Sick Fun...

Yesterday, I played a riveting, down-to-the-wire match of disc golf. The match had all the right components: lead changes, narrow misses, narrow escapes, good company, and showboating that turned easy escapes into stupid misses. Oh yeah, and due to the cold weather and recent heavy rains, some holes were in the middle of their own ponds, and gentle streams were not so gentle. More on that later.


Let me set before you the scene heading into the final hole. My dear competitor was mired in a 3 stroke deficit through 11 holes. Due to unforgivable blunders, I squandered my lead, regained it, and squandered it all over again, all to find myself in a 1-stroke deficit leading into the treacherous 18th hole. This nonsensical terrain was the ultimate showdown stage. No clear paths, no strategy. All one could hope is, after hurling an aerodynamic prayer, that some way, some how, God would smile, and said prayer would miss the randomly-placed trees long enough to clear the gorge and the raging river below. Alas, not even God could smile at the ensuing throw, which promptly smacked off a nearby tree and descended into the waters below.

The next 30 minutes were spent walking up and down the riverbank, trying in earnest to spot the disc below the river surface. Finally, we found the little submariner, smack in the middle of a river that, due to the rain, was running rather high and rather fast. I then proceeded to wade into the river, the water up to my chins, retreive the disc, and play my shot. Keep in mind that North Texas has been in a bit of a freezing spell lately. Just that morning I was scraping ice off my wife's car. That river was wicked cold, and the 10-15 minutes I spent in it were enough to make Nathan-above-the-knees feel comparatively toasty. 

I lost the round by a stroke and walked back to the car wearing my soaked and freezing badge of courage. Forget that I lost the round. Forget that I got freezing wet. Forget that I actually ran some fever last night as a result. The whole experience was a rush. As much time as I squander doing unproductive activities, I recommend and support any such activities that get us out in nature and allow the negotiation of her obstacles. We men were born to play in the wild, and I for one am happy to do so, resulting fever or not.