| General Fiction posted July 10, 2023 | Chapters: |
...5 6 -7- 8... 
|
  |
Kilian teaches Arie the kolf swing
A chapter in the book Saving Mr. Calvin
Saving Mr. Calvin - Chapter 6A
by Jim Wile
| Background A story about the origin and the future of the game of golf |
See Author Notes for the list of characters and unfamiliar terms.
Recap of Part 1: The year is 2032, and young Kevin Parsons, living in Santa Barbara, CA, has invited his two good friends, Paul Putnam and Ernie (Dumbo) Dumbrowski, for breakfast and a round of golf afterwards. Over breakfast, the three engineers lament the sorry state of golf courses in not only California but in the rest of the country, as presumably non-golfing environmentalists are destroying the game, without specifically banning it, by destroying its field of play.
They go to the golf course, which is in terrible shape due to the lack of water and other restrictions, and meet Art Calvin, a retired golf course architect who actually designed the course they are playing. He joins the boys, and they begin their round. When they reach the 7th hole, Kevin hooks his tee shot out-of-bounds. He can see it resting on the other side of an old railroad trestle. The chapter ends as he walks beneath the trestle to go retrieve his ball.
The railroad trestle is a time portal, and all of a sudden, we are in 13th-century Holland. Kilian Pauls, a 14-year-old boy, is running out of the woods and through the fields, being chased by two big boys shouting curses at him. He hears a voice calling to him and makes for it. It is a redheaded young girl who beckons him into the entrance to a cave to hide. It appears as though they have vanished, and the followers cannot find Kilian and give up the hunt. Kilian has just met a cute young girl named Arie Papin, and the two are instantly attracted to each other. She leaves for home soon after, and Kilian starts back to his hill, where he tends sheep.
Kilian devises a plan to get his scroll back from his friend Lard who stole it. He will challenge him to a new game he devised called kolf, named after the club he uses to hit black walnut husks—the green ones that are perfectly round balls. He and Lard and another friend, Rube, have been playing the new game for several weeks, aiming at various targets in the meadows and fields. Kilian proposes that the prize for winning the game will be getting his scroll back if he wins, and getting his scroll back if he loses too, but then he will also have to teach Lard to read and write, as making fun of Lard’s illiteracy the day before is what led to the chase. They play the match, but Kilian lets Lard win because he felt badly about insulting him.
The next day, Kilian moves his sheep closer to where he met Arie in hopes that he will see her again. He sits down to write her a poem on the scroll he got back from Lard. She shows up before he has quite finished, and he reads the poem to her. She is touched by it and kisses him. They begin playing together and run a footrace back to the walnut tree where his kolf is stored. He teaches her to hit a walnut ball with it, and she is instantly delighted by the new game. She is a quick study and picks up the swing very fast. At noon, Arie must return home, and Kilian runs with her.
Chapter 6A
On the way back from Arie’s farm, I stopped by my home to retrieve the slate that my ma had used to teach us our letters, as well as a couple pieces of chalk. I headed for the meadow in search of Lard.
I found him knocking a walnut ball back and forth with Rube. “Are you ready for your first reading lesson?” I asked him.
“Do you really think you can teach me, Kilian?”
“I’m going to try. That was the bet after all.”
“If I’m just too thick and can’t seem to catch on, I won’t hold you to it any longer.”
“I’m not worried about that. Look at it as a challenge, Lard. We’ll get you reading and writing too. It will just take practice. My ma made some easy scrolls she would use to teach me and my brothers, and I’ll lend ‘em to you. You’ve got to be serious about it, though, if you really want to learn.”
“I don’t want to chase sheep around all me life. I’ll put in the work alright.”
“Okay, let’s get started then.”
It was harder than I thought. I tried to remember how Ma had taught me, so I started by teaching him a few of the more common letters and the sounds they make. I demonstrated how to make them on the slate and had him copy them. By the end of the lesson, he was reading and writing a few simple words. His hand was shaky, but we were able to read them back.
