The Phoenix Chestnut Chronicles

Hey everyone! Just checking in. Been very busy with work. I'm in the middle of a four day weekend. Friday I spent the whole day in bed. Yesterday I went out when the sun went down. Today I just had a cheap lunch and running some errands. Nothing exciting. I have a mountain of laundry to concour. Not looking forward to it. I have some exciting post ideas coming up. Until next time!

I can't remember when I first started playing tennis. Possibly junior high school. I remember hitting balls against a concrete wall. Seemed like fun. I had a cousin I'd hit balls with. We didn't play structured games, just hit balls and gain a comfortable and consistent forehand.  In high school I started playing real games. Learning how to keep score, change sides, etc. It stopped being fun. Seemed like torture. All I wanted to do was hit. I was playing against better players in PE class.  After high school I joined a racquet club with then intentions of playing regularly. Didn't happen. If the members didn't know you, they didn't want to play you. I was making next to nothing, but paying $65-$70 (in mid 90's dollars). It was an expense I couldn't keep up with so I quit the club. I enrolled in tennis classes at the local junior college. It enabled me to play twice a week. I liked it. In my mind I was a tennis player. I mean a TENNIS PLAYER. Looking back...

Hello all! I'm on a layover in Nashville. I just had a delicious plate of catfish, mac and cheese, and sweet potatoes. I'm as full as a tick as they say in the south. On my way to Florida for some R & R. Nashville seems to be my hub on these Florida trips.  Nashville has a great airport. Good country music all through the terminals. Good food. Ice cold beer. Funny thing is, I've been on the outskirts of Nashville, but never to Nashville proper. Someday ol' Phoenix Chestnut will walk the streets of Nashville and sing a country song.  My flight is delayed. I think I'll be here awhile. Until next time!

Hello all! Yes, I've been quiet lately. Very busy at work. Money made, money spent.  Gonna go to Pensacola for some R&R. A very quick trip. Spend some time at the beach, hit some golf balls at Perdido Bay County Club, have a meal at Waffle House, a brisket sandwich at Buc-ees, and a drink at Flora-Bama. Oh, and catch a Blue Wahoos game on my birthday.  I'm grateful to turn another year older. Looking forward to a week in the Florida sunshine!

Hello all! I'm on vacation this week. I'm not going anywhere. Just catching up on rest and cleaning up around the house. Probably play some golf and go to the beach. Today I practiced hitting the hardest club in golf, the 1 iron. Lee Trevino once joked, "If you're ever in a thunderstorm, stick a 1 iron in the air. Because God can't even hit a 1 iron!" It's a low lofted club. I've hit them before, but it was a old club made before cavity back/game improvement clubs. This club I'm hitting is a cavity back, so I was expecting a little forgiveness. No such luck. I hit about over a dozen balls, and maybe two were airborne. The rest were just grounders.  Oh well, I'll keep fiddling with it. Hopefully master it by summer. Or I can keep it in my bag as a "trouble" club. Now I'm off to the store for some porkchops. Until next time!

I was a preppy as a teenager. In my twenties I moved towards t shirt and jeans. In my thirties I went back to preppy. Then I got serious with someone who was a country girl. So I turned myself into a country boy. T shirt, jeans and boots (cowboy, work and hiking). I liked what I called the "Everyman" look. Women would look. The ex said I was too much of a pretty boy at times. She claimed it took me longer to get ready. After we broke up, I still embraced the "Everyman" look. Phoenix Chestnut is built on it.  Young Phoenix Chestnut played tennis often in tennis whites. Young Phoenix Chestnut was looking for a preppy girl to spend time with, a Buffy or a Muffy. No such luck. The preppy girls liked the rough around the edges boys...the "Everyman". I couldn't win.  What's my point writing this? Phoenix Chestnut might go back to his preppy sensibilities. I came across my old tennis sweaters, polish, argyle sweaters, golf club hats. Instead of cutoff jea...