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Ken Moum

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A lovely comment about the playing. field
« on: March 11, 2015, 02:23:30 AM »
Some of you may be aware of Chuck Lorre, creator of some of the most successful TV shows of recent times. Notably Big Bang Theory and Two and Half Men.

He has long been putting a "vanity card" on the screen for a second or so at the end of each show.

This week he put up one I had to share.  As someone who mowed greens on the 9-hole Thief River Falls Country Club I know EXACTLY what he means.

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #494

Many, many, many, many years ago, I had a job as a greens keeper at a little par 3, nine hole golf course. Every morning I'd get up at dawn and drive the tractor-mower up and down the fairways. Then I'd roll the special lawnmower over the greens, trying my best to make them both beautiful and challenging. In my mind, I imagined I was grooming Augusta National. Thinking back I can't help but remember that time as being perfect. My heart was at peace, my work was fulfilling, and each day was a gentle echo of the one before. But I quit that job and moved to Los Angeles because I wanted more. Can you imagine that? I wanted more than a par 27 Walden Pond. Don't get me wrong, I am deeply grateful for the way things turned out. It's just, try as I might, I can't make a sitcom smell like fresh cut grass in the morning.
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Over time, the guy in the ideal position derives an advantage, and delivering him further  advantage is not worth making the rest of the players suffer at the expense of fun, variety, and ultimately cost -- Jeff Warne, 12-08-2010

C. Sturges

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Re: A lovely comment about the playing. field
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2015, 09:20:07 AM »
Nice post Ken.  Thanks for sharing!  There is a lot to be said for simpler times.
chris
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Peter Pallotta

Re: A lovely comment about the playing. field
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2015, 09:39:04 AM »
Yes, thanks Ken.

I too spent a summer on a golf course, mowing greens and setting pins. And until this day, I have yet to write a story that felt like (or that I thought could make others feel) fresh cut grass at dawn on an early summer day, when all was still and quiet and yet utterly alive in itself.

Peter
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Ian Andrew

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Re: A lovely comment about the playing. field
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2015, 10:15:44 AM »
I had my up and down days while working for Doug. During a particularly frustrating period I showed up on site at one of our projects ... and I was clearly unhappy ... to the point that the Construction Supervisor decided we needed to address this before reviewing work and getting approvals. We headed to the best view on the property, rather than the green we were building.

All he said was, "Can you imagine our luck, people pay us to work in beautiful locations and build golf courses. Golf courses. How lucky can we possibly be to do this? And then to top that off when we come back and see them finished, we get to play them and know that we helped build this. And even better than that, when we're gone, assuming we did a fine job, people might even remember that we were here and helped create this."

We didn't even talk about what was bothering me, because we didn't need to. I had an ear to ear grin for the rest of the week. When I get frustrated or disappointed with how things are going, I think back to what he said. Perceptive is often everything.

Lately I have been the one thing I have not done in this business and completely overlooking all the oither great things people have allowed me to do. Perspective is everything some mornings.

Ken, thanks for this post!
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With every golf development bubble, the end was unexpected and brutal....

Jeff_Brauer

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Re: A lovely comment about the playing. field
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2015, 10:27:14 AM »
Yes, nothing beats the tranquility of a golf course early in the morning or late at night.  We all know that, but it helps when those outside the industry let it be known, too.

Appreciate the post.
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Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

John Connolly

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Re: A lovely comment about the playing. field
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2015, 07:05:40 PM »
I just can't believe you got the whole thing jotted down in the one second it was up ... 
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"And yet - and yet, this New Road will some day be the Old Road, too."

                                                      Neil Munroe (1863-1930)

Jason Way

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Re: A lovely comment about the playing. field
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2015, 10:18:16 PM »
Great stuff Ken.  I have the same feeling about my days as a caddie, a long day's work done, out playing golf in the evening after the members were all gone.  Filled with peace and joy.  It doesn't get much better.
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"Golf is a science, the study of a lifetime, in which you can exhaust yourself but never your subject." - David Forgan

Ken Moum

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Re: A lovely comment about the playing. field
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2015, 10:46:27 PM »
Quote from: John Connolly on March 11, 2015, 07:05:40 PM
I just can't believe you got the whole thing jotted down in the one second it was up ... 

I cheated...

He's got them all here http://www.chucklorre.com/index.php.

Going all the ay back to Dharma and Greg, when the only people who saw them were those who video taped the episodes and paused at just the right moment.

K
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Over time, the guy in the ideal position derives an advantage, and delivering him further  advantage is not worth making the rest of the players suffer at the expense of fun, variety, and ultimately cost -- Jeff Warne, 12-08-2010
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