Show Me the Ozarks August 2022

OUTDOORS The Great

MULLIGANS Simply put, a mulligan is a do-over in the game of golf. Hit a bad shot? Take a mulligan and replay that stroke. Drop a ball on the spot from which you just played and re-play the shot. The bad shot is not counted. Don’t we wish we could take a mulligan for all the bad things that have happened in our lives? Don’t we wish we could replay things? Don’t we wish we could have a do-over? Several things have happened in my life I would like to go back and take a mulligan on. You can probably say the same. I remember a fishing trip when my line broke on the biggest bass I had ever seen. It had to be at least a state record. I knew my line was getting old. I knew I needed to put fresh line on but didn’t - Mulligan! Then there was the time I got into my deer stand, reached into my pack to get my bow release and it wasn’t there. I knew I should have double-checked. I then had to sit there and watch three bucks bigger than anything I had ever taken with a gun or bow walk right under my stand - Mulligan! In a time long ago before digital cameras and smartphones, I was on a camping trip and the beautiful northern lights were dancing across the sky. I reached for my camera and started taking pictures of this beautiful sight. You guessed it. There was no film in the camera - Mulligan!

I would also like to take a mulligan for times I was too busy and my kids wanted to go fishing or my wife wanted to go hiking or on a trip. Oh, believe me, there are a lot of other things I have done that I would like to take a mulligan on. I am just thankful I have a God who forgives me for the mistakes I have made. The hardest part is forgiving myself. All we can do is try to live the rest of our life so we don’t want or need to take a mulligan. Now, believe it or not, there is a national holiday every year on October 17 called Mulligan Day. But, don’t wait until then. Mulligan Day can be any day. Whether it is a former relationship with a friend or loved one, an old hobby you abandoned, or a past mistake that needs rectifying, you can take a mulligan. Everyone deserves to have a second chance in life, right? And that is what mulligans are all about. If you don’t succeed at first, try and try again! After all, we aren’t perfect. There has only been one perfect man. We are going to make mistakes. We should not feel bad about doing something wrong. We should see it as an opportunity to learn and do it better the next time.

94