Golf lessons

My wife and I went to our first of six Thursday night golf lessons at the driving range at Rio Hondo Golf Course tonight. Downey sponsors the lessons so they only cost $60 for all six lessons.

This is Scott, on the right, the local PGA teaching pro at Rio Hondo. He is an excellent teacher and has improved my game so that it is even more enjoyable to play. He starts out with a group lesson on a single fundamental of the swing. He then has the class practice the fundamental and watches each student looking for problems. He then gives each student an exercise to correct their problem and watches to see how they implement the exercise. He is always encouraging and works within a student's current abilities.

"There are only two things you can do with your head down - play golf and pray."
~ Lee Trevino

Back to school

One characteristic of Downey, besides our people and our businesses, is our schools. Downey Unified School District is an award-winning district in both sports and academics. The Cross Country team of Warren High School just brought home a CIF championship. This is the district headquarters.

This is the back side of the district offices.

There are thirteen elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools and one adult education school that make up the DUSD. My children went through all 12 grades as Downey Unified students.

Field of dreams

With all of the wedding prep and cleanup leading up to last weekend, my backlog of Downey Daily photos is nearly exhausted. It's a good thing that I took a lot of pictures the previous weekend at Rio San Gabriel Park and the nearby riverbed. Hopefully, life returns to normal now and this is the last you'll see of the park for a while.

There's no one on the field on this Saturday evening. In its emptiness, it reminds me of scenes from the movie Field of Dreams. But I didn't wait around to see if any mythical baseball heroes showed up.

Looking in from the outside

Starfish Sushi is one of the new restaurants in Downey Gateway. I'm not a sushi fan, so I found the view from the door more appealing than actually going inside. But I've heard they've got great sushi. Really!

"Just roll with it."
~ Anonymous

Riverbed at dusk

We were walking along the Rio San Gabriel riverbed a week or so ago as the sun was low in the sky. The light was so golden and pretty. This part of the riverbed always seems so picturesque, but it's still hard to "look past" the cement walls.

Happily ever after

This weekend my daughter got married. Since both she and her fiance are in the military, they can get married on a military base. It turned out to be a nice option, since there is Seal Beach Naval Shipyard, which has a private beachfront.

The night of the wedding rehearsal, our flower girl was adorable, practicing her part.

On the wedding day, one of the guys drove too far into the sand and was stuck. It made for a fun photo op for the wedding party!

"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction." 
~  Antoine deStaint-Exupery

For rent, with amneties

I hope that this is an example of someone having fun with this sign under the Firestone Blvd bridge, rather than an example of the state of homelessness in Downey.

Under construction

My wife and I spent most of this evening helping friends get ready for their wedding reception. This is their mother's backyard and it looks like a French sidewalk cafe ready for 150 guests. It's amazing how many little things go into making this day a special memory for the couple.

Having been married 34 years, I know that it is the little things we do that not only make the marriage sweeter but help to build it strong enough to withstand even the hardest blows from the outside.

My wife was in charge of cleaning the chargers. Did you know that's the plate you put your eating plate on? I didn't. I thought she was putting electrical chargers on each table for the lights. I just didn't know why she was cleaning them. Oh well.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain."
~ Psalm 127:1