All Star Thursday

Greetings from the real Green Zone,

Given that many of us have taken refuge from the crazed doings of a world gone mad, the Sheep Meadow and that section of Bagdhad have a little something in common. Thankfully the worst thing we generally have to deal with is the encroachment of soccer players and the occasional errant baseball.

This week I entered from the Northwest corner of the Meadow to that quintessential NYC panoramic view with the green grass in the foreground and the high rises of Central Park South beyond. This is because my daughter Carina was joining me for her first All*Star Thursday appearance. When I picked up the new graduate (Daddy’s Best girl is heading to middle school already??!!) she asked where we were going and I said to The Park because today is A*T. She giggled and said “Oh yeah–You can’t be Yella!” Smart kid, huh?

When we got to the Manhole, there were a few of the Hard Corps of the Big Apple in place. Joey, the newly engaged Avi, Mary, Phil our resident martial artiste, Hana, Slava (our friend from Israel), the Ageless Trevor Brown, and Bradford T. were on hand and having a conversation on the merits of homo sapiens being the best of all species and the apex predator of the current ecosystem. And you thought we only thought about Frisbee. 😉 As I was nailing up, Ted seemed to magically appear already dressed and ready to go and my boy Fearless Lou came striding purposefully in from the Southwest and then Roger sauntered in from the Southeast. Yes, it would be a good day.

Avi, a converted Heaver, was up first and Joey joined him to get things going.

I can’t recall them playing together before on an A*T so this was an auspicious moment. Tedley and Fearless were up next with Roger (who acquiteed himself quite well as the Yella Designee) and I ready at the same moment. He was laser focused on that pair and they immediately began their day of heinous action.

Meanwhile I joined in with Avi and The Oracle to indulge my inner shredful muse in what would become a day of multiple Jam combinations for me. We got a nice rhythm going with Avi playing with a higher level of skill and confidence than maybe I have seen from him. Nifty spins, serious seals followed by accurate throws enhanced our flow naturally causing us all to break a good sweat on this rather muggy day. Shortly thereafter Patrick joined us and his complementary style just made things better. Avi went off to hydrate and while doing some a quick-catches I hit a Gitis for the first time in a Jam. I’ll admit to to a rather vocal response as I spiked the disc in suprise. Indeed, this was going to be a good day.

After happily continuing for a while in the heat of the day, I paused for a minute to fix a nail and Brad hopped in to keep it going. With two 3-man Jams going, proper disc-ettiquette dictated that the late arriving Doug (family in tow) and I get going on our own. This was cool because the two of us hadn’t played together as a pair thus far this year. Jamming with Fresh is cool because he is the epitome of “casual” which belies an incredible level of skill and ambiDISCterity. We started with mostly quick catches then I tried to make sure I included both spins in equal measure mixing in some UD and vertical stuff for him to work with. Joey came in a few minutes later and things began to really heat up. Chrissy had arrived late due to toting special “Bubble Gitis Mallets” and after Doug finished a way ridiculous combo with a mighty spinning Gitis, we heard a chorus of “wocka, wocka, wockas” which Joey answered with a quickfastinahurry Gitis of his own. Oh Baby!!! When we all finished, Chrissy shared some Mexican Ambrosia with us and I decided I just couldn’t stop. I subbed in for Fearless who was up with Trevor and Ted and after a bit it was just TO and I slugging away as dusk settled in. We must have done something right because just as we decided to go for on last catch each, Fresh announced “Now that I’m drunk, I’m Comin’ Down”. This amped us up for one last burst of bad BEEhavior with one insane brush combination where Doug got to prancin’. Oh yeah, it was a really good day.

Jam of the Day honors go to the Avi and the Oracle pairing because the essence of the Global Jam Agenda is best served when we get up an play with new folks and find out how to adapt to a variety of styles and skill levels. All Hail the Oracle who also shared that he prefers to play with fewer Zzzzz’s these days in order to do his thing and maintain flow rather than go on for extended solos.

