The Silver Jug

Charlie Caldwell was a PGA golf professional for most of his life. He loved the game and was very successful managing the Pecan Valley Country Club in San Antonio, Texas.

While still in his late 50s, Charlie began having memory problems, and Alzheimer's blew into his life. He was forced to resign as the manager of Pecan Valley, as this disease was quickly destroying life as he knew it. Charlie's wife, Diane, was his primary care giver, but had to enlist the help of their only son. Mikey returned home to help his mom care for his father.

Mikey was in the process of helping his parents move into an assisted living facility when Charlie noticed that his golf clubs were being sold in a garage sale. He demanded that Mikey keep the golf clubs, which he did.

Charlie and Mikey played a round of golf, and Mikey discovered that his father could still hit the ball with unbelievable accuracy. With his memory fading, though, Charlie had no idea how far a certain club would hit the golf ball, so he had to be told what to do. Mikey helped his dad with club selection and gave him basic instructions on where to aim. Charlie did the rest with amazing skill.

Mikey entered his father into small, senior PGA tournaments and Charlie easily won them all. Charlie's golf skills were so finely-tuned that Mikey entered his dad into the qualifiers for the US Senior Open. Charlie had the lowest score in the qualifying round and it looked like he would be playing in the Senior Open. However, there was a small problem with the score card, and the officials discovered that Charlie could not remember his score on a particular hole. Rule six in the USGA rules specifically states that the player must be responsible for his score. The USGA was forced to uphold the rule and Charlie Caldwell was disqualified from entering the tournament. This caused a tremendous backlash in the news media, and the USGA pulled strings and got Charlie entered into the qualifiers for the British Senior Open.

Charlie and Mikey went to the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, where he successfully qualified for the event. This time, Mikey ensured that his father's score was accurate. Charlie played in the event, and having Alzheimer's made for some very interesting situations.

Alzheimer's is a very serious disease and makes it difficult for the individual to accomplish the simple things one has to do each day. It also takes a tremendous toll on the caregiver.

The Silver Jug is a tale of how this disease made Charlie's week in Scotland very, very interesting.