Tuesday, March 19, 2024

LJ b golf: Hangin' with Harry Park

Sophomore Harry Park takes the time
he needs to warm up for La Jolla's
scheduled match against Madison
Monday afternoon, March 18.
(Photo by Ed Piper)


By Ed Piper

Sophomore Harry Park was warming up before La Jolla's golf match with Madison Monday afternoon, March 18, hitting balls on the driving range.

"It takes me a long time to warm up," said the surprisingly relaxed Park a half hour before the Vikings' first tee time at Balboa.

"Is that from sitting in a desk during school?"

"I think it's bad posture."

On being lefthanded:

"My parents found I used my left hand the first time, then I went back to it. My father is lefthanded."

"They say put the silverware in the middle, and let the young child choose which hand he's going to use."

"You should have been alive in the days of phone booths, like Superman and Clark Kent. My brother is lefthanded. They put the phone way over to the left side of the booth, and my brother had to pin his arm against the window on the left to dial the dial phone."

"That must have been wild."

"Another thing you can watch is what hand they use to brush their teeth."

Meanwhile, during this exchange, he kept hitting balls. He explained that not only were the mats useable to put the little tube to hold the balls on either the right and left sides, but also front and back--if you wanted to turn the mat the other direction.

"Another thing my brother and other lefthanders have remarked on is spiral-bound notebooks. Your hand as a lefthander is on the spiral."

Harry: "I haven't used them for a while, but my hand would get raunched from rubbing on the spiral."

"One out of 10 in the U.S. are lefthanders."

"I think it's one out of 11 or 12," Harry said.

"Is Coach Christie (Quinn) playing today?", eyeing the small number of Vikings arrived so far.

"I think so. She has out-played all the other coaches she has played so far."

"She has a fluid swing. She's very modest. She said when I commented on it: 'It's a work in progress.'"

Carson Diehl, another sophomore, arrived to hit balls. Watching him put on golf gloves, I observed, "Carson, your hands are pretty big--good for catching balls in the air" (he led the county in interceptions with nine in the fall).

Carson: "Yeah," concentrating on the ball. Quinn returned and gave him some pointers.

Remko Kevorkian, a junior, arrived. Hearing his name, I remarked, "That's the same name as the 'Doctor of Death', Jack Kevorkian, years ago." Remko: "I get that a lot."

Polite to an extreme, Remko explained that his first name is a common Dutch name. His father was born in the Netherlands. He was born here.

It turned out Madison did not show. It was ruled a forfeit win for La Jolla.

I commented to Christie that senior Nathan Wittkow has been putting up some good scores lately, leading the Vikings with 37, then 37, 39, 39. Quinn: "He has been playing well."

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