Well, here is a counterfeit A*T chronicles, as our esteemed elaborator is now enjoying some much needed R & R in Las Vegas (though I am not sure if you R or R much in Vegas).

The day started with glorious NY spring weather. Almost cool, low humidity and nice breezes. I knew a few of the faithful were predisposed to be Yella, so I was a bit concerned about the day, but as usual was not disappointed by the end of session. As I entered the meadow about 6ish I espied a counter jam from a distance. I immediately recognized Richie Regs, who has recently become an A*T regular after eschewing this event to concentrate on the weekend action. Took awhile to decipher the other jammer. But after going through my mental database I finally saw pointed toes and deft maneuvers and this was no other than Gary Auerbach on one of his semi regular jaunts through the big apple while he spreads the gospel of the disc to adoring attendees of his shows. Upon my arrival, there he was, our imported all-star jammer, none other than Bill Wright making his inaugural A*T appearance. After a big bear hug with Bill, I saw Robert was nailing up along with the ageless Trevor. Soon Quinno made his appearance with Joey also tagging along behind. Given our strong attendance last week, it was unclear who was going to be wearing the Yella. While I had offered, given my many past dispensations, Joey beat me to it and said he wanted the dreaded jersey for his own, even though I do seem to remember him shredding last week. Quinn, last weeks honoree gave the now sleeveless jersey over to Joey.

Before you know it the rest of the gang appeared, with Ted and Chrissie with Margarita’s aplenty, and my original partner Pierre Laubert ambling over. To round out the jammers (I hope I did not forget anyone) Pat Rabdau came by toting his video hardware to document some of the day’s activities. Rumor is Pat got up to jam at some point, though somehow this did escape my roving eye. My fabulous better half, Tricia came by to keep Chrissie company, and with Mary, Susan and Barbara we had a some much needed feminine presence to cheer us on. Now we just need to get these wonderful ladies up and jamming.

Not sure if I can match Paul’s eloquent descriptions of the ever morphing series of hein one-on-one jams and mob-ops, but a few did stand out.

Rob called me out quickly, and soon we were joined by Trevor and Quinn. Trevor has started to bust the more serious jams and has developed a good flow for keeping the disc moving. As we were grooving I could not help but espy Bill, Joey, Ted and Gary going at it in the distance. That early hall-of-famer action could have been the Jam-of-the-Day. I took a break and then had a great mano-a-mano jam with Richie Regs. Richie, with coming out on successive A*T’s, along with his strong attendance at our weekend jams, has really become a monster. As the day progressed the wind became more consistent and I then moved into a jam with Pierre, Joey and maybe Rob (who can remember). After a bit I really got into a groove with Peter and this was great as it was one of the more extended focused jams we have had since Peter has been here in NY. Nothing like jamming with your oldest bestest buddy. Kind of like putting on that comfy pair of loafers you have hidden away in your closet. Felt like he never left NY. This jam seemed to hit with some final highlights and I thought the day may be over. But no……..

Seeing Bill and a few others continuing to go at it, I realized I had yet begun to jam. Busting with gusto I headed into what was the final mob-op of the day. As this was my first jam with our newest guest jammer it was a real pleasure to flow along with Bill and whoever else was joining our fun. As the sun started to set I ended up going at it with just the oracle himself. Saved the best for last. We were both getting a bit tired and I think we were looking for an escape hatch. Joey and I often enjoy quick back and forth action and sure enough we hit a set of consecutive deftness that lasted a very substantial series of maneuvers. Joey sealed my last dish with a clean spinning under the leg catch and we looked at each other and made the non-verbal call that that was “beer”. We discussed later that while generally we look to finish with a bigger final seal, the cumulative effect of a good flowing stretch can often be more satisfying that one big seal.

Will be tough to figure out the Yella for next week as Stumpy Fresh was absent to celebrate the birthdays of not just one, but two awesome 5 year old jammers-in-training. Brad has been MIA recently, I hope this dude gets his a** back out and jamming soon. And with Paul in Las Vegas and Fearless Lou out of town practicing his acting art there will be a few candidates for Yella next week. We missed those guys, but I am happy to say we represented regardless.

Paul, get back here as I have not written so much prose in my life and I am getting blisters on my fingers.

Rog, the faux chronicler

Bill Wright - First Guest Jammer Initiative