Tiger Woods | McClelland Miscellanea

Tag Archives: Tiger Woods

December 14, 2009 · 8:56 pm

Eldrick and Barack

You have the world’s best golfer at plus 38 and the high-profile duffer at minus 18. Something must be terribly wrong.

You can bet that the numbers aren’t golf scores when one is Eldrick “Tiger” Woods and the other is President Barack Obama.

38% favorability rating

A Rasmussen poll informs us that Tiger’s favorable rating of 56% on December 1st, dropped to 38% on December 9th. Before long, his favorability numbers will be down to the number of “encounters” he’s had, although with accumulating daily revelations maybe that’s where they are now!

I’m sure that as Tiger’s wife, Elin Nordegren, reflects back on what has happened, she realizes that she should have been suspicious when Tiger regularly left home telling her he was, “going to play a round.”

42% disapproval rating

Barack’s minus number is his Presidential Approval Index and it is pitiful. Rasmussen got this figure by taking the nation’s voters who strongly approve of the way he is performing his role as President (24%) and subtracting those who strongly disapprove (42%).

Barack warned us during the presidential campaign that if elected he was going to fundamentally change the United States. We should have believed him especially when he had large, elected majorities in Congress to help him.

Sensing a mandate, the new President set out to get the Congress to go along with him and expand the role of government in as many areas as possible. He appointed czars, including some with dubious resumes, and gave them incredible power. “In government we trust,” seemed to be the motto of the new government.

The pace that these folks went about doing things was warning-flag worthy. Many of these quick moving Democrats slid away from being called, “Liberal.” and preferred to be called, “Progressive.”

I mention the name preference because the other night during a commercial, I switched over to MSNBC and watched Chris “thrill up my leg” Matthews interview outspoken Democrat Alan Grayson of Florida. Chris set Grayson up by asking him if he was a progressive. Grayson agreed. Chris then made the point that a “progressive” takes things methodically step-by-step whereas a “radical” wants things done in a, no-holds-barred, hurry. Chris rightly surmised that in their pace the Democrats were acting like radicals rather than progressives. Grayson answered with a hapless defense and changed the subject. But Chris’s point was/is a good one.

What does the country think about Barack’s ideas now? Again Rasmussen: 65% (12-9-09) of adults say that the United States is heading in the wrong direction. Another Rasmussen poll has 56% opposing the Senate healthcare proposal.

It will be interesting to see how long the President caters to his dwindling number of supporters. Will the radical become a progressive? If he doesn’t, the results of the 2010 Congressional elections will give him a rebuke of the highest order.

Despite all the uncertainty, there is one certainty – a copy of the January 2010 issue of Golf Digest will not be on the coffee table in Barack’s White House suite. Why? The picture on the cover showing Barack with Tiger isn’t the problem. The title, “10 Tips Obama Can Take from Tiger,” might be. An angry Michelle with a golf club? Now that would be something to really worry about!

( This piece appeared in the Newburyport Current on December 18, 2009 and the Newburyport Daily News on December 22, 2009. )

Barbados: Wonderful Wind, Water, and Weather

Plenty to like in Barbados including the beachfront at The Crane

There is plenty to recommend about vacationing in Barbados. I spent a week there over Thanksgiving and loved it.

Do you like water that not only looks good but has a friendly temperature as well? If you do, you’ll love Barbados.

I was in Turks and Caicos last Thanksgiving. Both places are in the Caribbean but T&C is at 21 degrees north while Barbados is further south at 13 degrees north. I bring this up because the difference in water temperature was significant. It took “courage” to get into the ocean and freshwater pool at T&C. No hesitation before entering the water in Barbados.

How about a nice breeze? Either place offered that but in Barbados that cooling breeze never let up. With temps in the mid-80s that breeze provided air conditioning without electricity needed.

One caution about the Barbados breeze, however, is that it can make you think that the sun isn’t that hot. I saw many people with some pretty serious sunburns who just didn’t realize that they were getting cooked. I limited myself to an hour a day at the beach and came home with a tan.

Never-ending opportunities to body surf

I was on the southeastern side of Barbados, which is the “wave” side. There was surf from the minute I got there until the time I left. The only surfing I do is body surfing and it was available non-stop. There were some folks there who did some board surfing on small boards. I envisioned hospitalization if I attempted it!

Another nice thing about being in Barbados was that sunrise was at 6AM and sunset at 5:30PM. That gave me at least two extra hours of daylight.

Something that took getting used to was the lack of bugs. Good thing because none of the windows had screens. The windows were wide open except when it rained. Occasionally birds would fly into the place I was staying. Believe me…………that took some getting used to!

Food was not as big an issue for me as it was for other folks. The most important meal for me is breakfast and I like it large. My good fortune was that breakfast was the meal that the resort (The Crane) provided. It was served buffet style and there were plenty of wonderful choices. There were short-order cooks available to make omelets with the inclusions I wanted. All sorts of fruit was to be had. Oh yes, the breakfast place overlooked the beach.

Trying to find American food for the other meals was far less rewarding for those seeking it. I could bring food with me from the US so I had things such as tuna fish along which helped.

When I arrived, I got off the plane into a driving rain. The thing about the rain at Barbados was that it came quickly and left just as quickly. I had to react quickly with those open windows a few times because of the sudden showers.

The vegetation in Barbados is the big winner with the almost daily small doses of moisture as well as abundant sunshine.

The internet was available and I brought my computer with me. TV was definitely not high definition. I was very surprised to find CNN and MSNBC but no Fox available. Yes, I’m a conservative.

On the celebrity front, I learned that Attorney General Eric Holder’s father was born in Barbados in the area that The Crane is located – St. Phillips. The Attorney General visited Barbados a couple of months ago. Maybe he was looking for housing for the Gitmo terrorists?

Tiger Woods married Elin Nordegren in Barbados in October of 2004 and if she knew then what everyone seems to know now…………………

Tennis star Serena Williams was on the island performing in an exhibition match while I was there, the day after her $82,500 fine for losing her role-model status was made public

The T&C vacation provided a couple of airplane stories – not this time. I flew nonstop from NYC without any notable incident.

I hardly ventured away from The Crane because of the great conditions there. Maybe another time I’d bus or cab to Bridgetown, the capital.

The beach at The Crane was smooth and shell-less. More beach could be found if you climbed through some rocky spots at the end of the resort beach.

At the beach there were folks selling jewelry that had been hand-made. Things like bracelets and necklaces.

A view of the freshwater pools with the Caribbean beyond.

The Crane had many freshwater pools that I used after my daily hour in the ocean. They were shallow but very refreshing. There were also some shaded spots to lessen the burning possibilities.