In this part of Upper Michigan spring produces rapid snow melt and monsoon rains. The new resort course required a large and expensive underground drainage system that was to be fed by series of large louvered drain covers. Every golfer knows that the holes in these drain covers couldn’t allow a golf ball to fall through. But, very young ducklings are not so lucky. Thus our story begins.
She was their only daughter, a beautiful girl with blond hair and Mother Nature’s love for all creatures. After graduating form Michigan Tech with a degree in social work, she had moved to Chicago and taken a job with Cook County Social Services. He was a bond trader raised in an affluent family on the near north side. He graduated from Northwestern and had grown up playing golf at a private club. He was single digit players. They had been dating for a few months and were planning on moving in together, but she felt that he had to meet her parents and get their blessings before the “big move.” Since Blond Girl had grown up in a golfing family at a small town course in the U.P., she suggested that she, Mom, Dad and Bond Trader Beau play a round of golf together as a way to get acquainted. Dad, wanting to make an impression, suggested that they travel about 20 miles to the new resort course to impress the boyfriend. Dad hated to pay $500 for green fees (half the annual pass at his course) but knew that his daughter was worth it.
All was going very well, especially when dad tried to give Bond Trader Beau a three footer for a birdie. Beau said, “Harvey Penick says a birdie is not a birdie unless you make the putt.” Mom and Dad smiled at each other and Dad winked at Blond Girl as they walked off the green. On the next hole the boys both hit big tee shots down the left side to shorten the dog-leg left hole. Mom pushed her tee shot into the right rough near the bottom of a valley.
Blond Girl was first to notice the hen mallard, squawking frantically and walking in a circle. The mamma mallard hissed as they approached. Then Blond Girl heard a cheeping sound coming from the metal drain cover. When Blond Girl and Mom looked into the drain, there were six tiny ducklings in the water at the bottom. “Get the boys,” Blond Girl said as her mind raced for a solution. Mom jumped into the cart and raced toward the boys waving her arms in alarm. What could be wrong? They met Mom in the middle of the fairway and saw Blond Girl in her knees. Is she hurt?
As they arrived Blond Girl said, “help me get this grate off so we can rescue those babies. The quick thinking Beau said, “I will get the superintendent to rescue them.” A few minutes later Bond Trader Beau and a shaggy haired kid, with a long handled dip net, arrived. The kid said, “We are planning on getting different covers, this happens all the time.”
After the rescue, the round ended without further incident and they all lived happily ever after. THE END!
