| General Fiction posted July 26, 2023 | Chapters: |
...12 13 -14- 15... 
|
  |
A desire for competition
A chapter in the book Saving Mr. Calvin
Saving Mr. Calvin - Chapter 12
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 the story so far: 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 has invented a new game in which he hits a ball with a “kolf” which is Dutch for “club.” He plays this game, which he calls “kolf,” with his friends, Lard and Rube—fellow shepherds like him. He teaches Arie the game and together the four of them devise new ways to play it including putting the balls into holes on greens that the sheep have grazed smooth. They create different clubs (kolfs) for different shots, and make wooden balls.
Kilian and Arie take a real fancy to each other, and Arie introduces him to her parents who also like him instantly. They continue to develop the game by creating more interesting holes to play and new clubs like the equivalent of today’s pitching wedge. Their romance also grows with the game.
Names are created for the different aspects of the game including each of the four kolfs (clubs). Kilian introduces Lard and Rube to the short game. They begin making more kolfs and balls, and learn an interesting fact about smooth balls (they don’t fly very far.) Arie joins the group, and they all become fast friends.
Chapter 12
Over the next couple of months, the four of us played together often. I now carried four different kolfs whenever I played, as did Lard. Rube only carried his smasher, which he used for every type of shot, even holing the ball on the greens. Arie carried three. The longest kolf she used was a combination smasher and middler (which she called a shmiddler.) Each of us has a specialty that we excel in. For Rube, it is obviously smashing. I am the best at middling, Lard at lifting, and Arie at holing.
One day, just for fun, I proposed that we combine our efforts for a single score. Each of us would hit the shots we are best at, using only one ball for the four of us. Rube would hit the initial shot with his smasher, then I would hit the next one with the middler, Lard would hit any lifter shots needed, and Arie would hole everything. Rather than competing against each other, we were simply trying to make the best total score we could for the entire set of holes. (We had 12 that we played regularly.) We would do this occasionally and try to beat our best team score for these holes.
This gave me an idea that I voiced to the group. “Wouldn’t it be fun if we could compete against another team of players in this fashion and come up with the best total score for all the holes?”
“But do you know of anyone else besides us who plays this game?” asked Arie. “We invented it, didn’t we?”
“Well, we’ll just have to teach more people to play then,” said Lard.
“I know how we can do that,” said Arie. “In a fortnight, there’s going to be a town fair in Amsterdam. My ma told me about it. My family was planning to go because there is great entertainment and food there, and lots and lots of people attend. There will be games and magic shows and jugglers and all kinds of fun things to do. Maybe we could go and teach people our new game and rouse some interest in it.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, Arie,” said Lard. “I’m sure other people will love this new game. We could explain how to make the kolfs and balls and show them how to swing at them.”
“And I could smash some balls to show ‘em,” put in Rube.
“Then we could play a few holes and show them the whole game!” said Arie.
I said, “Hold on, group. I hate to crush a stink bug in our midst, but there’s a problem with that. There aren’t any holes to play there in Amsterdam.”
That sobered everyone for a while until Arie said, “Then we’ll just have to make a few first. I’ve been thinking. My Oom Gerrit owns a farm just a few minutes outside of Amsterdam. I’m sure he would let us put a few holes on his land. He might even provide a hay wagon to carry folk from the fair to his farm, where we could demonstrate the game. Kilian, why don’t you and I talk to Pa about this and see what he thinks? Oom Gerrit is his brother.”
Rather than go straight back to my sheep, I walked Arie home so that we could both propose this idea to her papa. We spotted him just coming out of the house when we walked into the yard. He waved to us.
“Papa! Papa! We have a wonderful idea to ask you about!” cried Arie.
“Let me guess. You want to marry?”
Arie and I looked at each other in surprise. “No!” she said. “Well, maybe someday,” she clarified. I smiled at this reply.
“What I wanted to tell you is that we plan to show people our new game of kolf at the Amsterdam Fair in a fortnight. We need more people to learn to play so that we can have a competition with them.”
“But how will you show people how to play if there are no, what did you call them—holes—to play?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you, Papa. Perhaps Oom Gerrit will let us make a few holes on his land. What do you think?”
“Hello, Kilian. Nice to see you again, by the way. Haven’t seen you in ages. Hmm, yesterday, wasn’t it?”
I laughed. “Good afternoon, Dhr Papin. Nice to see you again too, at long last.”
“So, what do you think, Papa?” persisted Arie.
“I think we should take a trip there, and you can ask him yourself.”
“Can Kilian come too?”
“Of course. Can you spare a few hours this afternoon, Kilian? It’s about an hour or so each way by cart to Gerrit’s farm.”
“Yes, certainly.”
“Then, Arie, why don’t you go pack us a basket of food that we can eat along the way and tell Mama what we’re doing, and Kilian and I will hitch the horse to the cart. As soon as you’re done, we’ll set off for Gerrit’s.”
“Thank you, Papa.”
As Dhr Papin and I walked to the barn to fetch the horse and cart, he put his arm around my shoulder and said, “Listen, Kilian, I didn’t mean to speak out of turn when I made that crack about marrying. I don’t know what your intention is, and I’m sorry if I embarrassed you with that.”
“We haven’t talked about that yet, but I have most definitely had those thoughts. Would I have your blessing if I were to ask her?”
“You are a grand lad, Kilian, and I believe you would make a fine husband for my daughter. Mevr Papin and I have both grown very fond of you over the past couple of months. You would certainly have our blessing.”
“That is awfully good to know, sir, and I thank you. When the time seems right, I will ask Arie for her hand in marriage. I love her very much, sir.”
“I know you do. It is rather obvious that you two love each other. You and kolf are all that she talks about these days. I am happy for you both. Now, I am still waiting for you to teach me this game. Perhaps you and Arie could show my brother Gerrit and me what it is all about later on.”
“We’d be happy to.”
We hitched up the horse then, and Arie joined us with a big basket, which we loaded onto the cart. Her papa sat on a seat in the front and steered the horse, while Arie and I sat in the back of the cart and dished out the food. After eating, we began discussing our ideas for the fair with her papa.
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
Dhr: Dutch for Mr. (Abbreviation for Meneer)
Mevr: Dutch for Mrs. (Abbreviation for Mevrouw)
Oom: Dutch for Uncle
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.
Fredrik Papin (Dhr Papin): Arie's father
Mevr Papin: Arie's mother
Oom Gerrit: Arie's uncle (Fredrik's brother)
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. kolven: the verb form of the word, i.e., clubbing or golfing
Dhr: Dutch for Mr. (Abbreviation for Meneer)
Mevr: Dutch for Mrs. (Abbreviation for Mevrouw)
Oom: Dutch for Uncle
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.
Fredrik Papin (Dhr Papin): Arie's father
Mevr Papin: Arie's mother
Oom Gerrit: Arie's uncle (Fredrik's brother)
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.