. It just seemed that way on the outside.
A somewhat paired down version of the original blog is still live at www.golfmywayhome.org and the book is on the way!
