June 11, 1997 -- A Day In Sports History
The plan was for me to keep Chloe for the night, then drive to Norris Lake in the morning. Kim and Adam were already there, but I stayed behind so I could play in the pro-am of the Nike golf tournament -- the Miami Valley Open -- at Heatherwoode. But I was so pumped up when my round was finished, that everything changed. I put Chloe in the backseat around 7:30 and we were on our way.
I was paired with pro Gary Webb. who was not famous any way but was ten times the player I could ever think about being. We selected the best of our drives, then played an individual game the rest of the way in. Not surprisingly, I liked being in the fairway the way Gary put us, further up the fairway than I was used to -- even though he teed off 40 yards behind us. And for whatever reason, I was on.
Fifteen pars.
Three birdies.
That adds up to 68, which was far and away one of my best scores ever.
There was no way I was going to sleep early.
So I grabbed Chloe from Mom and Dad's right across the street from the golf course and away we went.
...
KIM WAS SO WORRIED the whole time. Would I stay awake? What if Chloe got fussy? Lucky for me, Chloe fell asleep almost immediately, not to be heard from the rest of the way. And I found Game 5 of the NBA finals on the radio, with the Chicago Bulls playing at Utah. This was perfect.
Michael Jordan had spent the day in bed with what was reported as the flu. He shouldn't have been walking, let alone playing. But in what has been described as one of the best performances in sports history, he scored 38 points to lead the Bulls to a win.
I had a great trip. But let's just say Kim didn't enjoy the evening as much.
...
YOU LOSE CELL phone service once you get to Norris Lake. So while I was okay and knew exactly where I was, Kim wasn't so lucky. All she could think about was me going a little too fast, with Chloe and I tumbling down over a cliff, and no one would ever find us.
We got there around midnight.
"We got here in four-and-a-half hours," I said.
"It's felt like four-and-a-half DAYS to me."
...
August 2, 1997 -- God Was Watching Over Us
The call came early that everyone was fine, but they were at Sycamore Hospital. Dad had come home after work the night before, pulled the car in the garage and then walked inside the house to wait for Mom and Julie, who were out walking.
Everyone woke up the next morning extremely ill. The life squad had to be called.
Turns out Dad had never turned off the car when he pulled in.
All three of them had carbon monoxide poisoning. "But everyone is okay because of their age and health," the doctor said. "It was enough that would have killed a two-year-old, though."
These were scariest words I had ever heard. They sent chills up my spine.
Chloe was supposed to spend the night there the night before. Our plans cancelled at the last minute.
