Memories From Pebble Beach

I was stationed at the Fleet Numerical Oceanographic Center, in Monterey, CA from 1987 to 1989.  My parents were in their 60's, and Dad still drove a 30' motor home (plus the tow bar and car they took with them, in all about 40 feet).  When he found out that there was a, pretty much, unused Family Campground at Ft. Ord, not far from our housing unit, he started calling around and got us tickets for the '88 AT&T at Pebble Beach (formerly the Bing Crosby National Pro/Am).  I took a week off, and Dad and I wandered around the different venues watching practice rounds.  We met all kinds of folks, like Jack Lemmon, Hewey Lewis, Willie McCovey, and Producer/Director George Stephens Jr.  We even had the chance to meet players like Fuzzy Zoeller and Payne Stewart, both of whom we had held very pleasant conversations.
Perhaps the coolest of all was meeting Jack Lemmon, and his son Chris.  I got a chance to tell Jack that he was, perhaps, an "old salt's" favorite Ensign, due to his role as "Ensign Pulver" in the movie version of "Mr. Roberts," starring Henry Fonda and Jimmy Cagney.  Jack actually seemed touched by that, or he is a great enough actor to improvise a scene where he can summon such emotions.  He shook my hand.  It wasn't one of those political three-pump handshakes, either.  It was a warm, friendly handshake, like between friends who hadn't seen one another in a long time.  We locked eyes, and I saw a man who really enjoyed my comment, and was glad to know that he had become such a memorable character to someone "so young" (remember, I was 36 when this happened).
Over the two tournaments that Dad and I met a bunch of other folks, Dwight Clark, Dr. J, even the toughest autograph to get, Clint Eastwood, stopped to talk for a couple of moments, but my favorite memory of all, was running into Jack Lemmon in '89.
We had gone out for the practice rounds, and found out that Jack Lemmon was playing Cypress Country Club.  A very exclusive club that has one of the most memorable holes in golf, a Par 3 that goes across a tiny bay that is home to a number of sea-otter families.  We found out that he had teed-off about a half an hour before, so we beat a path to the third tee, hoping to catch him there.  It was a great guess, because just as we came out of the woods, Jack's group was stepping up to the tee.  Dad and I were, perhaps, 50 - 60 yards down the tee-box from the tees the celebrities would play from, right up on the ropes, watching as Jack teed his ball and prepared to hit.  Suddenly, he stops, and looks right at my dad and I, and says, "Look, it's Charlie and Steve." and then strides down the tee-box to shake hands, and greet one another.  He goes up to hit his ball, and apparently hits the best tee shot of the three he'd played.  "Stick around, fellas, you might be good luck."
I don't remember a lot about my dad any more, but I cannot ever forget the look on his face when he was recognized by Jack Lemmon.