Heeeeeeeeeey!

The first official All*Star Thursday Guest Jammer Initiative Honoree was none other than John “Z” Weyand. As Skippy Sez, “We are all branches of the Tree of Z.” Joined by his wife and official photographer Susan, My Main Man Z arrived late Wednesday evening ready to Jam.

The weather cooperated but the Parkies did not. Red Flags hung limply over the Meadow because they decided to put down some pesticide/fungicide stuff. This meant heading over to the Bandshell once again. This was tough on Z’s knees, but any A*TGJI Honoree is automatically inducted into the Hard Corps of the Big Apple. That means that hthey don’t need no stinkin’ conditions to Shred. So the Concrete Jungle  Jam was on and boy, did we have some surprises in store. First of all, Gary A. came back, making his own bid to enter the Alan Caplin Frequent Flyer Club. Also on hand were TedShred n’ TLC, Robbie-Rob, Bradford T., Quinn-O, (not so) Young Daniel, Jaime-TJH, Alex Heaver, JB n’ Sarah, Emma, Ivan-TJH n’ Amanda, The Reliable One, Chuck, The Oracle, and Flute Playin’ Roger rounding out the regulars.  To top it off, J-Will made his second A*T appearance of 2012 and the Brooklyn’s own Kimberly Steger made my day by stopping by. Man, are we a lucky bunch.

Z (All) Over New York City

The Jams at the Bandshell are always special. I think the kinetic energy of the people wandering through, checking out the scene and just enjoying Noo Yawk, makes a real difference. Daniel, Z, and Fresh were doin’ it, and doin’ it, and doin’ it well when I arrived, and by the time I got my nails on and took attendance, they were joined by TedShred. Gary and Rob were paired off, and then The Oracle opted into that Jam.

Z is a remarkable Jammer. Here is a guy who lives on the Beach on the border of Santa Monica and Malibu, has Fraser Park with that beautiful beach breeze for his home court, yet he was shredding it up as if the lack of conditions were his natural environment. He threw a couple of his legendary Dream Shot UD thumbers, just to show folks how it’s done, and was always in position to make the right play. Fresh and Danny-Boy were getting warmer by the moment when TedShred entered the fray, raising the bar. Gary and Rob were also tearing things up when Joey added his wizardry to the mix. Gary’s Flow and and amazing grace, Robbie-Rob’s echo-location, and The Oracle’s incredible ability to listen to the disc and spontaneously create the right combination, made this one special. And these were just a couple of the early ones!

The mixing and matching was fast and furious. Emma subbed in for Z when he judiciously took a break to rest his knee. Roger and Quinn-O reprised their Rehab Jam, and both are looking better and better. Neither went hunting for Gitis, but Scarecrows, Triple Fakes, and crisp passing were all in abundance. Later, Quinn-O and Ivan-TJH dove into the deep end with Fresh and Sir Shred when Emma split to catch Shakespeare in the Park and Fresh soothed his Bevis tendon with a tasty beverage. Even with my notes, time gets a bit discombobulated but I know that Dan and Rob, and Joey and Rob got in some solo Jam time in there somewhere.

TedShred, The Lovely Chrissy, and I think Quinn-O got a little thing going. Meanwhile, Z, J-Will, Joey and your resident scribe began a Jam that was really wonderful. I don’t like to say I was in the Jam of the Day, but this one was special. We started with some crisp passing, hitting an O’Malley on the first throw and on the third throw, we hit a ten-pass O’Malachy that Joey sealed with a…HUGE Smile. There were multiple heavy doses of fun and Frisbee Frolicking during this Jam. A one point we got into a linear passing thing with Z and I playing the middle, MAC’ing with  aplomb and setting up Hein behavior on both sides of the equation. This Jam went on for a very long time. Long enough so that we all got kind of sick of each other. I can’t quite recall how we ended it though I do recall a Marghie finding its way into my hand.

All/Us/We…though Emma split for Shakespeare in the Park

The last Jam of the evening feature TedShred, J-Will and yours truly. This one actually Blazed. Mr. Willett is a flat brilliant player. He hit a Double Leg-over combo that he sealed with a sweet spinning Scarecrow, made a beautiful Scarecrow brush-pass that Ted converted with his own Crow, not to mention a boatload of other beautiful plays. Folks were starting to get antsy, hearing the call of the pizza at Chez Meier so it was time for the Last Dance. TedShred said “Here we go–Catch, Catch, and Catch!” throwing it to me. I managed a nice combination that I sealed with a tight Triple Fake, sending the disc of to J-Will. Mr. Willett did some disc derringdo and sealed that with a spinning Gitis. The Onus was on TedShred. Would he take us home? He took in Jonathan’s backhand snap, did a sweet roll combination, and set the disc high. The angle was steep  as it plummeted towards the hard concrete. He spun in a flash, snatching the plastic inches from the ground in a perfect Flaming-Gitis!  A job well done!

The Tribe then retired to Chez Meier where we eschewed watching playoff hoops, checking out the stills from archives and videos from the days of yore, including Krae, Pat Rabdau, and a large dose of Robbie-Rob with porn star mustache showing his stuff. Totally Great!

These are the times when life is at its best. Friendship and connections made over the course of the years, bearing fruit when the season is right. There are two more All*Star Thursday Guest Jammers due in. One date has not yet been set, but stay tuned. Let’s just say that August 22-26 might be a good time to make your way to the Big Apple.

Fare Thee Well, Dear Frisbee Friends,

TP-TJH

Z and Chrissie June 7 2012