Greetings Fellow Travelers!

Our Tenth Anniversary All*Star Thursday Season has been marked by weird weather and some strange happenings, but the Joy of Jammin’ with the Hard Corps of the Big Apple remains the highest high.

Finch 52 on our Green Beach

Now, I will cop to being absent yesterday (May 15) but it was due to the passing of a loved one. Believe me, I wish I had been out, even on an overcast kind of day. I can speak about the events of the previous two (All*Star) Thursdays.

Wax On: May 1, 2014 – The Return of The Man

The last day of April brought 5-inches of rain to NYC so the Meadow was closed. I was trying to get out for the Early Earl, but ‘sponsibilities raised their ugly heads. So it was with no small measure of delight that I entered the Bandshell courtyard to the sight of Robbie-Rob Shredding mightily with Sir Daniel and James the Fully Bright. By now all y’all know how I feel about my two nephews (and my niece Emma), the Next Gen Jammers who have inspired The Tribe so very much.

Young James and Me, Having a BLAST a couple of years back.

Both Daniel and James are amazing talents who have evolved immensely during the year that James spent in the Czech Republic. Rob was a Gitis Machine, killin’ it as each of them took turns one-upping the other: “I see your Donkey Cheese, and will raise you one Double-Spinning Barrel Gitis!” It was really very special, and that was before the rest of the crew arrived. And we had quite the turnout, including Roger, Bradford T., Quinn-O, Jaime-TJH and Barb, Chuck, Ivan-TJH, Alex, Susan, Susan, Fresh, and Tony.

Even though it has been a couple of weeks, I can still recall a bunch of great Jams. Once I nailed up, I got a piece of Daniel and James before Rob snatched James up for some solo time. Later there was Quinn-O, Fresh, and Chuck; Roger and Brad; James, Ivan, Daniel, and me; Jaime, Chuck, and Ivan, as well as a bunch of combinations that my three functional neurons refused to imprint. Suffice to say that it was a Shred Fest for all.

And let me congratulate James once again for getting into all of the best law schools in the country, and deciding to return to NYC to study at Columbia Law. So proud to call him my friend and thrilled that we will have him NYC for the foreseeable future. Bravo!

Wax Off: May 8, 2014 – The Charlie Brown Syndrome

All*Star Wednesday: Documented

In the ten years of this Tribal Gathering we have played in every type of weather, including two hurricanes. “We don’t need no stinkin’ conditions” has been our mantra, no matter what the forecast indicated. Until now. One of our brethren called for an All*Star Wednesday, which was well attended.

I had to work and missed out on the fun, but the next day was not bad. It had rained overnight so the Meadow was closed, yet the rains had cleared and the Bandshell wide open when I arrived a little after 5pm. I sat down, nailed-up, and waited for The Tribe. And waited. And waited. And waited. It was kind of crazy because I really felt like Charlie Brown out there on the mound in a monsoon wondering “Where is everybody?” Finally at 6:06pm, The Reliable One showed up. Can I get an AMEN?!

Roger & Me. Saaaay, that sound like a good title for a movie!

So, it was just me Roger, and a nicely broken in NYC/Good For One Jam Token disc ready to have at it. T’was FANTASTIC! We had wonderful Flow for the entire Jam. There was not too much foot traffic, however, we had a number of people stop to watch and one pair of tourists who sat shooting video for more than a half hour. My favorite moment came when a group of African American teenaged boys came by. They were loud and alternated between “Yo, did you see that?!” and “Man, that ain’t nuthin’ — Watch, watch, I can to that!”

Well, Roger and I stepped it up. I did an Elevator Drop, to a quick Zing over my head, to a front roll, then snapping off some Clock Z’s to Rog who nailed a sweet combo with a chomp of a Double-Spinning Triple-Fake seal. That got them revved up and they asked us to throw the disc to them. One young man tried a trick catch, bobbled it a bit, then threw back a wobbler that I was able to brush to Roger for the seal. The second managed to quasi delay Roger’s throw and get it back to us without breaking our rhythm. We went Dropless for about four and a half minutes, and the disc didn’t hit the ground until they were well out of sight. After a quick water break, we went back at it for a great final burst and had a Blast!

While the competition was fierce, Jam of the Day honors went to, well, Roger and me! I can’t wait until next week. As long as it doesn’t snow we should be out on the Meadow once again. So…

When are YOU comin’ down?

Peace out, Yo!

TP-TJH