Wait, I think you are conquering the world…the world that matters…

Thank you again for allowing me to read your thoughts and have insight on your journey. Yours seems more fun than mine…

Everyone else, if you thought this was good you should read an article on Bo Jackson that Joe wrote. Actually, I think it was on Bo Jackson. I remember reading it and tears came to my eyes. Here I am, a grown man, reading the sports section on Saturday or Sunday morning about a guy who hasn’t played baseball since I was in high school. And I’m getting all misty-eyed. I was reading the part of the article that mentioned something Buck O’Neil said about the sound the bat made when Bo Jackson hit the ball during practice and I started crying.

What I mean to say is this; Joe, you write beautifully. Thanks.

I believe that Tiger Woods, in a sense, prepared this country, psychologically, for Barack Obama. His athletic skill and, just as important, his charisma, shattered a great deal of racism in this country, at the highest levels.

The acceptance and love for Tiger Woods, a man from a modest family and minority group, allowed the country to move closer, if only subconsciously, to the possibility of allowing a minority candidate, also from very modest means, to hold its highest office.

Palmer was the talent equal of any of his contemporaries of the past 40+ years. Unfortunately, Jim occasionally crossed the confidence line and entered into arrogance. That was his nature.

Earl Woods could have lived in any sized house in any state when Tiger started making a few bucks. Kultilda certainly did when she left Earl. He stayed in the house Tiger grew up in and made Tiger come to him. That was his nature.

I am unaware of any mistakes Tiger has made during the maturing process from a college junior to an almost billionaire. He rarely speaks out on issues and should not have to. With the possible exception of Muhammad Ali, Tiger has been the most recognizable American athlete on the planet. He cannot go to the laundromat without some difficulty, so all of his houses are big enough to contain a washer/dryer. He can’t sit around airport lounges, so he bought a jet.

Tiger doesn’t ask people to analyze him, his golf game, his personal life or his motives. He also crosses over into arrogance on occasion. Mostly, because he is the best golfer to ever walk on terra firma.

If Jack Nicklaus had made similar money in the 1960’s and 1970’s, some other writer may have written the identical article as the one you did so well on.

Susan said: “Show her.”

Palmer picked up a rock, picked out an obscure target, and nailed it. No warm up. First try. Never a question. Not a doubt.

These people are not like us. And the best of them might as well be aliens, or gods. They’re not to be understood. And I imagine they don’t understand themselves. They just… are.

I tried to probe the motivations of a professional golfer once, a young man who was soon to come one putt short of a major championship. My inquiry, from the perspective of a good club player and historian, made no sense to him whatsoever. Golf was just what he did, who and what he was. I pushed him further. He wasn’t dumb. He didn’t like it but he eventually reckoned it was the competition that kept his juices flowing. He couldn’t care less about course design, swing theory, advances in equipment, traditions. He was a pure sportsman. Never been anything else. He didn’t think about it. He did it.