Old Time Religion

Today, the local Flock did something that original Flockers once considered an integral part of the faith. We forced ourselves from bed at 7:30ish and headed out to the soccer fields for some boomeranging!

Long time readers will recall that this was once a weekly ritual that took the place of church for us - we used to call it "Sunday Mass." A description of a typical mass can be found here.

Today was much the same, but many of the faces were new. Spicypants, Beckers, and Sarah all threw for the first time today, and it reminded me of Sundays past. Days when Zeus and I would arrive early to throw MTAs, then the rest of the Flock would show up around 8:00, sleepy and sometimes hung-over. The same lines ("that's totally catchable!"), the same teasing after a weak attempt to catch one ("don't strain yourself... pussy") and the same complaints ("the wind shifted after I let it go!"). The soccer mom was even the same - Fleur set herself up a good distance from the danger zone in her folding chair and held cell phones and keys, and applauded the few catches we had today.

The difficulty of throwing boomerangs at 7200 feet is pretty high. This is not a hobby for those who demand immediate results. It takes patience, both with yourself and the shifty winds around Black Vatican City. You have to balance the angle, the snap, and the force of the throw, to make a circle against the air - very tricky. Some of the throwers had some successes today, but for most of us, throwing 'rangs is like playing fetch without a dog. You throw the stick, then you go get the stick and bring it back...

And that's the point, I think. Certainly the good throws that come hovering back to your hand are awesome, but every throw is a chance to create that beautiful arc, that moment of balance. If every throw came back every time, it wouldn't be appealing for very long. It's the failure rate that makes it challenging and fun, and frankly, failing miserably with friends is better than succeeding alone.