So, you hear about these places, right? Oak Forest Country Club out in Longview. Sounds fancy, and I guess for some folks, it is. But let me tell ya, my trip out there wasn’t exactly what you’d call a planned excursion. Not by a long shot.
You see, my cousin, bless her heart, decided her little Timmy’s fifth birthday absolutely had to be somewhere “a bit special.” And her husband, well, he’d just gotten a small promotion, so suddenly he thought he was Mr. Big Shot. Next thing I know, I’m getting an invite with “Oak Forest Country Club” printed on it in swirly letters. My first thought? “Oh boy, here we go.”
How I Even Got There
Now, I’m not really a “country club” kind of guy. I’d rather be tinkering in my garage or maybe fishing down at the lake. But family is family, you know? So, I put on a reasonably clean shirt and drove out there. The drive itself wasn’t bad, Longview’s got some decent scenery if you look for it. But the whole time, I was thinking, “This is gonna be an afternoon.”
We get there, and sure, the place looks nice. Grass is green, buildings look sturdy. But it’s still just a place, you know? Kids were running around, mostly hyped up on cake and sugar, same as they would be in a backyard. The adults were doing that polite chit-chat thing. I tried to find a quiet corner, but Timmy’s dad kept trying to talk to me about golf. Golf! I think I’ve swung a club maybe twice in my entire life, and both times it was at one of those mini-golf places.
The whole thing was a bit…stuffy. Not the air, but the vibe. Like everyone was trying a bit too hard. I remember seeing one fella spill a tiny bit of punch on his ridiculously white pants, and you’d think the world had ended. He spent a good ten minutes dabbing at it with a napkin, looking like he might cry. It was almost comical, if it wasn’t so sad.
Why do I even bring this up? Well, it reminds me of this one time at my old job. We had this manager, see? Always talking about “synergy” and “leveraging assets.” Drove a fancy car he probably couldn’t really afford, wore suits that were too tight. He’d organize these “team-building” events that were just awkward and expensive. One time, he took us all to this high-end restaurant. The food was okay, I guess, but the portions were tiny, and everyone was so worried about using the right fork. It felt just like that day at Oak Forest – a lot of show, but not much genuine substance, if you ask me. Just people trying to fit an image.
- Felt out of place, mostly.
- Observed a lot of “keeping up appearances.”
- Realized it’s not about the place, but the people.
So yeah, Oak Forest Country Club in Longview. It’s a place. Probably great if you’re into that sort of thing. For me, it was just another afternoon spent navigating family obligations and watching people be… well, people. Made me appreciate my own quiet backyard a whole lot more when I got home, I can tell you that. Sometimes, the simplest things are the best, no fancy clubhouse required.
