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The 6th Ball
The story below is written from the "Long Drive
Competitors" perspective ,where you get 6 balls to rip
and your best effort is recorded. This represents about
1/40th of the journey and the book. I know what you guys
attention span's are....
While recovering from cancer and a month in the hospital and
5 months off from work I was watching ESPN at 2 or 3 o'clock
AM when the ReMax LongDrive event was being shown tape
delay. As I watched, I said to myself "that's what I am
going to do". At that moment in time ,I was not able to
do a single push-up. Well, I decided it was going to be one of the many things
I do during the
short time we are here on Earth. Watching that program
sparked my interest and a year and a 1/2 passed before I was
able to train and swing at 90%.
I went to a LDA local and 1 District and ended up in Mesquite at
the World Championship in 2002.Someone failed to point out
to me how difficult this was to do...There I was at the
World Championship as a competitor standing on a Mountain top
overlooking the small town of Mesquite Nevada with my wife ,
who was with me at my side at the Medical Center and now
in Mesquite. The emotion was almost worth the pain.I was able to compete
also in 2003 at the World Championship , but the road (in
2003 )proved more difficult.
Standing in Mesquite almost 3 years to the day after I was
diagnosed with cancer was both a miracle and a story of
faith, hope and facing your greatest fear and it was not
death....It ain't over ,'til its OVER".
That is also the attitude you need to succeed in this sport,
or in life.
Ask anyone that has won or lost on the 6th ball. I left the
hospital on the 6th Ball, so to speak. When I was leaving
the Hospital, my Doctor came up to my wheelchair and said
Danny, you just won the lottery of life ( the odds of
survival were similar to the lottery) Now go out and DO
SOMETHING ! I did not waste any time. I noticed on my many
trips around the hospital floor that some people had -0-
plants, flowers, etc....I asked my wife and the nurse's to
distribute the many items I was fortunate enough to receive.
They said "what do we do" ? I said go to the gift shop and buy
some blank cards and simply write their name on it and put "from a friend that care's" on it. All patients names are on the
room they are in , and it took some work on their part to do
it. It's coming up on 5 years now, and when I go back they
still look at me and point. I have heard several comments:
He's the one that gave, he's the one that went around the
track, he's the one that we did not know how we were going to
get him outta here if he didn't make it. (6'2" 235lbs) The list goes
on.............
The LDA and its Senior Division gave me hope
when I needed it the most as it gave an old guy the chance
to compete with the best in the world "that want to tee
it high and let it fly". It would be a long list if I
mentioned the MANY fine people I have met through LongDrive
Competition.
You know who you are.
When you are down to that 6th ball (in life or LongDrive),
give it your best shot. You never know what might happen.
Before I go, my room at the Hospital overlooked the RICE
University Track where they obviously ran track. I watched
them all day, everyday ( when I could focus ). On my 1st 3
month check-up. At my insistence, my wife drove her 4x4
Suburban right up next to the Track. I got out and walked
with my cane to the track. The Track Coach comes running up
to me "what do think you are doing" ? I pointed to
the window on the 9th Floor, ya see that window ? He nodded
his head, "I was there and watched the team work out
for over 4 weeks and I would like to walk around your
track". I barely got that out when he blew his whistle
and cleared the track. "All yours" he said. Some
stopped their workouts others just watched and some were
clapping by the time (13:00 minutes) it took for me to make
440 yards. It was just like ya see in the movies, only
better !
Dan Caywood
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