I took the day off to play disc golf. I'm taking tomorrow off too. I need a break. Little did I know that the culture war would reach out to kill my buzz this morning. Let me paint the scene for you. I arrive at El Dorado Disc Golf Course at about 7:30 am with a cup of coffee in my hand and Bob Marley pumping from the bluetooth speakers built into my disc golf bag. Besides some tennis players and the guys mowing the lawn, I had the park to myself. It's Socal, so the weather was nice. It was overcast this morning with a light breeze and about 60 degrees.
I took a few minutes to visit the pro shop. When I returned, three men were standing around the tee for hole one. They asked if I knew the course. I told them I did. We had a brief conversation about skill levels and the complexity of the course, and then I asked if they would like to play the round with me since they were course noobs. They all agreed. I was disappointed. It was supposed to be me, Bob Marley, and my dog Rufio this morning. We had planned on an alone day. I'm an introvert, but I have a very social job. I need my alone time; otherwise I get cranky.
I asked if they were ready to play. The all agreed, but instead of moving toward the tee box, one of them said, "Let's pray."
As the guy to my left grabbed my hand, and the guy to my right made a move to grab my other hand, I shook loose and stepped back while saying, "I don't fucking think so asshole."
The poor bastards had pressed the wrong button this morning. I was not feeling social. Hell, I was not even feeling nice. I asked if they were youth pastors. They nodded yes. I told them they could follow me around the course, but there was no way we were playing together. They protested. I switched the music over to RATM, and teed off. They tried to talk to me several more times while we were on the course. I ignored them. So did my dog.
I'm not sure I did much to further the cause of atheism today. I simply made a point. I'm not sure what point, but it does not matter. Youth pastors - don't push your religion on others. It's just rude.