“That’s enough for today, Lard. Keep the slate and practice them tonight, and we’ll try some more tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Kilian. This was a little frustratin’ but kinda fun too. Now let’s find that doofus Rube and play some kolf.”
The next morning, with my kolf over my shoulder and a few green walnut balls in my pocket, I headed down to the cave to meet Arie. It was a beautiful summer morning. It was not too warm yet and not overly humid, and the day promised to be a good one. Arie arrived shortly, carrying what looked like a kolf of her own.
“Well, look at that! Did you make it yourself?”
“I got my pa to help me with it. I described it to him and told him what it would be for. He thought it sounded like a waste of time, but I told him it was really fun whacking those balls and that you were going to teach me a game today. He said he would help me make a kolf, but told me I must be back by noon to do my chores. He wants to meet you, by the way.”
“Okay. Maybe when we are done with the game. Let me see the kolf you both made.” She handed it to me, and I studied it closely. It was shorter than mine, but otherwise looked much the same. “This looks well-made. What type of wood did you use?”
“We had a pile of branches from an ash tree Pa had chopped down recently. He said ash was a good, strong wood like beech that yours is made from, and he helped me shape it like yours.”
“Yours has a steeper angle to the face than mine.”
“Pa said I would be able to hit the ball higher that way.”
“I think he’s probably right. Let’s try it out.”
“I was practicing with it some last evening, trying to remember all the things you taught me. I was able to hit a few nicely up in the air. My hands are getting scraped from the bark, though, and I wish it was thinner, as my hands are small.”
“I can fix that.” I pulled a blade from a short scabbard I wore on my belt and began peeling the bark off the handle where her hands would grip the kolf. After peeling it all off, I let her try it.
“That’s much smoother. Could you make it thinner still?”
She handed me the kolf, and I whittled some more off until she was able to grip it comfortably. “Let’s try it out,” she said.
Together, we walked away from the trees, and I pulled a few walnut balls from my pocket and threw them to the ground.
“Let’s take a couple of practice strikes first, then I’ll show you the game we play. But before that, try making a few swings without aiming for a ball. Just hit the top of the grass to warm up.”
She began swinging, and it was immediately evident she had been practicing. Her swing was much slower and smoother than yesterday—more controlled. There was no danger of falling on her butt now.
“Your wrist motion is much better now, Arie; you’re going to hit the ball a lot farther. Can I make one more suggestion before striking a ball?”
“Of course.”
“Remember the tip about starting to swing down by moving your hips first? Just a little toward the target before starting down with the arms. That will give you even more power. Like this,” and I demonstrated the move for her. “Try it.”
It looked awkward at first, but with a little more demonstrating and coaching, it smoothed right out. “Now try striking a ball that way.”
She set a ball up on a tuft and took a swing with the new hip action, and away the ball flew in a high arc. It landed some 60 paces away. “Look at that, Kilian! I really smacked it. Look how high it flew.” She was just beaming.
“That was an awesome shot! Look at the distance you hit it. That’s farther than Rube hits it, and look how much bigger he is than you. Oh, wait, you haven’t met him yet—just heard his voice that time and saw him from a distance. I will have to introduce you soon. To Lard too. Why don’t we hit a few more, then I’ll show you the game we play.”
She topped the next couple and frowned, but then she hit another good one that landed as far as the first one, and she was beaming once again.
“Let’s play now. What do you do?”
“We pick an agreed upon target off in the distance and try to reach it in as few strokes as you can. Then you must strike it with the ball. The one with the fewest strokes wins. Simple enough.”
“Yes, it is.” Her eyes began scanning the terrain. “How about that outcropping of rock over there? It looks to be around 200 paces from here.”
“Let’s narrow it down some,” I said. “How about the jagged rock on the end?”
“Okay. Can I go first?”
“Sure, you can.”
She let out a squeal of delight, then reached into her pocket for another ball and placed it on a tuft. She took a practice swing first, then stepped up to the ball and whacked it 50 paces down the field.
