Me Knows Better Than to Say This... But I will. The day after the 1991 lightning strike, Jimmy had a stiff neck. I can only assume it happened from snapping my neck around so fast after the bolt struck the ground behind me. So I spent the next day at the chiropractor's office getting fit with a neck brace... but I still made it to the Open.
The neck brace must have looked odd as my wife avoided walking with me since apparently it looked a bit dorky with a huge white brace keeping my head held upright. But the added fashion accessory of a large pair of binoculars hanging around my neck made it look even dorkier. (Might I add that the weight of the binoculars probably wasn't doing my neck any favors either).
The weather was beautiful, but I didn't want to be in the sun that much to avoid having a funny looking tan around my face where the brace blocked all access of the sun's rays... so I planted my self under a nice shade tree by the 17th green to watch the professionals hit into the par 3. While my wife and our friends bask in the sun along the hill, I stayed cool under the tree. I must have looked like a mentally challenged individual that everyone was shunning because I looked so odd. No friends wanted to hang with me... but it kept the crowd down and gave me extra room.
A few moments later I felt a dampness on my shoulder. Since I couldn't turn my head to check, I lifted my left hand to check the area and got confirmation. I yelled over to my wife, "Hey hon... I think a bird just shit on my shoulder. Can you help me?"
She looked and started laughing so hard, I thought she was going to roll down the hill and into the water. Since she offered no help, I had to find a leaf and some grass and wipe it off by myself... all blind to the outcome since I had to do it all by feel. Apparently no one wanted to help the invalid.
Of note... the next day, I picked up the paper and they had published a spectaular shot of Payne Stewart hitting into one of the par 5's. I enlarged one area of the photo below. See the two guys laying in the rough under the ropes next to the cameraman's left shoulder? Those two were in our group and I am kneeling on the ground behind them. I think my wife was so embarassed by my looks that I had to abandon the neck brace to join the crowd with her and I was using the brace to sheild my eyes from the sun.
Karma... it's a funny thing.
