Monday: Many of us took the 1:25 AM Mexicana red-eye out of Morelia to avoid the anticipated dilemma (bags left behind) on that Continental regional jet to Houston. We flew into Chicago then on to Tulsa on schedule but this unremarkable excursion did have a spot of trouble of it's own when  the strap on Dorothy Delasin's golf travel bag was caught in the carousel belt and shut everything down. A valiant effort by John Schiffer failed to dislodge the errant extremity and a trio of maintenance men arrived with crow bars in hand to do the dirty work. In the mean time, the remaining baggage was diverted to another carousel which had a few people, myself included, going back and forth searching for bags once the original snafu was alleviated.

Quiet, surgeon at work.

Tuesday: A steady morning rain, with more expected, gave me the day off. A haircut, passport photos, setting up the Thunderbird email client on Mark Scott's computer, a trip to Bass Pro Shops and drinks with dinner at caddie central (The Fox and Hound) helped fill in my day. By the way, the qualifier was played this morning due to the difficulty coming in from our last event. Ditto for next week.

• Play it as it lies, lets not: Walked the course yesterday and the recent cold snap has taken its toll. Combined with the expected rain for the next few days, we'll probably play it up once again. 

Wednesday: A mid-morning practice session was delayed to early afternoon and was conducted between spurts of rain. We were done by a little after three and off to the dry surroundings of this week's domiciles.

• Back at ya: The woeful Hye Jung Choi apparently is staying at our hotel and was attempting to enter through the rear door yesterday but forgot her key card. One of my compadres was standing inside and refused to let her in while submitting this appropriate admonishment. "I'm a friend of John's. Go around!" I just love it.

• Nailed it: Our speculation concerning the looper for Angela Stanford was right on the money. Jeremy Young is on the bag.

• Newbies : Brad Alexander is a fresh addition to the rules officials staff coming over from the PGA of America and former LPGA pro Kathy Mockett is the new tour representative for SkyCaddie.

• Pimple popper, M.D. This is not to denigrate the valued profession of dermatology (just a reference to another Seinfeld episode) but kudos to Semgroup for providing a free skin cancer screening for caddies and players. Following the theme of the day, and always concerned for the welfare of my fellow loopers, I counseled "The Nerd" to get the lump on his neck removed but then I realized he would no longer see, talk or hear.

• Keep on truckin': Ever since the beginning of the season, the LPGA has been seeking a replacement driver for the child care truck (cadero Keith Kennedy drove the last few years but has packed it in) and finally found their man. "Motorcycle Jim" has been retained to ferry the essentials from point to point and assist in loading and unloading.

• The Orkin Man: He would have been a welcomed addition to Dina's flight from Houston to Tulsa as it was invaded by hoards of mosquitoes. Apparently finding safe haven within the fuselage of the Continental jet, they accompanied the passengers and attempted to dine on the blood of any exposed epidermis. Heard it was quite a distraction for the crew trying to fly and swat simultaneously.

Thursday: Our E-9 turned into a soggy mess as the skies opened up within five holes. We played one more then took refuge in the rules official's trailer which is situated near the seventeenth green. At least we got in two more practice holes than last year. Gabbed some breakfast in the interim than practiced for a couple hours after the rain subsided. By the way, the food in hospitality is FANTASTIC! Yesterday, the salmon in cream sauce, artichoke salad with ham and risotto, and creamed corn topped with crunchy onion rings made my taste buds dance.

• They've had better days: Two loopers wish they could have lived yesterday over again. One, planning to meet his player for dinner, was waiting at the wrong restaurant which had the same name and was many miles away. Trouble was, he hadn't rented a car that week and got a lift from his roomy who had already left the premises. The other, after getting toasted at a local concert, barfed in the backseat of a fellow caddie's car.

• Midwest hospitality: Dina is staying with former LPGA pro Janice Gibson who hosted a little evening get-together last night. I stopped by and and supped on burgers, dogs, queso dip and chips, Dina's pasta salad and a couple of brewskies. Eating way too much this week.

Friday:  Gave up two in the last three holes but great up-n-downs on the longest par threes evened things out. Shot level par. The swampy conditions and expected strong breezes had us playing "lift clean and place" (as predicted) and the tees set well up. The biggest surprise was number seven which was shortened by a whopping forty yards.

• It's in the bag: Looking for more release on our tee ball, Dina tried a new driver on the range yesterday and put it in the bag. It's a Taylor 9.5° Burner, loaded with a Fujikura Rombax 6X07 shaft, which she nailed all day long. The mushy fairways left us with a running joke on the extra role we were getting.

• Don't touch it: Our "ball in hand" rule states it may be used on the hole being played, on turf that is fairway height of less and includes the collar of the green. But the third hole is out of character with the rest and could be a problem. There isn't a collar which may catch someone lifting it without realizing their error and incur a penalty. It also may lead to disqualification (as it did in Mexico City) by finding out after the card has been signed.

• Focus foibles: I pity all of you who have purchased a Ford Focus. I rented one last year in Hawaii and had to have it towed away when the door latch broke. Got stuck with another one this week and the check-engine light just came on with only 5K miles on the odometer.

• Money well spent: Not wishing to squeak by at the last minute, I opted to expedite my passport renewal for the extra $60 so not to miss The British Open. It expires at the end of the year and seemed prudent not to wait since there is a ten week delay for normal processing.

• It's not just the caffeine: The stimulus of a strong cup of coffee seems to be the perfect vehicle to wake many of us up in the morn but its other properties may have been overlooked, until today. Rick and Herr Steffler were driving in early today when a sharp turn dislodged Jeff's coffee spilling it on Rick's leg. The steamy brew immediately brought him to attention and his scream did the same for Jeff.

• From the parking lot to the leader board: My long time roomy, Boston Ralph, arrived unexpectedly a week early and picked up Joanne Morley out of the lot and shot -2 today. Not a bad snag so far.

• Call anytime: Downloaded a unique ring tone for my cell and it possesses an attribute I didn't expect. Cell use is prohibited inside the ropes (a rule brought about by inconsiderate practitioners) so when one rings it has a tendency to turn heads. Mine is the squawk of the Whooping Crane, which can be mistaken for a Canadian goose to the untrained ear, and no one thinks it's a phone.

Saturday: A shortage of birds left us with a two over par day. Need to bring it tomorrow so Dina doesn't have to qualify next week. We played with Morgan Pressel and she was in the hunt until her putter went spastic.

• Get 'er done: That's what we'll be trying to do tomorrow to beat the rain. We're splitting tees starting at 7 AM.

• Lets all do our part, but at what cost? Brandy Bridges thought just that in an effort to help save the environment and a few bucks on electricity. She purchased those new energy/money-saving compact fluorescent lamps but broke one while installing it in her daughter's room. Having heard that mercury is one of the components, she wished to make sure about the clean up procedure. Guess what? It's going to take a hazmat crew to do it at a cost of $2000! Read about it here.

• This explains a lot: The derogatory pea-brained moniker may not be that far fetched after all. Seems a tipple a day makes the gray matter go away. Check this out.

Sunday: Made a little move with another +2 round and beat the rain to boot.

• Maybe next year: Since we are only 60 miles form the interminable inhabitancy (at least in this lifetime) of our most notorious former looper, you would think a group visiting day would have been arranged. Perhaps Semgroup will order up a tour bus next time we're in town.

• Need an invite: Would like to try the internet TV service called Joost but need an invitation from a current member to do so. Anyone out there willing to send one along?