Picinic at the beach

Some things in this world were righted today after way too many wrongs. I tossed a Frisbee for instance. Ah, the glorious white disc. Revolving swiftly, hurtling through the air, slicing one might even say. The back hand, the fore hand, behind the back, under the leg, risers, curvers, off balanced tosses, and some that did not resemble normal throws at all. The only two keys to tossing a disc are to keep the Frisbee as flat as possible (except for special applications) and to give it some rotation. If you keep these two things in mind you can toss a Frisbee with one finger, in all sorts of weird ways, and even when shackled upside down by your ankles (in the last case, throwing a Frisbee well would probably be the least of my worries though - one might wonder what the heck he was doing upside down in the first place, as well as why he were shackled).

This slight ode leaves out one of the special application throws though, where you not only are not trying to keep the Frisbee flat, but are throwing it, in fact, upside down. The Tomahawk throw, in all it's glory, has a special place in the world of circular flying objects. Thrown upside down, it's flight is different than a normal throw, a bit more unpredictable, but valid. Today, since I didn't have to throw over anybodies head, I used the Tomahawk throw to toss the disc up the 20 foot drop off we were playing next to. Normally thrown, a Frisbee at that angle will rise to substantial height, see it's prey, which is in fact the person who threw it, and will hone in at greater velocities than most people appreciate while climbing up a large pile of rocks. The Tomahawk overcomes this particular, potentially painful, obstacle because of it's different flight. I was happy to re-make it's acquaintance today.

I haven't even mentioned the various methods for catching yet. The pancake will always have it's place as the fail safe, but it lacks flair for sure. The one handed grab, especially via an outstreached hand, is a good step. The dive (defined by the body leaving the ground, acquiring the Frisbee, and only after that particular obstacle has been overcome, crashing to the ground via a body part other than the feet - finally, a dive is only valid if upon standing up one realizes he cannot because of a hurt limb (preferably a break over a sprain) or has drawn blood that is dripping from the body (mere scrapes do not count)) was unfortunately not implemented today. While I'm all about natural injuries, diving with jagged lava rocks everywhere did not seem appealing. I mean it could have been very substantial injuries had I dove, more resembling a bid for suicide than a glamorous catch. The glamor did not stop though with one handed catches. I ran through thick grass, jumped, and even caught the only one I tried to behind my back. I was waiting with baited breath for an opportunity to propel myself into the air, perform a half turn, and snatch the Frisbee out of the air between my legs, but unfortunately the opportunity never arose. I had to settle with juggling the disc with my feet before apprehending it in my hand.

Today 6 people from Maji, two from the hospital, a wife, a sister in law, and two kids and a driver went to Mawe Hai for a picnic. After a short tour we headed down to the lake to eat and drink and be merry. A half hour and lots of food later, I brought out my disc. The guys weren't too bad considering it was their first time to play ever. We were just standing in a circle tossing it around and the best part was after 15 minutes of playing Frisbee when Bizi (after missing one) goes "it was the wind!" How he already knew the best excuse to the unprofessional discer I have no clue, but that was the phrase of the day. I think I'm going to bring it back tomorrow too. Anything that happens is being blamed on the wind. Sounds like a good excuse to me!