This is apropos of nothing. Just something from the "unfinished posts" pile within the blog software, which are not as easy to resume as I wish, but which I want to clear out so they stop staring at me.
I tend to find articles or sites of interest, bookmark them for later when I can write about them ... and then get distracted by other things to learn. With this article, I have no idea what I was originally going to write about, so I'll just do this:
Carl Hiaasen, the writer of hilarious Fletch-ian novels in which a protagonist tackles bad guys and environmental criminals with investigative journalist-like nobility, is a golfer. Naturally, he appears as funny about golf as he is in his novels.
I have at least one friend, plus one wife, who are Hiaasen fans, so they'll appreciate this if they didn't see it when it first printed. If you don't know him, his books are great, quick reads -- good for the beach -- written in a smart way that is perfect antidote for the distressed environmentalist or liberal.
Although this bit about quasi-rationalizing the endless acres we devote to freaking golf courses doesn't pass my completely subjective standards:
An environmentalist, who both in his books and in his weekly column for The Miami Herald has complained a lot about uncontrolled development in Florida, Mr. Hiaasen does take pleasure in the surroundings. He poked for snakes in the rocks, hoping to spot a water moccasin, and pointed out the ibises strolling the fairway, the carp, catfish and tilapia lolling in the lakes.
“The great irony is that golf courses are becoming the last bit of wildlife refuge we have,” he said. “I saw a bobcat on a golf course once, and I don’t know that there’s anyplace else you could do that now.”
There may be some truth in that, but it's a sad statement. And it makes me feel no better about the role that golf courses and luxury isolation developments play in creating overpopulated communities in places that have no natural business hosting that many people who consume that many resources (e.g., much of the southwest), where there is no real access to water without severely stressing the water supply of existing communities, and where there is no realistic understanding of the consequences two decades from now.
I like a little golf, too, but in water-scarce places I can never help feeling that the acres-warped-to-citizen-enjoyment ratio is way out of whack to justify it.
But the point of all this was Hiaasen. He's goooood.
Somebody donated a bunch of Hiaasen novels to the Staunton library - may they forever be blessed - and I went on a binge at first. Then I learned to pace myself, one Hiaasen to two other writers, using Hiaasen to unwind after the others had disappointed.
In the one I read most recently, some developer was trying to put a golf course community in the Everglades, and our valiant heroes were Monkey Wrench Ganging it. So he does draw the line somewhere.
As you may have noticed, the site has changed. Sampa, the free-site host, did a version 2 of some sort.
Despite an FAQ that made it sound like allowing one's site to go through v.2 surgery would be okay, there were several flexibilities that surprisingly disappeared with the click of a button. (e.g. I cannot believe sidebars like this one are even narrower than before.)
And I'm told -- miraculously! -- that the conversion cannot be undone. Truth be told, I'm actually quite pissed. But free is free. Sampa has otherwise been good to me.
So I need to sort through site "features" to see how I can make do. Except that I don't have the time at the moment, in the middle of graduate classes and Lighthousehockey.com. (btw, I've removed that Lighthouse RSS feed so that you're not clogged with random Islanders hockey gibberish).
But I promise to touch up the accessories when I get a chance, and return to irregularly scheduled blogging.
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. Naturally, he appears as funny about golf as he is in his novels. 
Comments (1) for "Hiaasen the golfer"
February, 2008