1987 … Chi Chi

Does anyone recognize this guy? It’s Chi Chi Rodriguez, the professional golfer and first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. My husband Dick was an avid admirer and often mimicked him.

I haven't thought of him for years but there's a TV commercial that I've seen recently that shows all sorts of people doing crazy dances and exercises. In it there's a very quick shot of Chi Chi performing his famous toreador dance where he'd make believe that his putter was a sword and would attack his golf ball (the bull”) while performing a lot of crazy dance moves.

In 1987 he was in Pinehurst, NC playing in a Senior’s Tournament. This is also the locale of the hospital where I was working, (in the ER), and we were all excited when he came in wanting to be examined by the docs for stomach pains.

Word spread quickly and it soon seemed like every doc in the house found a reason to “treat” this famous one-of-a-kind golfer. He received an inordinate amount of attention from them but to be fair you could tell that Chi Chi was thoroughly enjoying it too.

 

This was also the day that my husband came in. He was having some breathing problems and decided to see if he could get some relief. The nurse that treated him told me that when Dick asked why there were so many doctors there he just chuckled and pointing to himself he said. “What do you know? Two great golfers in one day!” 

A cute comment but it didn't lure the ER doc away from Chi Chi. The nurse got her orders however so they did treat him and, as his breathing got easier, he had the fun of seeing up close and in person how Chi Chi could captivate an audience. 

PS: I don't like that only Google members can post on my blog. If you want to leave a comment feel free to email it to me at snowflakesnew@gmail.com  & I will post it.