As they say in Pre-K: It’s NICE to Share.

Good Luck to all the players in AmsterJam but I’m pulling for Rob to REPRESENT NYC properly!

All the Best to all Y’all

Tall Paul, the Jammin’ Heaver

Greetings to the Polymer Worshippin Populace,

Before all else: Hey Skippy–I am jealous I shan’t be able to attend the Santa Cruz gathering especially because I won’t be able to listen first hand to the tales of disc derringdo from the crustiest of the Jammers. All Hail the Hein!!!

The specific doings of last weeks gathering may have faded a bit under the weight of real life and ‘sponsibilities but let there be no doubt it was a special indeed. When I walked upon the emerald carpet, enetering from the southwest as is my wont, I saw Fearless Lou and The Ageless Trevor Brown (TATB) up jamming with…with…do my eyes deceive me? Jamie Schiffrin, the Mighty Heaver snapping off Hi-Z airbounces, brushing and delaying??!!! When I asked what he thought he was doing he said “Hey–this is FUN!” Be still my foolish heart, we have another convert.

Joining in the Frisbee frenzy this week were Rob, Fresh, Tedley, Bradford T., Roger (who made a pit-stop), Joey, Upstate Bill Doobs, late arrival Mr. Rabdau, and representing the Bah-ston contingent, the amazing Alan Caplin. The Board decided the HE is not Yella but the rest of the MA crew will have to apply for clemency in person. The lovely Chrissy came with the shaker and salt and Ms. Jill brought out BenJAMin and Claire to watch Daddy do his thing. The day was also notable for the delivery of Rob’s latest entry into the plastic pantheon: the Urban Legends disc which features both our GPS coordinates for those in search of a Jam and a gateway to the hiding place for those infamous NYC Sewer Alligators. Truly inspired work!

Since no one had heard from Sir Patrick, the Board awarded the Jaundiced Jersey to Trevor who commenced to play with delight, grace, and a shredful quality above and beyond the call of duty. TATB is noted in my memory as the first person I ever saw do fancy things with a disc. I remember being a puppy and coming down to Central Park in the late 60’s and seeing some ‘big guys’ throwing the frisbees, skipping them, catching them behind their back and stuff that I never dreamed of. That he later became the first (along with Eddie Bennett) to ask me to Jam is one of those interesting Cosmic Coincidences.

There was much mixing and matching this week with most of the combinations of players being more fluid than usual. Alan properly represented the City of Red (Fishnet) Stockings spinning, rolling, turning over, and sealing with great abandon while moving from Jam to Jam. My boy Fearless continues to elevate his play on an almost daily basis and he has become quite the formidable player.

Meanwhile Rob who said he wasn’t feelin’ it, is clearly at the top of his game as he headed out to AmsterJam. Doug E. was Fresh, Bill Doobs was scarred from working the land like a real He-Man but his fast hands are intact. Teddy O was routinely incredible and it cracks me up that I simply never have enough words to decribe what I see when he gets it going with the Oracle or just about anyone else for that matter.

Wtih all due respect to all my Heinous Homies, Jam of the Day honors go to Fearless, TATB, and Jamie the Jammin’ Heaver!!! Bringing another Heaver into the fold definitely makes them all worthy of praise.

Until the next time…

Tall Paul, The Jammin’ Heaver

Yo, What Up ,Yo?

The weather in my home town has been less than hospitable over the past week or so with plenty of precipitation which will eventually make our Jade Garden lush but for now it is simply off limits. So today I’m totin’ my gear and my umbrella all over town while preparing for an event at South Street Seaport for the gig and saying “Man, if this keeps up I’m just gonna go home”. Now of course that would mean I would be Yella-gible so I had to think about this decision carefully. Roundabout 4:30pm the sky lightened from dark gray to silver with a hint of blue even, so my decision was made. The Meadow would certainly be closed so I’m going to the Bandshell and if nobody else is there, well they’ll all be Yella.

