"For love of the game:" we all know what that means-or do we?

If you think you do, then listen to Bob F. talk about golf and see how you measure up. Bob has macular degeneration, an eye disease which makes it impossible to drive or to do most of the ordinary things of life. But he still plays golf, in fact, did 18 holes at the Lynnwood municipal course as Puget Sound´s miserable weather season was getting underway. All of this in spite of other severe health problems: Parkinson´s disease, emphysema, and other lung and circulation problems. "I´ve had three or four near-death experiences with emphysema," Bob said matter of factly.

Of course, he can´t do it alone. His good buddy, Tom L., lines up his putts for him. For the rest, "I rely on the picture of the course that I have in my mind," Bob explained. And he´s pretty much limited to a May-October schedule because a golf cart can´t go out on the course in wet weather. "Meantime, I chase women."

Tom and Bob play a weekly round together.

Bob founded the Hampshire Grenadier tournament at Lynnwood for members of the Fellowship. The Grenadiers have two tournaments a year. Bob picked the name to honor Bill W. Forgotten your "Bill´s Story" in Chapter 1 of the Big Book? It´s on page 1, when Bill is describing his visit to Winchester Cathedral in World War I. Outside, he came across a tombstone with this doggerel:

Just how that relates to golf in Lynnwood may not be clear, but think about it.

Bob has been sober since Dec. 4, 1985 after a lifetime of drinking that began when he was 15. Now 77, he´s lived in Seattle and environs most of his life, since coming here from Minneapolis when he was four years old. He comes by his alcoholism naturally. His late mother, who joined A.A. in 1948, was a regular at Old Fremont. "She knew all the oldtimers," Bob said proudly. There was no missionary effect, though. It was nearly 40 years before Bob decided it was time for him to join.

Teenage drinking got him eased out of two Seattle high schools. "Garfield and Franklin both told me they would prefer if I went to another school. I was not attending class, and I was smoking as well as drinking." Both habits lasted most of his life. He managed to quit smoking four years before he joined A.A., and he still considers that "the hardest thing I ever did." In his early recovery, he gave seminars in treatment centers on quitting smoking.

Bob worked most of his life as a salesman. "I sold just about everything." He had his own drapery business too. (His sponsor is also in the drapery business.) He was always able to work and hold a job because he was a maintenance drinker. No DUIs or any of the other things that typically happen to heavy drinkers. Other than that, though, his drinking career followed a familiar pattern. "I´d be drunk, have this terrible hangover and swear I´d never drink again. Then I´d be drinking again that same night." His favorite hangout was the Moon Temple in Wallingford. "My father thought I´d joined a cult called the Moon Temple," Bob said.

Married twice to alcoholics, both his wives died of alcoholism in their forties, leaving behind a total of five children. On a happier note, all his children grew up to be responsible adults..

Once in A.A., Bob became a big contributor to the program through service. His first effort was driving people from a treatment center to meetings. For the last eight years, he and his close friend Tom L. have covered the phones at the Intergroup office on Wednesday mornings.

"We´ve had lots of wonderful times together," Tom said. "I met Bob at the Burke Avenue Men´s Group. As our friendship grew, we took meetings to NERF and Cedar Hills together. There have been lots of wonderful times doing service together. Just now, we´re trying to get approval for a meeting at the local federal prison. It´s tough, but we´re still working on it."

Bob´s seen and done a lot in his life. He was briefly a Boeing worker after he quit high school, but it wasn´t a good fit for him. "I didn´t fit in very well anywhere," he said ruefully. Later, he worked on construction of the Wanapum Dam on the Columbia before getting into sales. Then there was his career as a hot rod race car driver. "I quit after four years ´cause I got scared."

After his second wife´s death, he and his youngest daughter became live-aboards on Lake Union. He also owned two power boats for cruising to the San Juans and to Husky football games. "The girls started calling in April for rides to the games," Bob said.

His service work wasn´t limited to A.A. Before his health declined, he contributed hard boiled eggs to a Catholic charity on the waterfront. Ten dozen eggs at a time. Where did he get them? "From chickens," came the reply. He wasn´t a farmer, though. He bought them at a grocery.

For the past 12 years, Bob has lived at the Four Freedoms, a senior housing center in north Seattle. Despite his disabilities, he lives by himself surrounded by many friends.

Today, Bob says A.A. means everything to him. "With macular degeneration, I would have nothing without my friends in A.A." Tom added that Bob loves the fellowship of the program, spending hours on the phone with other members and people seeking recovery.

"I´ve done so many bad things. The most important thing I´ve done was to join A.A.," Bob said.

Interviewed and written by Dick S.