Since making note of my vacation trip is seems like the tales of our readers own experiences just keep coming.

Hayden Combs, young squire of Paul T. and Holly, has returned from the family vacation trip to Gulf Shores, Ala., also known as L.A. or Lower Alabama.

This was the first year Hayden has taken his golf clubs on the trip. He happened to be at lunch with is one day last week and told about his experiences on a couple of golf courses down there.

One course he played with his grandfather, Jerry Paul Combs, was Kiva Dunes. Hayden noted that the course has a lot of sand traps between tee and green. He's learning. Hayden spent a little time in one such trap, the sides of which were, "taller than I am," he said. Ted Gargus, who knows a bit about the courses down there, suggested Hayden probably played the course as well as some of the guys Ted plays with on a regular basis.

He also played the Peninsula Course, which can be a fairly tough track as well. On that day his dad went along to caddy, help him read the greens, keep his clubs clean and drive the golf cart.

It was interesting to note that Hayden did not mention playing with his Uncle Darren Harris. Readers will recall we noted in this space before that Hayden might be getting ready to challenge for the title of Best Golfer in the Family. Could it be that Darren is ducking him?

Speaking of ducking a challenge.

Another guy apparently avoiding a challenge has been Matt "The Dog" Shetley. Matt, also known as Kennett Country Club Champion, has been avoiding a head-to-head confrontation with Patrick McHaney for the better part of a year.

Over the Memorial Day weekend several of our local guys went to Stuttgart, Ark., for a long weekend of fun in a golf tournament. There are probably over 100 golfers who come in for this thing every year.

With so many golfers in the field it must have been a surprise for Matt and his partner, Roger Wheeler, Jr., to look up on the last day and discover that they were tied with Patrick and his partner, Donnie Shelton, I think is who it was.

The four players went in to a sudden death playoff. They were still tied.

On the second hole Patrick's partner ended up out of bounds on his tee shot. That meant it was Patrick against Matt and Roger. According to the report I got all three of them missed the green. Matt and Roger then hit their next shots very close to the hole, leaving no doubt that they would make their fourth shot.

Patrick stood back, surveyed the situation and promptly (okay, Patrick and prompt don't necessarily go together on the golf course) knocked his ball in the hole for a birdie, three. Patrick is always a gentleman and did not gloat, did not make any wise cracks, just humble accepted the congratulations from his former nemesis.

Enough golf.

Another fellow who decided to get away for a few days not too long ago was Terry Baker. Terry opted for the Music City in the Hills, known locally as Branson.

It's been a few years since I made the trip to Branson, but it sounds as if things haven't changed a great deal since the last time.

Still a lot of people. Still a lot of traffic. And everyone in a hurry. It's so hard to keep with all the crowds a fella can get run over if he moves even a little too slow.

That's exactly what happened when Terry got between a sweet, little old lady in a motorized wheelchair and the box office of her favorite show. She ran right over Terry's feet while he was standing there minding his own business.

I can just hear the song now, "Terry Got Run Over By A Wheelchair," sung to the tune of that recent standard, "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer."

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Notes from the past

A large tip of the hat to the DDD's unofficial historian, Vivian Helton. Last week Mrs. Helton got very deep into history pulling some information from a predecessor of the DDD, The Kennett Times.

In the May 11, 1906 (that was a Friday for those of you who may not recall that day). In that edition it was noted, "Jim Kennedy, of Tie-Whop Ridge, who returned from Oklahoma several weeks ago and afterwards took a trip to Tennessee, has come back. Nothing suited Jim in either of those places. He is hard to please and has peculiar tastes, but now he thinks Tie-Whop Ridge will do."

We also note that White Wyandottes was offering a special on Cockerels and pullets at $2.00 each. If you just wanted the eggs and not the egg maker a special was offered of $2.00 for 15; $3.50 for 30. Located in Cardwell, W. T. Rollins was the proprietor.

In the July 29, 1954 edition of the DD (still have added the third D, or daily at that point); "Mrs. Alberta Ray retired from the Ely-Walker Shirt Factory Friday after 31 years of service. She was honored with a dinner in the factory lunchroom, given by the employees. Mrs. Ray also was presented with various kinds of gifts."

Among those participating in the celebration were "Miss Frances Jackson … Mrs. Rosa Phifer and Mrs. Ethel Goodrich."

If you haven't driven by the former shirt factory lately there's a lot of activity underway as Carlson Gardner prepares to develop the Ely-Walker building, as it is known locally, into an apartment building.

Bud Hunt is the publisher of the Daily Dunklin Democrat.