AUGUSTA, Ga. ? We interrupt the pimento-cheese sandwiches, ball-skipping at the 16th and solemn walks around Amen Corner to pose a philosophical question: When finally after 46 years you meet the man to whom you owe all the happiness and joy you feel blessed to have enjoyed for most of your life, how long of a hug is long enough?
Clebe McClary wasn?t sure, so as the embrace intensified, Billy Casper leaned in and whispered, ?Don?t let go till you want to let go.?
So right there in front of dozens of patrons, in the shadow of the iconic oak tree behind the Augusta National clubhouse, McClary and Casper hugged . . . and hugged . . . and hugged.
?We hugged for five minutes,? said Casper , who choked back tears. But McClary? He didn?t even try to hold 'em back. He cried like a baby, which was not so conspicuous because as the scene played out, so, too, did the emotions of so many others let loose.
?We all just cried our eyes out,? said Julia Cervantes, one of Casper ?s 11 children.
On any day, Casper is a wonderful story, a righteous man with a keen sense of human kindness. But on this cool, breezy Masters day, his story was even more wonderful thanks to a reunion with McClary, who told everyone how Casper had saved his life. It was 1968, the height of the Vietnam War, and Casper , in the prime of his golf career, was off to Japan to play some offseason tournaments.
While he was there, did he want to visit some wounded American troops, who had been convalescing from Vietnam ? Casper said yes, because, well, that?s his warm-hearted nature. ?I was recently asked by a man what I want to be remembered for,? Casper said. ?I told him, ?I want to be remembered for how I loved my fellow man.? "
That day at a hospital in Japan may have shown Casper at his warmest because when he looked over at agreat story and a timely posting.
Great story. I love this.
13ft Whaler with 25hp Johnson
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.