Wednesday night business- as -usual at Walden Pond

[PeterB]

I was feeling haggard and world-weary, so I looked forward to Les's Walden Pond practise session after work on this night. I arrived at Chez Swearing Ferret at about 5:30, and found a different place from the week before, when it was thronging with people seeking respite from the near -100 degree heat; on this cloudy, not-hot evening, the place was nearly empty, quiet, tranquil; parking was a breeze and the parking lot ranger had us all to himself to instruct on the woes on Eurasian Millfoil.

I paddled out and found the regulars, and we toyed around with rolls, Eskimo bow rescues, and friendly chatter. Fifteen or twenty minutes later, Lorrie appeared in our midst and, with her usual panache, announced that she needed to work on paddle float rescues (she's going some guiding and needs to teach this stuff ) , also scoop and hand- of- Gods, and thenceforth dominated the proceedings. We mostly cluttered together and, and discovered that the heel hook applied to the paddle float re-entry gets you back in your boat in a jiffy. Then we turned to scoops. Evidenty the presumption was that if one can scoop rescue me one can scoop rescue anyone, so I became scoop rescue dummy and spent almost the rest of the evening in the water. I think I might change my message board name to “Scoop Dummy”: ( hey, if we have a “Pink Paddler”, a “Bearded Recluse” and a “Big Jaguar Shark:, we can have a “Scoop Dummy” can’t we?) and folks worked on various nuances of this rescue , using this hand and that to clutch pfds, push down on the deck etc. Prudence was fussing about, the tortured workings of her inner mind trying to comprehend the euro blade, to which she is unaccustomed, and Bill was also taking a dubious respite from the Dark Side, Pink Paddler was vigorously rolling , sometimes upside down , patiently tapping on her hull waiting for eskimo bow rescues, which were usually forthcoming. Rob was slithering about , interjecting wry comments, and Les was the black Pearl, or black Dahlia, or Black- something, lurking behind the scenes, upside down much of the time, then right side up again.

A refreshing evening. Just what I had hoped for.

Feeling immeasurably better, I stopped on the way home to ponder life over a quick sweet potato maki roll, a bowl of rice, and a hot sake. Life is , sometimes, good.

[JulieC]

Sounds like a great night... Nice report Peter. I can't wait to join you all again in a few weeks!

[Lallen]

Thanks for being such a good sport and Scoop Dummy. Upcoming session's task for me-to master the Hand of God. Preferably without drowning my victims in the process! Have fun in Canada.

Lorrie aka "The Bambi of Boat Control"

P.S. Les is definitely "The Black Duck."