The Hlog

Hlog at the Masters: Tuesday

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Minor travel snafus got me to Augusta National Golf Club later than hoped for Tuesday, so I don't have any Zach Johnson updates for his many friends and fans in Iowa. I'll catch up to him Wednesday, either before or after he plays in the Par 3 contest here.

The most interesting thing I saw today was in Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. While waiting several minutes in line for a car rental, I kept hearing periodic bursts of applause. Knowing the Florida and Ohio State basketball teams would be heading home today after Monday night's national-title game in Atlanta, I guessed the clapping was for them. I guessed wrong, and was glad.

"That's for the troops,'' the woman at the Avis counter told me matter-of-factly. "We hear it every day."

Lots of U.S. military people pass through Atlanta on their way to Iraq. Or in many cases, back to Iraq. A U.S. Army man with the name "Hansen'' on his clothing was on my flights from Cedar Rapids to Cincinnati and then Atlanta. I wanted to approach him and ask him questions about what he faces, or at least thank him for his service. But I was too embarrassed to do so, a grown man traveling to cover a golf tournament while these people cross the globe to serve in a lousy place, doing their country's hard, dangerous work.

None of the several soldiers I saw in the Atlanta airport looked the least bit scared. But they all looked serious. Here's hoping they all come back home soon, safe and sound.

Thanks, Hansen.

 

 

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