Indivisible

In the summer of 2009, my cousin - Cousin Steve - made a miraculous chip on the 18th hole to win a two-team scramble. The CSI - Cousin Steve Invitational - was born.

As summer turns to autumn, the CSI has become an annual and absurd event. Somewhere along the way, I initiated the Pledge of Allegiance into the pre-golf festivities. Mediocre to horrendous golfers gathered around and repeated after me. The tournament has grown and the outfits have gotten worse. If you drove by Royal Berkshire this past Saturday, you may have seen a catastrophic collection of colors and a Happy Gilmore group, hard hat and all.

When that first CSI was played, I was a single man and an inconsistent golfer. In my 9th attempt to declare victory in the monster I essentially created, I was a father of two and inconsistent as ever. I put on my Daffy Duck cap and let the good times and balls roll. Many family and friends have their name etched on the CSI trophy, the Lord Stanley of our silly, silly tradition. When I turned our scorecard in on Saturday, I knew that there was always next year.

Friends travel across state lines to play in the CSI. We've had golfers who are fresh out of high school and golfers who have been voting for six decades. Men and women, young and old, Johnstown dwellers and those who once dwelled here...swinging and celebrating, exactly what, I am not sure.

After the golf, my wife and I headed home. Our celebration, two crafty daughters, was awaiting. Looking back on what the CSI has become and what it was this weekend, I reflect back on the Pledge. There were no cameras to capture our declaration. Just a bunch of family and friends, saying something together. That togetherness, the silliest of togetherness, means something and in my mind, is worth doing as long as CSI endures.

And then on Sunday, and presumably every Sunday this fall, another kind of pledge - an anthem - was the story. I chose not to dive too deep in - about what others are doing or not doing. I thought about what I am trying and hoping to do.

My wife and I are going crazy trying to raise two kids, doing our best at our jobs, maintaining some type of healthy living, and sparing some time for each other. In good times and in bad.  Indivisible.

Believing that overcoming a drug epidemic, locally and nationally, is not a hopeless, isolated fight but a hopeful, community pursuit. Indivisible.

Holding on to faith no matter how many hurdles and hoops there seem to be, no matter how much self-doubt comes with it. Believing in something greater. Indivisible.

In my mind, the "justice for all" part of the Pledge starts with individual choice. I chose to wear a Daffy Duck hat while I golfed on Saturday. Freedom of expression, in all forms, is something to be grateful for. It's more about accepting than agreeing. If Cousin Steve chooses to sit, he sits. The show (CSI, Life) must go on.

Find gratitude in freedom. Love your neighbor.  And if you do, that love will speak for itself.