Herkie the Dog's World Musings
Second. Best. Fourth of July. Ever
I hope everyone out there had as good of a 4th as we did. Ours was really jam-packed with activity. One movie (as mentioned below), one barbeque, fireworks, one massive ice cream party, a day on the lake, and a trip to the Zoo while my brakes were being fixed. With the amount of food present, particularly with the ice cream, numerous trips to the gym also were scheduled!
Lisa really hit the mark with the ice cream party. Six flavors of ice cream, a clown cone ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, and a toppings bar that could rival any ice cream parlour. If anyone wants to stop by in the next week to help us clear this stuff out, just let us know!
Another huge highlight for me was my first attempt at waterskiing. I had been looking forward to this for some time. It's one of the items on my "list of things I’ve always wanted to do." As a bunch of us waterskiing rookies piled into the boat, it became plainly obvious that due to my excitement, I was to be the "guinea pig." Everyone indicated that they would decide if they were going to try based on how my attempt went. No pressure there!
Needless to say, I was pretty darn nervous being the first one in. All the waterskiing horror stories I've ever heard flashed through my head. Doing the splits...being dragged by the face...losing skis...getting run over by another boat...sharks...these things tend to creep in when you're floating helplessly in the water waiting to be dragged at about 40 mph. Years ago, I once hopped on a skateboard and had my next door neighbor tow me down a hill in our neighborhood on his 10-speed. The last thing I remember is the feeling of skin scraping on the street seconds after I yelled "go faster!" The water had to be much more forgiving...I hope.
Well, the first time out was quite memorable. If you've ever seen the part in "Caddyshack" where the guy fishing on the dock casts his line, gets it caught on Al Czervik's boat, and goes for a drag through the water face first, then you have a pretty good idea of what happened. I blamed it on the skis being too loose. But at least I figured I couldn't look any dumber.
The next couple of times were classic near misses. As the engine gunned, cheers of encouragement from my friends would go up, only to be silenced seconds later by my ungainly splashdown. Each time seemed that much closer to getting there, only to be denied at the last second. I started becoming aware that maybe I was taking too many chances at this and taking up everyone's valuable recreation time.
I got into the start position again, thinking I should pack it in soon. Again, the engine gunned and I let the boat take me where it wanted to go. And then it happened. Somehow, the stars aligned correctly and I found myself racing along the water on skis! It all happened so fast that I don't really remember what worked out differently this time. It just clicked and there I was skimming on the surface of the lake.
Now this was cool! Racing around on the lake, everyone cheering (real or imagined, I’m not sure. Maybe it was just the roar of the boat and my own ego)…it doesn’t get much better than this. I should stop and let someone else have a turn.
How do I stop?
Hadn’t really thought about that. I guess I just need to let go of the rope. Shouldn’t be that difficult, and I’ll just ease to a stop. On the count of three, I’ll just let go. 1…2…
Wave.
Not that big of one under normal circumstances, mind you, but more than enough to take out a neophyte like me in truly spectacular fashion. The next thing I knew, I was underwater on my back and no longer wearing the skis. Everyone said it was as awesome a sight as I could have imagined. And considering how I ended up, I was imagining quite a bit. I think some form of somersault was involved along with skis flying in opposite directions.
A second attempt to ensure that the first was no fluke went incredibly well. Not only was I able to get up on the first try, but I rambled around the lake for a number of laps, skipping over waves that had every right to take me down. I found that the physical skills I use for ice skating helped out greatly in keeping me balanced over the wake of the boat. And this time, I got to break it off on my own terms.
I was amazed at how much energy it takes to stay steady skiing behind a boat. By the time it was all over, I was ready to feast on the fajita dinner that was kindly being prepared for us.
Anyone for seconds?
Lisa really hit the mark with the ice cream party. Six flavors of ice cream, a clown cone ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, and a toppings bar that could rival any ice cream parlour. If anyone wants to stop by in the next week to help us clear this stuff out, just let us know!
Another huge highlight for me was my first attempt at waterskiing. I had been looking forward to this for some time. It's one of the items on my "list of things I’ve always wanted to do." As a bunch of us waterskiing rookies piled into the boat, it became plainly obvious that due to my excitement, I was to be the "guinea pig." Everyone indicated that they would decide if they were going to try based on how my attempt went. No pressure there!
Needless to say, I was pretty darn nervous being the first one in. All the waterskiing horror stories I've ever heard flashed through my head. Doing the splits...being dragged by the face...losing skis...getting run over by another boat...sharks...these things tend to creep in when you're floating helplessly in the water waiting to be dragged at about 40 mph. Years ago, I once hopped on a skateboard and had my next door neighbor tow me down a hill in our neighborhood on his 10-speed. The last thing I remember is the feeling of skin scraping on the street seconds after I yelled "go faster!" The water had to be much more forgiving...I hope.
Well, the first time out was quite memorable. If you've ever seen the part in "Caddyshack" where the guy fishing on the dock casts his line, gets it caught on Al Czervik's boat, and goes for a drag through the water face first, then you have a pretty good idea of what happened. I blamed it on the skis being too loose. But at least I figured I couldn't look any dumber.
The next couple of times were classic near misses. As the engine gunned, cheers of encouragement from my friends would go up, only to be silenced seconds later by my ungainly splashdown. Each time seemed that much closer to getting there, only to be denied at the last second. I started becoming aware that maybe I was taking too many chances at this and taking up everyone's valuable recreation time.
I got into the start position again, thinking I should pack it in soon. Again, the engine gunned and I let the boat take me where it wanted to go. And then it happened. Somehow, the stars aligned correctly and I found myself racing along the water on skis! It all happened so fast that I don't really remember what worked out differently this time. It just clicked and there I was skimming on the surface of the lake.
Now this was cool! Racing around on the lake, everyone cheering (real or imagined, I’m not sure. Maybe it was just the roar of the boat and my own ego)…it doesn’t get much better than this. I should stop and let someone else have a turn.
How do I stop?
Hadn’t really thought about that. I guess I just need to let go of the rope. Shouldn’t be that difficult, and I’ll just ease to a stop. On the count of three, I’ll just let go. 1…2…
Wave.
Not that big of one under normal circumstances, mind you, but more than enough to take out a neophyte like me in truly spectacular fashion. The next thing I knew, I was underwater on my back and no longer wearing the skis. Everyone said it was as awesome a sight as I could have imagined. And considering how I ended up, I was imagining quite a bit. I think some form of somersault was involved along with skis flying in opposite directions.
A second attempt to ensure that the first was no fluke went incredibly well. Not only was I able to get up on the first try, but I rambled around the lake for a number of laps, skipping over waves that had every right to take me down. I found that the physical skills I use for ice skating helped out greatly in keeping me balanced over the wake of the boat. And this time, I got to break it off on my own terms.
I was amazed at how much energy it takes to stay steady skiing behind a boat. By the time it was all over, I was ready to feast on the fajita dinner that was kindly being prepared for us.
Anyone for seconds?
posted by Jon at
2:12 PM
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