Gettin' Jiggy With It

As dawn broke across the Midwestern sky, my sleepy self along with my better half were already working our way southward.  She to fulfill her gainfully employed obligations; me to gain one more footstep toward my vocationally determined destination.  One more footstep to myself one day gaining gainful employ at the end of my preparatory journey.  I would be traveling much further that day.  And while my day would include painfully dreary and boring moments, others could never be considered such.

If I were to choose an hour to wipe the sleep out of my eyes, it would be the very same one in which I pulled into the parking lot of Seymour Smith Park in Omaha, over one hundred miles from where my day began.  Dew still fresh upon the ground, this is not the typical time for those of our ilk to ply our trade.  We are an afternoon-ish folk who would rather rest than experience the earlier parts of the solar cycle.  Yet here I was.  And I was not alone.  Jiggs and his firstborn would be my companions.

I had not practiced the art of the disc at Seymour in nearly a year.  I had first played the course in 2002 with the venerable SCDGA member Harky and the person who introduced us to disc golf who some here will know as the BBD.  It was the second course I had ever played.  It was the closest and most familiar course to me during my time in Omaha.  And I would now be able to play with the person I had introduced to the game at the course where I taught him the trade.

It was wet.  The fresh rain upon the ground recalling the Granite Ridge deluge of the first Cold Lampin' Weekend.  I fondly remembered it as I played with one who joined me in the experience, feet sloshing through wet shoes as we worked our way hurriedly around the course.  Unfortunately, schedules and responsibilities called us away to other things.  Things devoid of discs.  But we would have this experience.  We needed it.  Not because we required it for survival, but because life should be about more than survival.  And not because it was disc golf.  Though our compulsion to play our mutually beloved pastime is real, I would not have gone to the trouble for just another round.  But because in the act of playing with Jiggs, we were sharing all the experiences of the past year we were unable to share due to distance.  Because in that time that year was made manifest.  It is a means of reconnecting; it is empathy; it is sharing life.

I would be lying to you if I said that eighteen holes were played that day.  The clock and the schedule called to us, and divergent ways led on to ways as Frost well knows.  And telling you this with a sigh, I hope to impart that despite the imperfect throws, the incomplete round and the unfortunate weather conditions, the round was perfect.  It was perfect because we were able to play together.  And it is a perfection I wish to share with all you Cold Lampers again.

Ad Fontes!

~Diggs

From East to (mid)West

Alright ya'll, with yet another finals season finished, a new time of the year begins (preferably with more disc golf than the last).  My summer will be markedly different than the previous few.  For instance, my PDGA account has not been renewed this year.  With so much uncertainty and busyness and travel in the last couple months and with so much more of the same in the next couple months, I didn't think I would find the time or resources to make renewal worthwhile.  We hope that next year will be different, but it just didn't make sense this year.  Further, the annual disc golf weekend of the SCDGA will be sans Diggs.  I hope the rest of ya'll are still able to get together for a trip, but for similar reasons, the timing and the finances just didn't make it possible.

What I am looking at, however, is a Midwest cameo for about a month or so before returning to the east coast.  During that month, I hope to connect with anyone who might be around the SCDGA birthplace during the rest of May through a fair amount of June.  I would like to see you gentlemen if possible.  I will be without reliable transportation during that time, and with my competition bag staying put out east, I'll be struggling through a meager disc schedule on backup discs.  Such is life.  But after I get back out here, things should open up a bit, allowing a more regular disc fix.

Here's what we're looking at through August:

• MRK has already mentioned a possible trip down to throw a round or two.  This needs to happen.
• I have a couple business trips during the Midwest trip.  One of these takes me to Jiggs' hometown.  We're going to try to get together and play a round at our old stomping grounds
• Another trip takes me to Kansas City for a couple days.  I have not played a course in Kansas or Missouri.  I'm hoping to make both happen
• I haven't spoken with URBWes in awhile, but if he wants to spike some more burritos, he should visit his sister during early June.  URBWes, you want a burrito
• Harky I know is more limited in coming back (that's what you get for living in the Big Cheesy), but I wish him the best in working out a disc weekend!
• When I get back here, I'll have about three guys to play with around here.  They aren't my Cold Lampin' Crew, but they'll do.  We'll be regulars at the Mercer course, which has gotten much better this season
• I'm also hopeful we are able to make a trip to Tyler State Park and maybe even Warwick up north.  These are two well-regarded courses and the best around here
• Most of you will know to whom I refer when I mention the Halo name Reepicheep.  There's a possibility I'll be able to head up to see him this summer.  If so, I'm not sure I could pass on all the quality disc around Rochester

I leave tomorrow morning for a place that was 40 degrees colder than it was here today.  I hope you are all doing well.  Catch ya'll 'round the Lamp.

~Diggs

Provisional Memberships

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate MRK.  The Mid Range King and Queen have been blessed with the Mid Range Prince.  I know, I know.  I should have probably let the King announce it himself, however, this whole thing has got me thinking...

Three of our members-in-good-standing have little ones, the King's new progeny, Jiggs' little one of less than a year, and Harky's brood.  And knowing their fathers, these little ones will likely grow up knowing the ways of the disc.  With a mind to the future, I propose that the Cold Lampin' community extend provisional memberships to the SCDGA Cold Lampin' Club.  While not full memberships per se, they represent a commitment of the group towards the support of those who would be our future.  I admit a selfish bent in all of this.  As one who hopes to pick up a couple provisional memberships for my own offspring someday, I would be honored to have any and all of you in the lives of my children.  Thank you all for your wonderful friendships.

If we can agree on this, all that's left is the nicknames...

Be on the look out for a future post on the new Prodigy D4, which I had the pleasure of throwing this last week in sunny Orlando.

No more a rake and no more a bachelor...

~Diggs