One small slip for a man

If you see Jim Becker at the Golf Industry Show, forgive him if he doesn’t shake hands. ¶ After all, his wrist has been shattered. ¶ If you don’t know Becker, it’s because he’s a behind-the-scenes guy. But there’s also a chance you’ve smiled and waved at him and didn’t even know it. For example, the hundred or so guys working at Merion during last year’s U.S. Open… the ponytailed fellow behind the video camera rolling tape as everyone rolled out on the golf course? That was Becker.

As President and CEO of Wisconsin-based Jim Becker, GCSAA TV videos, U.S. Open, Golf Industry show, Epic Creative, Becker does a lot of the video you see in our industry. The GCSAA TV videos are often his productions. Videography and photography are two of his many passions. Golf is another (he’s a great partner to have in a scramble format.)

Recently Becker’s life took a dramatic turn.

“The thing most startling to me was, I didn’t even realize I was doing something dangerous,” Becker says, looking back. “It’s a miracle, as far as I’m concerned, that I didn’t break my neck.”

Becker and his new fiancée, Sandy Cashman, bought a house. It was while they were moving out of the old house that Becker took a bad fall. He was handing a wicker chair — not at all heavy, he adds — over a porch railing down to a mover below him.

He slipped and fell, face first, 15 feet on to a concrete driveway. Well, the mover and the wicker chair broke his fall somewhat. Becker, probably fortunately, doesn’t remember the details very well.

“According to the mover, I never lost consciousness. The mover said I sat right back up,” Becker says. “What I do remember was there was a lot of blood in the snow.”

Becker broke his eye socket, shattered his wrist and needed 44 stitches in his head. And he considers himself every bit of lucky.

“The lesson I learned was that life can change dramatically real quick,” Becker says. “Only seconds before my biggest worry was that it had started snowing. A split second later I’m praying that I’m not going to be paralyzed.”

Becker has every intention of being at the GIS show this month in Orlando. There’s little doubt he’d miss it. After all, the GCSAA will have (free plug!) live coverage of the show this year, so his team at Epic will need him.

For now, he’s just thankful. Thankful to be in his new house with his soon-to-be new wife, thankful to have his full faculties, thankful to have so many “awesome friends” who helped finish up the move for him and Sandy.

Just last month I wrote here about my “best of” and “worst of” 2013. Jim’s fall is another reminder that my “worst of” wasn’t so bad. And then reading Mark’s column this month (page 20) about losing his father is another reminder.

My wife’s car made a loud hissing sound the other day. The resulting $800 repair put me in a bad mood for about a day. The next day I picked up my 7-year-old daughter and she told me about her bad day. It involved her 1st grade class getting scolded for being too loud in the hall.

I looked at my daughter and I told her, “Evey, we’re all healthy. Which means I’m happy.”