"All things in some manner have life."--Spinoza

Many think an inanimate object like me, a golf ball, has no feelings or awareness of existence. They are wrong. Although not made of flesh and blood, I, too, when I was made, hoped for a long and useful life. I hoped that I would obtain some special distinction and would bring happiness wherever I went.

Made in the United States, I am proud to be American. I and eleven others were placed in a colorful box and shipped to a pro shop on a beautiful golf course. I hoped that whoever bought me would be able to hit me high and long down the middle of the fairway. I dreamed that I had been bought by Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklause or Tiger Woods. How marvelous it would be to be sent high and far down the fairway with thousands cheering my flight.

My dreams were not to be realized. My companions and I were sold to a duffer who hit us everywhere except down the fairway. He selected me for his first shot of the day. He swung wildly. He hit me into the woods. He didn’t try to find me. "I hit it too far to be able to find it," he said, taking one of my box companions and dropping it on the fairway. If the duffer had taken the trouble to look for me, he could have found me easily. I had hit a limb of a tree and bounced back only two feet from the fairway.

What a terrible day and night I spent. I had landed in a puddle, and my beautiful white skin was covered with mud. A rain that night had buried me deeper in the ooze. After being hit only once, I thought my career was over. I was in despair. Then I heard a young woman’s voice say, "I found a golf ball." I could tell from her voice that she was young and beautiful. She plucked me out of the mud and wiped me clean. "Why, it’s a brand new ball," she said. "I’ll use it on the very next hole."

She cuddled me in her soft warm hand. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. The hope I had once enjoyed again welled up in me. On the next tee, she placed me on a brand new tee. I could sense her lining up carefully. I could hear the swish of her club. The next second I was flying high and straight down the fairway. What a glorious feeling. I landed on the green, and on the second bounce, smacked into the flagstick and slid down into the cup. I heard my young lady shouting with excitement and her friends congratulating her. When she reached the green, my lady gingerly lifted me from the hole and kissed me.

My beautiful lady bought a pedestal for me, and I now rest on her mantel. She always smiles at me and touches me for luck before she goes out to play golf. All the hopes and dreams I had when I was made have been realized.