The Wunderkind

My sister Margie found my blog. I may have mentioned Margie before. She is the sister who married the dentist -- my brother-in-law Greg -- and now lives in New Jersey. In a beautiful part of New Jersey, I have to say. We are not talking Newark or anything. Margie lives in a new build we call Big House because that is what her son Matthew called it when he was very little. Matthew has a lot on the ball.

So does Margie and Greg's older kid, my niece Emily.

Emily is only in seventh grade, or something like that, but she is turning into the marvel of the golf world. For some years now, she has been the talk of Howell County -- that is the idyllic county where they live. Howell County does not have a Water Authority such as we have in Erie County, I am reasonably sure of that. Anyway, Emily is taking on the world. She is the Leonard Pennario of golf. She is a prodigy and she is unstoppable.

Our lives are very complicated now because Emily has to be taken to North Carolina and places like that to compete in golf tournaments. You would think she would be too young for this much pressure. But she is not. She deals fine. So we are pushing her forward like a little battering ram. We have been waiting for someone like Emily to appear in our family. She is our ticket out of here.

Margie, if you're out there, could you email me a picture of Emily in her golf get-up so we can post it? We all want to be able to say, "We knew her when...."

I look forward to how my life will be when Emily makes it big and none of us has to work any more. Think of what I would do on a day like today.

1.) Sunset Bay.
2.) Bike along the Niagara River, lunch at Santasiero's.
3.) Walk across the Peace Bridge, eat at Happy Jack's.
4.) Wander Hertel Avenue.
5.) My friend Michelle has this beautiful cottage in Ellicottville with a pond.
6.) There is this winery in Niagara County where they have ghosts and I keep wanting to visit.
7.) I used to have a bunch of Chopin etudes memorized and it would be nice to get them back in my head.
8.) I would like to make Chinese lanterns for the patio at Big Blue. Am I allowed to write "Chinese lanterns?" The other day everyone got mad when I mentioned that Chinese kid crying.

I was going to write a list of 10 things I would like to do but I realize my time is up. I have to get to work. No life of leisure today.

Emily, get out on that golf course and get busy!