If you had told me ten years ago that an ideal summer for me would include rooftop pools in New Orleans, hosting sold out junior golf camps, and sitting in the presence of an Indian mystic, I’d have said you were nuts.
But once again, here we are: a summer characterized in part by all the things I did matched beautifully with endless hours of sitting perfectly still.
The summer of 2025…shall we dive in?
—
First off, we got a beautiful new member of the family: Macy. Second, my son and I went to our first ever card show. Third, and potentially most importantly, I finished my Inner Engineering experience and sat for a full day with an Indian mystic. (Yes, that happened.) And last, I did some normal summer stuff, if there are such things anymore.
—
It makes me giggle to wonder if the following places were on anyone else’s summer travel list: Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Tupelo, Lake Charles, Charlotte, Wingate, and Pinehurst. Likely not, but after having experienced it as my travel list, the only one I’d reconsider next time give the circumstances would be Lake Charles. How was I to know that I would get caught up in a police chase and four hours would turn into seven? But I digress.
I played three competitive golf tournaments this summer. In two, I stunk it up, but in the other, I shot my best two day score ever along the now almost six and a half year golf journey. I also got to play the venerable Pinehurst #2 for the fifth time, always a treat, and this time was no different.
But as far as golf is concerned, my most memorable thing from the summer may be hosting the Inaugural Shell Landing Family Cup. All of the juniors that I teach got to pick a parent or other adult to play with, and then we finished up summer camp with a kid/adult scramble followed by a big party. After getting all of my administrative duties out of the way, I played with my son, and it was just magical. 51 players plus grandparents, aunts, and uncles…that’s a lot of hot dogs after!
—
It was a welcome experience to go back home for about five days to see my family, friends, and swim in my sister’s pool. I got to hear my mother play the organ, watch an international soccer game, see some familiar sights, and visit with a wide variety of friends. One person that I didn’t get to see but wasn’t bothered by was Caveman, my close childhood friend of forty years. I wasn’t bothered because he was coming to see me the following week!
It is still an unusual experience living amongst Airbnb’s, but there is a massive benefit when friends come to visit. They literally stay next door. Caveman and his family rolled in, and it was business as usual. No warmup needed even if we haven’t seen each other in two years. Straight to it, hugging, talking, and laughing. We could have done nothing and been happy as clams. Honestly, we almost did do nothing, and it was beautiful.
—
All of the yoga, meditation, and breath work has truly transformed how I see and experience life. I had no idea what to expect, and every day something new and exciting pops up. The one thing I wasn’t expecting was that my need for food would be reduced. Over the past few months I’ve gone from three to four meals per day to only two, with plenty of energy to spare.
I mention this only because I can’t make it through this entire post about the summer without mentioning the cuisine. As someone who appreciates flavor in all things life, it’s quite important. The standouts ranged from fresh cannolis in New Orleans to some crazy ramen dish in Tupelo. Hole in the wall burgers in North Carolina to hole in the wall ribeyes out in lala land. The list is endless, just not as endless as it once was.
I still appreciate the flavors. I just don’t need quite as much. And that pretty much sums up my summer.
—
Have a great week.-Benj
Join the abk community!
Follow along on Instagram @anythingbutkhakis, @abkgolf, and @anythingbutkhakisphotography.
If you enjoy these and would like to get the weekly piece via email, please follow on the website http://www.anythingbutkhakis.com.
anything but khakis 