nathan jara

I love golf. And I love Pittsburgh Penguins hockey. Today, thanks to my friends at American Eagle Outfitters, I was fortunate enough to combine these two things as I attended and participated in the 13th Annual Pittsburgh Penguins Alumni Golf Classic. The event took place at Valley Brook Country Club, located near Canonsburg, PA. This year, the Pens Alumni brought together a great group of past Penguin goaltenders. The elite group included players such as Les Binkley, the first Penguins goalie from 1967, Ken Wregget, from the Pens second Stanley Cup year, and Gilles Meloche, who tended the net from 1985 – 1988 and currently is the goaltending coach for the Penguins. I was actually able to play golf with Mr. Meloche today. What a great guy! He was a lot of fun and also is a great golfer. There were many times today during the scramble format of play that we didn’t think we’d have to even hit our shots after Gilles because he put it close just about every time. It was great to visit and talk with Gilles about golf, life, and hockey of course. He said he has a good feeling about the upcoming season, which was great news. He also gave me a few swing tips :) After our round we headed to the clubhouse for dinner and awards. I was able to mingle with some more great names like Dan Bylsma, the Pens’ head coach, Todd Rierden, the new assistant coach, Bob Errey, Dave Hanson of the Hanson Brothers, Paul Alexander from FSN Pittsburgh, Ed Johnston, Francois Leroux, Troy Loney, Joey Mullen, Bryan Trottier, and Ken Wregget. Check out some photos below to see some of my favorites. It was a super awesome day and one I will never forget. And I didn’t hit the golf ball half bad today either :)

The other day, as I came into the house, I grabbed the mail as usual. As I leafed passed the junk mail, I found a letter with my name on it. I then glanced to the top left of the envelope and found the AARP logo. Confusion was my first reaction. Then a glance back to the recipient address to double check it was for me and not my roommate :P Opening the letter found that, yes, indeed, they sent me my very own AARP membership application and card. Now, this wouldn’t have surprised me if this was the year 2040 or so. However, it is 2010, and I’m 24 years old! I can say I’m just a bit surprised that a little more research wasn’t performed to ensure I was eligible for the program in less than 26 years from now. Just think how much money these organizations would all save on postage! Now obviously there’s no harm done. I don’t plan on filling it out, but I think it warrants a little chuckle at least. I guess it’s nice to know I’m getting a heads up!

Yesterday, the fourth and final major of the professional golf year came to an end, but not without a bang. This year’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin was probably the most exciting major of the whole year. With only an hour left in the tournament, there were at least 6 players still within contention to win. Martin Kaymer of Germany ended up lifting the Wanamaker trophy and taking hold of “glory’s last shot,” but unfortunately the bigger story of the final day was the disappointing ending to Dustin Johnson’s day, which is recapped here. While I most definitely wish it would’ve turned out better for Johnson, as I would’ve been rooting for him in the playoff, I can’t say I don’t agree with the ruling. Golf’s rules are clear. You can’t ground your club in a bunker. Period. The fact that the crowd had trampled, danced, and more or less destroyed the bunker he landed in makes it tough though. I mean, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing if I was on the 18th whole of the PGA Championship with a one stroke lead. But, then again, rules are rules. And as this article on Fanhouse states, that’s one thing that separates golf from every other sport. There’s no official staring into a video camera watching over and over to see if a toe is out of bounds, or a player lead with his helmet, made a distinct throwing or kicking motion, or deserves a red card or not; there’s just the rules, plain and clear. And Johson respected them ultimately. He’ll be back.

Over this weekend I showed my car some love by doing a nice wash and summer time wax. But in between the wash and wax, I tried something new by using a clay kit. Meguiar’s Smooth Surface clay kit comes with two clay bars, detailing spray, micro-fiber towel, and a sample bottle of cleaner wax. The clay kit is used by first making sure your car is squeaky clean, then spraying the included detailer over a section of your car. Next take the kneadable clay bar and rub the bar over the sprayed area, once smooth, wipe dry with the towel. Repeating this process section by section over the whole car picks up and rubs away all the contaminants (dirt, tar, debris, general yuckiness) that get stuck to the car body. The result is well, amazing. The stuff leaves your car as smooth as glass. I followed up the clay bar with a new coat of cleaner wax to seal in all that glassy goodness. Take a peek below and you’ll see why I think it was worth it. :)

Several months ago, I posted about a documentary I watched called FOOD, Inc. If you saw the post, I’m sure you realized the impact the film had on me and the light it shed on the status of the ways our food is prepared here in the good old U.S. of A. If you’ve seen the documentary, I think you’d agree that it’s no surprise to hear of the many health problems that plague our nation, especially in our youth. One organization connected with the film is Slow Food USA. This organization is overseeing a program to better the lunch programs in school cafeterias across the country in order to provide fresher and healthier food for kids. If you’re interested in helping out the cause, you can contact your representative through their website or just get some more info. They provide a simple form for you to send an email and also provide a pre-written message in case you’re not sure what to say. Check it out and take part!