by Joe Wessel
“There’s no sin if you get knocked down…. Sin is not to get up.”
Dad never quit. He took an old saying to the next level, bringing religion into it to make it more meaningful, which he managed to do a lot of times.
“There is a lot of sadness in the world.”
His reaction to a poor golf shot or when there was real tragedy. Nothing else needed to be said.
Acknowledgments
HOW DOES ONE BEGIN TO thank all the people in your life that have helped you become who you are? My fifty-seven years have been filled with far more than I could ever have expected and far more than I deserve.
To my Lord Jesus Christ, without your love and sacrifice, my life would be meaningless. Thanks to my wife, Mary Gayle, who every day shows her love and patience dealing with me. To Trent and Parker, you have given me so much joy in my life. May God bless you with children so you may experience what you have given me. My sisters, Margie and Ann Marie, your love and support have inspired me my whole life. Brian and Scott, you chose to be in this Wessel clan; so glad you did. To Danny, Tricia, Robby, Ryan, Katie, Andrew, and Luke, Papa Joe loved you, and so do I. Papa Joe was the leader of the Wessel band.
A special thanks to my friend and neighbor Ralph Barber, who planted the seed and pushed me to write this book. Thanks to Tris Coburn for representing us on this project. Julie Ganz of Skyhorse Publishing, I can’t thank you enough for taking an interest in this story, your patience, and your guidance throughout the project. A special thanks to Mike Parker for recording Papa Joe’s Navy experience. Many thanks to Bay Color Photo Lab in Tampa for all your help.
Doug Shields—“Coach”—thanks for making me tell the White Fang story one more time to Bill Chastain.
Bill Chastain—what can I say but thanks, thanks, thanks. Your guidance, patience, and professionalism in taking my thoughts, feelings, and experiences and putting them down on paper is the work of true genius.
To the many coaches and players who have touched my life, thank you for your cushions of life. To the many family members and friends over the years who enriched my life, thank you.
Tuesday a.m. Bible study—what a blessing.
Thanks to all the golfers with whom I have had the pleasure to play and to share this great game we call golf.
This project has reinforced how thankful I am to all US service-men and servicewomen who never came home from fighting for our freedom. I’m grateful Dad came home.
My sincerest thanks to Jack Nicklaus for his help and for agreeing to write the foreword for this book. You are so much more than the greatest golfer who has ever lived! To my roommate, Steve Nicklaus: two great years at FSU gave us a lifetime of memories. I will always be faster than you.
Last, a big thanks to my mother for her never-ending love and positive outlook throughout my life. This book is a tribute to my dad, but Mom is so very much a heroine in her own right. My sisters will write that one!
