Editor’s Perspective
The Cure for
Burnout It’s
burnout time again. Go on — admit it. And not just on the bentgrass. Yeah, I know by the time you read this, summer will be in the rear view and cool fall breezes will be blowing, but right now it’s 96 degrees in late July, and the cicadas are screaming their summer song. After weeks of left-right combinations of dry winds/summer thunderstorms, winterkilling cold/scorching heat and wilt/root rot, even an old-timer who thinks he’s pretty much seen it all can question the sanity of what he does. But then again, I think of my friends who are HVAC professionals, physical therapists, ministers, veterinarians, financial advisors, teachers, etc., and I suppose this business is not unlike any other in that we all have our time “in the barrel.” The curmudgeon in me has always wanted to start a rebuttal company to the “Life is good” moniker slapped on so many things. My wife, bless her heart, even has it on her license plate. I always thought “No, sometimes actually life sucks” would be a runaway hit, but that probably wouldn’t do much to make the world a better place. So, what to do when you start feeling sorry for yourself and that “life sucks” feeling starts to wash over you? Run down to the nearest bookstore to find the latest self-help publication? Oh, that’s right — folks don’t do much running to bookstores anymore. How ‘bout go online, and Google “burned out”? Or try some Hare Krishna Hare Rama chants? Fortunately for you, our gentle reader, you made the wise decision to become VTC members, which allows you a free subscription to the Virginia Turfgrass Journal rather than to Cosmopolitan or People for all your self-help advice. Where else can you get solid, university and real-
Mark Vaughn, CGCS Virginia Turfgrass Journal Editor
world turf info AND psychological advice in one place? Ever seen an in-depth discussion of Rhizoctonia solani in those rags? Even my auto correct doesn’t understand Rhizoctonia solani. Stop underlining Rhizoctonia solani in red, stupid computer!!! I wonder if Erik Ervin has this problem on his laptop? Anyway, where were we? Oh, yeah, a solution to my/ your depression. I would like to say this took days/weeks of crack research to come up with the cure. But actually, and probably just like the cure for Rhizoctonia solani (STOP UNDERLINING IT!), I just stumbled upon it. You ready? It’s already on your physical being. Get your mind out of the gutter, and hang with me. Reach into your left pants pocket, and remove your smart phone. Open up the menu. Go to your folders, specifically the photos folder. Open it. What do you see? If there are pictures of car crashes, buildings imploding, floods or dead bodies, seek professional help immediately. More than likely, though, your photo album resembles mine. Smiling faces of friends and family. Mountaintops. Oceans. Parties. Maybe a trip overseas with some good buddies to the home of golf. Nieces. Nephews. Grandchildren. Sunrises. Sunsets. And the great thing about smartphones is they catalog everything by date. Oh, yeah, we did do that in January. Man, it WAS cold that skiing day in February. I can still taste that pizza and cold beer we had in April with those friends. You get the picture. Sometimes, we just need to go back and remember how fortunate we all are to have been given time on this spinning ball. I guess this means my wife was right, once again. Dang it. c
10 | Virginia Turfgrass Journal September/October 2015 www.vaturf.org