“Good shot, Arie!”
She let out another squeal. She was absolutely delighted with herself. “See if you can beat that, Kilian.”
I grinned at her and tufted my ball. She had just challenged me, and I thought I would show off by hitting it as far as I could. I took a massive swipe at it and topped it. It only managed to bound and roll maybe 30 paces along the ground.
“I’m winning!” she said with a laugh.
“Not for long, missy. We’ve still got several shots to go. Don’t be too cocky, or you’ll regret it.”
“Hmmpf! Don’t you be too cocky either, Kilian Pauls.”
I just smiled. We reached my ball first, and this time I hit a good one, which sailed 60 paces in the air and rolled another 10 or so on the ground. Determined not to be outdone, she took a huge swing at the ball, just nicking the top, which caused it to roll a mere five paces. I was now well ahead of her after two strokes. “See what I mean about being too cocky?”
She stuck her tongue out at me, walked ahead to her ball, and swung much more smoothly this time, striking a good one.
“Good shot. Slow and steady wins the race.”
“I like to really whack it, though I do see it’s harder to hit it squarely that way.”
“A good lesson. Once you play more, you’ll be able to whack it harder and squarely.”
A few strokes later, after we had both hit the rock, I said, “How many strokes did it take you? I managed to hit it in 6.”
“Oh, no. I forgot to keep count. I think it was about 6 or 7.”
It was 9, but I said, “Doesn’t matter. We’re just playing for fun. Why don’t we aim for that big walnut tree over the hill there. Maybe we’ll see Lard and Rube. I’ll introduce you.”
“Okay.”
“If we do meet up with them, try not to laugh too hard at the silly things Rube says. He’s as dumb as this rock here, but he’s sensitive about people laughing at him.”
“I wouldn’t do that. Is that his real name?”
“His real name is Ruben, and Lard’s name is Lars, but we’ve been using the nicknames for years.”
“What’s your nickname?”
“I’m just Kilian.”
“Well, I’m going to use their real names, Just Kilian.”
“Suit yourself.”
To be continued...
kolf: a club in ancient Dutch. It is also used as the name of the game that uses it.
kolven: the verb form of the word, i.e., clubbing or golfing
topped: a mishit shot that is hit on the top of the ball.
CHARACTERS - 2032 California
Kevin Parsons: The narrator of the story. He is a 28-year-old mechanical engineer living in Santa Barbara, CA.
Paul Putnam: A good friend of Kevin who is an electrical engineer.
Ernie (Dumbo) Dumbrowski: Another good friend of Kevin who is a computer genius.
Art Calvin: An old, retired golf course architect whom the boys meet one day while golfing.
CHARACTERS - 1247 Holland
Kilian Pauls: A 14-year-old shepherd boy in 1247 Holland.
Arie Papin: A 13-year-old farmgirl in 1247 Holland.
Lars (Lard) Jansen: A fellow shepherd boy and friend of Kilian.
Ruben (Rube) Meijer: Another shepherd boy and friend of Kilian.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. kolven: the verb form of the word, i.e., clubbing or golfing
topped: a mishit shot that is hit on the top of the ball.
CHARACTERS - 2032 California
Kevin Parsons: The narrator of the story. He is a 28-year-old mechanical engineer living in Santa Barbara, CA.
Paul Putnam: A good friend of Kevin who is an electrical engineer.
Ernie (Dumbo) Dumbrowski: Another good friend of Kevin who is a computer genius.
Art Calvin: An old, retired golf course architect whom the boys meet one day while golfing.
CHARACTERS - 1247 Holland
Kilian Pauls: A 14-year-old shepherd boy in 1247 Holland.
Arie Papin: A 13-year-old farmgirl in 1247 Holland.
Lars (Lard) Jansen: A fellow shepherd boy and friend of Kilian.
Ruben (Rube) Meijer: Another shepherd boy and friend of Kilian.
You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.
© Copyright 2024. Jim Wile All rights reserved.
Jim Wile has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.