Editor’s Note: Sunshine Chevrolet is a family business with deep roots in the community, supporting AB Tech and Scouting America and giving young people leadership opportunities by promoting from within to management roles. Sunshine is owned by the Elliott Family. Kay and Don Elliott are Biltmore Park residents. Their daughter Kristy left her 20-year career in nonprofit marketing and fundraising in 2013 to become the dealer for Sunshine Chevrolet and she lives in The Ramble. As a sponsor of Stroll Biltmore Park, Kristy wanted to share a story in this space instead of a spotlight on her business.

A good friend and I were talking about the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. We were rejoicing in all the acts of kindness that we witnessed in our community with neighbors helping neighbors, and also recognizing the angst that now resides in our community. Due to a natural disaster that we could not control, we have been forced to deal with the aftermath of a situation that we never expected to have to deal with in Western North Carolina.

And it happened to everyone in our community. Some of us were harder hit than others. Life circumstances, hardships, challenges, loss and — let’s not forget — natural disasters can hit us hard. No one is exempt from having things happen to them. The only thing we do have control over is how we react. Let me share one of our family’s favorite stories. (This parable is attributed to author Gregory Knox Jones and is retold by many speakers.)

If you are an avid golfer, you should be aware of Rule #10 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. If you are not a golfer, your awareness of the philosophy of the rule may still be meaningful. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club was established in March 1829 as the Calcutta Golf Club and is the oldest golf club outside of Great Britain. Paramount to the club is the beautiful golf course, truly magnificent in construction, layout and upkeep, with beautifully manicured greens and unsurpassed fairways and tees. The course is surrounded by huge, lush magnolia trees. Inhabiting these stately trees are large populations of monkeys. The trees provide magnificent shelter from the hot sun and superlative views of the fairway.

The problem is this: These monkeys have an innate fascination with small, white pellet-shaped objects, especially when they bounce and roll across the lush fairways. The monkeys enjoy both watching and taking part in the game of golf, so when a golfer takes a swing and knocks the ball onto the fairway, the monkeys will run along and grab the ball.

This presents a problem for the golfer and the caddy. Since monkeys are timid creatures, they can be intimidated. This is the job of the caddy. Let me paint the picture.

As the golfer hits the ball off the tee, a great rustling is heard in the magnolia trees lining the fairway as the monkeys’ curiosity is aroused by the loud “smack” and the sight of the small white object sailing through the air.

The monkeys descend from the trees in a quest for the ball while the faithful caddy, club in hand, races at top speed down the fairway waving frantically. These antics are intended to intimidate the monkeys and drive them back into the protection of the trees before they reach the ball.

Sometimes the caddy is successful in warding off the monkeys before they reach the golf ball. Or, should a monkey accomplish its objective and seize the golf ball, it may be startled enough to drop it.

As such, the Royal Calcutta Golf Club instituted Rule #10, which states:

As you can imagine, this rule could make your game very interesting, or very frustrating. For example, the ball is driven well down the fairway close to the hole, only to have a monkey run off with it and drop it somewhere far from the hole. Or the opposite sometimes happens. A terrible shot might be picked up and delivered close to the pin.

For the golfers on this particular course — as for all of us in life — there are good breaks and bad breaks, and we cannot entirely control the outcomes.

Like it or not, life is all about playing the ball where the monkey drops it, and sometimes we will have to play the ball from the rough.

Beyond the reality of whatever situation we are in, a certain wisdom surrounds the validity of Rule #10. In essence, its rationale suggests that:

So whether in golf or in life, remember to “play the ball where the monkey drops it.”

Go to sunshinechevy.com to learn more or drop by and visit us with your dog!

Sunshine Chevrolet was opened in Asheville in 2008 by Biltmore Park's Don Elliott. In 2013, he moved the business to 100 Thunderland Road, just off Long Shoals.