‘The Ledge’ is one for the legends

Editor’s note: Brett Houston died on July 29, 2002 at the age of

40. For 25 years since the age of 15, he received weekly dialysis

treatments because of acute kidney failure. Through it all, Houston

was a tower of strength despite standing just 5-feet tall and

weighing 115 pounds. It was on golf courses throughout Southern

California that he found his greatest success, mainly because of a

tremendous will to succeed and an even better short game. The

Crescenta Valley High graduate was known as “The Legend” or “The

Ledge” because of his feats on the golf course. That nickname better

suited him because he got the most out of his life despite the

difficulties he faced on a daily basis.

“Brett said to me one day, ‘You know mom, I have really led a

rather charmed life.’ This was Brett, he only dwelled on the good

things that came his way. A good day on the ‘pump’ was a good day. A

bad day was soon forgotten and he would be on his way, happy with

life.”

Those words were written by Marilyn Houston as a tribute to her

son, Brett, on the day of his funeral Aug. 1. Just two weeks after

the death of her son, her voice sounded weary but strong as she

talked about her son and the joy he brought to her life and to

others.

“I learned so much from Brett. To listen was to learn. He charmed

everyone he met. Young, old, every walk of life,” said Marilyn

Houston in her written eulogy.

“If you were lucky enough to have Brett as a friend, you knew you

had a friend. He saw the good in everyone, and the need, and was

there to help.”

*

They were the odd couple on a golf course. Keith Myrick was a foot

taller and a hundred pounds heavier than his best friend, but

together, they were almost unbeatable with money on the line in a

friendly golf wager against anyone who challenged them.

Those challengers included golfers of varying size, shape and

ability, but also famous names such as Willie Mays, Bill Russell and

Jim Brown. Houston didn’t have the strength of his friend Myrick to

nail a drive at local courses like Chevy Chase, Scholl Canyon or

Verdugo Hills, but his short game was second to none.

“Brett was so smooth on the course, it was like poetry in motion

to watch him play,” Myrick said.

“He didn’t have the big drive, but he was solid right down the

middle and then worked his way up to the green like a craftsman at

work. His short game was just phenomenal. I can remember like it was

yesterday, how guys would watch him with eyes as big as saucers when

he chipped in the hole from as far away as 50 yards.

“He must have done that 1,000 times, maybe more. He was like money

in the bank the closer the pin got and his confidence was

unshakable.”

His confidence was unshakable. The kidney disease that ravaged his

body did not dim his spirit or resolve. And golf was the game that

prolonged his life and gave him such a positive outlook on his

situation.

Myrick laughed when he recalled stories and said honestly that

there were so many that he couldn’t recall any in particular. But he

was definitive about the man who played golf an average of 200 rounds

a year and would drive himself to the golf course to play immediately

after one of his dialysis treatments.

“Brett often said without a hint of resentment that going through

dialysis three times a week, three or fours at a time, was his job

and he would get it over with and then leave it behind,” Myrick said.

“Dialysis was his job and golf was his life and this was a man

that was about living and playing as much as he could, not sitting

around to worry about the raw deal he had gotten and feeling sorry

about himself.”

Myrick did share the fact that his best friend had such a huge

appetite for living and competing that he supported himself

comfortably by making well over $100,000 a year betting on himself

playing golf and playing cards in Las Vegas.

But you don’t have to look far for Houston stories real and not

imagined. There are the two holes-in-one he sank in one round at the

Chevy Chase Country Club in 1989. There was the time he gave a

putting lesson to golf immortal Arnold Palmer in Palm Springs.

And that by asking to be cremated, his ashes would be spread

across one of his favorite courses and holes locally, although his

mother said that legally the family cannot disclose where.

So lets give it up for “The Ledge” one more time. Certainly, he

made a name for himself as a golfer, but Brett Houston will remain in

the hearts of his family and friends forever for his resolve to beat

the odds. And that’s why his spirit and love of life will live on and

on.

“Brett was my gift, a blessing and a joy beyond measure” Marilyn

Houston said at the end of her written eulogy. “What an honor it has

been to be your mother. I miss your humor already and your

brilliance. I love you Brett now and forever.”

ALEX LEON is the sports information director at Glendale Community

College. He can be reached at 240-1000, ext. 5764.