Living on a Golf Course for 40 years then Evicted!

[mactastic]

Ok, this is a bizzare story.
Link

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- A man who lived on a golf course for 40 years was told to leave because some golfers complained that he scared them.

Other golfers, however, said Kenny Bethel is harmless and should be allowed to stay at Palmetto Golf Course.

Bethel, 55, first showed up at the golf course after he ran away from home in 1963. He collected and resold stray golf balls, used the club's showers and toilets at night and slept in a sheltered area on the course that housed the showers.

"This course became my job and, later, my home," he said.

For the last nine years, he had been joined by his wife Francis, 43. They have since relocated to a space under a nearby bridge.

"What have I done to deserve this?" Bethel asked.

Bethel now gets chased away by the staff when he tries to collect balls. And the restrooms are locked at night.

"It's a huge dilemma," said Carlos McKeon, manager of Miami-Dade County Golf Operations. "We used to cast a benign eye on Kenny. But when a few golfers complained that he's trespassing and it's against the law, we had to get him off."

Bethel turned down a job in course maintenance because he wanted to be self-employed, McKeon said.

Golfers who had become accustomed to seeing Bethel on the course were surprised by his banishment.

"It seems a shame that someone who is an institution on the course can't be grandfathered in," golfer Jim Adamson said.

"He's a nice guy," agreed golfer Mario Deif. "You have to admire someone who has debunked modern life and lives off the land."

 

[Mr. Anderson]

so friggin stupid - they offered him a job and he turned it down because he wanted to be 'self employed'?

It seems to me that it was just a matter of time before this happened - but its partly the golf course to blame for letting it go on for so long. Oh well....

D

 

[mactastic]

How'd he convince someone to marry him and live on a golf course with him??? There are some weird people out there...

 

[Stelliform]

"You have to admire someone who has debunked modern life and lives off the land."

Harvesting golf eggs I guess. Would that be a farmer?!?!

 

[wdlove]

Just another sad example of the homeless problem today. They are a very independent lot. Many have mental illness, that causes difficulty handling a day to day life.

 

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
so friggin stupid - they offered him a job and he turned it down because he wanted to be 'self employed'?

It seems to me that it was just a matter of time before this happened - but its partly the golf course to blame for letting it go on for so long. Oh well....

D

Yeah that seems lame.

Get kicked off or take a REAL job and continue to live the... hmm...

I'll take kicked off.

 

[alex_ant]

What an incredible Cinderella story, this unknown comes outta nowhere to lead the pack, at Augusta. He's on his final hole, he's about 455 yards away - he's gonna hit about a two-iron I think. Oh he got all of that one! The crowd is standing on its feet here, the normally reserved Augusta crowd - going wild - for this young Cinderella, he's come outta nowhere, he's got about 350 yards left, he's gonna hit about a five-iron, don't you think? He's got a beautiful backswing - that's - Oh he got all of that one! He's gotta be pleased with that, the crowd is just on its feet here, uh - He's the Cinderella boy, uh - tears in his eyes I guess as he lines up this last shot, he's got about 195 yards left, he's got about a - its looks like he's got about an eight-iron. This crowd has gone deathly silent, the Cinderella story, outta nowhere, a former greenskeeper now - about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac - IT'S IN THE HOLE!!

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by alex_ant
What an incredible Cinderella story, this unknown comes outta nowhere to lead the pack, at Augusta.

Just remember to think like an animal, and whenever possible look like one.

And caddying for the Dali Lama, he most likely received total consciousness - so he's got that going for him.

D

 

[eyelikeart]

Truly bizarre. The fact that he has a wife perplexes me even more than how he convinced the course people to allow him to stay there after hours or how he actually turned down a job.