I got the victory, God got the save

When I arrived at home in Granger at the end of my day Friday, I shut off the car’s engine and reached to the passenger seat for my work equipment, and my notebook was missing.

I knew immediately where it was. I had left it on a counter at Othello Bowl when I went to take a picture for a story about the bowling center. I really felt like an idiot.

Forgetting stuff is not new, but this omission was worse than most. I would have to make the one-way 80-mile drive Saturday just to retrieve my notebook. I needed it for some of the stories you see this week.

I was planning to leave the house at about 11:30 a.m. to be there soon after the noon opening. But something tugged at me to go earlier. The sun was out. Maybe that was it.

Maybe it was God. He often turns my disasters to gold. It happened again Saturday.

With the schools between sports seasons, I was in a scramble for a way to fill the sports pages. I knew I had Rodney’s’ fine column about golf nuts and a fine feature from him. I also had my feature on Gerald Entzel and my column.

As I drove north from Sunnyside enjoying the sun, I remembered that Desert Aire pro Don Tracy had told me the course would open at noon on Friday. Maybe I’d find someone playing on Saturday and be able to take an official end of winter photo.

I took a left after Vernita Bridge, went to Desert Aire, and found snow-crazed golfers from all over getting in their first round of the season. Friday had ended a record 77 straight days without golf at Desert Aire.

I arrived at Othello Bowl just after 1 p.m. I introduced myself to co-manager Levi Garza and set about to do a story about this Garza family enterprise. On Friday I had taken a picture that was not very good, and my notes were sketchy.

Levi and his cousin Josh Rodriguez, a weekend helper, were eager to tell me all about the operation. The Doug Barger family was there playing, and I was able to get better pictures.

Then Levi and Josh told me about the new party center in the basement of the building. I went down there, and it was better than they said.

At about 1:30 another family walked in early for a 2 p.m birthday party. More good pictures.

As I started to head home, I called Pat. I had to tell someone that my dumb move on Friday had worked out for the best on Saturday.

I didn’t have to tell God. He’d done this for me before – many times.