A Billy Bots Moment

My grandfather's name was William Botsakos. In his "prime," among many other job titles, he was a professional boxer and I have been told his ring persona was "Billy Bots." When we were young, now remember there were five of us and then two more, "Billy Bots" would lift us up, one on each bicep and carry us across the living room. If we were willing, he taught us how to box. I think that his approach was sometimes underhanded, like standing on your opponent's toes or using the elbow as an "after" thought or follow-through, but what he truly tried to convey was . . . to never quit! He instilled that spirit in my mom, who ~ with his assistance ~ instilled it in each of us! As the only girl with six brothers, life was not always princess parties and frilly dresses. In fact, I was happier playing football and getting dirty with the guys. Some things never change!  LOL

I have had a myriad of "Billy Bots Moments" in my life. One of my favorites would be . . .

Having been told by my step-dad that I'd never be a good dancer for one reason or another; and that I didn't really have enough talent as a gymnast, I could have become depressed. Instead, I took him up on his offer to teach us golf. We all started with a single club that, with the use of a quarter, could be altered to become any iron and a putter. For years, we wandered around golf courses Mulligan-ing ourselves silly. When I was finally old enough to hit the links by myself, I tried different stances, grips, swings, etc.

When we were blessed to join Wiltwyck, a beautiful private club in Kingston, New York, my game really picked up. I continued to work on techniques on my own. I was also continually told that golf was not a girl's game and why didn't I pick a sport for girls. (The LPGA was only in its infancy.) Having heard enough of that nonsense, I had a "Billy Bots Moment"! I decided I would start a girl's league at Wiltwyck. After inquiring, and receiving a minor setback, I was told there simply were not enough girls interested.

OK . . . so how do I get on the boy's team?

What? There was much mayhem. Can this be? What do we do? Special rules? Favoritism?

Heck No!!!

I followed the same rules as any boy out there. Could only challenge one to two spaces above me and had to play from the men's tees. Well, "they" were certain I would get beat early and lose interest. Um . . . not Billy Bots' granddaughter! I played my way through the entire B team in less than a summer and actually made my way through a good portion of the A team. I travelled with the boys to other clubs and played. I actually caused enough commotion that a girl's team was started and flourished in the year's to come. My best score, from the MEN's tees at Wiltwyck, was an 80. That's not too shabby for a 15 year-old untalented gymnast who'd never make a good dancer.

I would say that's a "Billy Bots Knockout"!