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We all have that special group of friends

Those who are truly blessed in life have at least one — that friend or group of friends whom, although you may not see them often, are still a part of the fabric of your daily lives.
One of mine is a golf foursome that started several years ago, in that casual way in which so many friendships start.
My friend Laura was a member of a bankers association that, in the summer, preceded its monthly meeting with a golf outing. She put together a foursome of two co-workers and me, as a guest, several years ago.
We had so much fun and shared so many laughs that we’ve made it a tradition to get together for golf, even though Laura has moved on to other endeavors in her professional life.
None of us play well, which provides plenty of laughs right there. Once, one of us hit a shot that became lodged in a tree. A suggestion was made to use a “tree iron” on the next shot.
We’ve had those instances where someone has hit a solid shot, only to have it carom off a tree and land back at their feet. We have our share of “worm-burners,” and spend more time that is really necessary beating back long grass and weeds in search of errant balls. It gives us time to talk.
Penny the Putter takes care of our work on the greens. (We quickly learned that if we wanted to get done before midnight, it was better to play “best ball” than individually).
It doesn’t always work out for all four of us to play. One night, it was just Laura and I. We got behind a foursome with one very intoxicated player who finally just sat down in front of a tee box and  waved at us to “play through.” Difficult to do when he was sitting right in front of the box. His friends yelled at him to get up, which only encouraged him to lie down prone, still waving at us to play through.
We also witnessed an inexpert “beverage cart” driver who went airborne over a hill. The cart landed on all four wheels, but ice and beverages sprayed from the cooler. We chose not to buy a shaken-up beer.
Another time, three of us showed up at Meadowlinks in Hutchinson. Our fourth player showed up at “Meadowlinks” near Lester Prairie. Its formal name is really Shadowbrooke. We could see the confusion; the both have “dow” in their names.
Our outings are usually followed by a burger and a beer somewhere as we laugh, talk over our lives, work and families, and generally have a good time. Even in the winter months, we try to get together monthly for dinner and conversation, and may try some non-golf activities.
The day after one of our golf outings is usually followed by a flurry of e-mails with “I’m still laughing” in the subject line.
Then, it may be two or three weeks before we pick up exactly where we left, enjoying each others’ company and laughing until our cheeks hurt.
As I write this, I’m looking forward to tonight, which is our first true golf outing of the summer. And I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when I’ll still be laughing.
Friendship is great; enjoy yours to the fullest.