Upon my arrival I see Fearless Lou ( who gets my vote as the Most Improved Player of 2006*), Rob, and get this, the one and only Jonathan Williett making his first A*T appearance of the year. Given the reports we got during the winter of diverticulitis and a stay in the ICU, this was just a HUGE BLESSING!!!! Big Ups to the Most High for guiding our friend through the darkness and into the light once again. Teddy O and Brad were also on hand taking some time to chat with three 10-year old boys about what we were doing and then teaching them how to throw and show them a couple of catches etc.

Willett, Rob, and Fearless got up for the first Jam of the Day and got a nice Flow. Willett looked good, making some of his signature double spinning seals and sweet rolls appearing none the worse for the wear. Rob of course was Rob (My condolences once again to my Brother who lost his Mom just a few days ago–I Love You my Friend) making all types of ridiculous to the sublime plays and the aforementioned Fearless Lou raising the level of his play yet again. * – I would posit that he has made the most remarkable strides as a player that I have ever seen in such a short time, especially given he is no longer a puppy.

Once I got myself changed and nailed up, I joined in with Brad and Tedley and we got a nice groove going. Everbody has their thing and with Bradford T. it is an amazing array of throws with either hand that come in from every imaginable angle with mega Z’s. This means ya gotta be ready for anything and that was just fine with me. Around this time Fresh, Roger, and Quinn-O arrived followed by Joey–who I was gettin’ ready to talk bad about. While Roger was the original Yella Jersey designee based on his wriggling outta wearin’ the rag time and again, the Board quickly convened and gave Mr. Q the DIS-honor since he was AWOL last week. Rob, Quinn, and J-Will got a head of steam real quick as did Roger, Fresh and Joey who were all business as they started play. Mr. Fried said he wasn’t feellin’ it but that didn’t stop him from making several double spinning seals including a Carpe Diem Gitis with very serious ground clearance.

Meanwhile, Teddy and Fearless were up so after I paused to hydrate, I hopped in with them and boy was that a blast.

The sequence of the day goes to Teddy O who did something so unique it was immediately given the name: a “Phineas Fogg”. This was no ordinary “Around the World” which is tough enough. In this case, he chased down an errant throw near the benches at the southwest corner the playing area barely eluding damage to life and limb. Now that would be enough for most mortals, even among the most skilled but not our TO. He gained control and started to run, brushing and tipping as he went, going around a huge Oak tree surrounded by an iron fence.

Now to complete this circumnavigation he not only had to cover about 40 yards, but he had to do so following a path between two iron fences while still controlling the disc. Not only did he do this with grace but he managed to make a nifty flying under the leg catch for the finish. It was not the prettiest move of the day, which was this incredible catch and throw all in one motion pulled off by Joey (aka The Oracle), nor the Daintiest which has to go to Fearless for the UD roll seal into a Counter UD overhand throw, but the level of concentration, athleticism, and sheer stick-to-it-tiveness was unparalleled in my view.

Jam of the Day Honors go to…ANY JAM FEATURING JONATHAN WILLETT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next week!!!

Tall Paul, the Jammin’ Heaver

P.S. How could I leave out the presence of the Lovely Chrissy, Margaritas in tow, Jill toting the twins, and Mighty Mike Heaver passing through on his bike before leaving for Guatemala on Sunday? Much love to them all!

P.S.

Hello to all,

The past couple of weeks have been relatively uneventful on the Emerald Expanse. The turnout has been solid and the jams routinely excellent. The stars were in a unique alignment for the Jam of of the Day from May 25th. While there were a couple 3’s & one 4-man, resident shredmeisters Teddy O and Rob Fried paired for a two man. For whatever biorhythmic reasons, these guys have not played together that often this season but when they did it was a sight to behold.

When Doug E. Fresh was invited in to bust he politely declined saying later “When Ted ‘n Rob are going ‘mano a mano’ it’s better to stay outta the way.”

It was a really cool Jam to watch because the skill level and degree of difficulty was so high and they both were having a blast raising the ante.

Yeah, the both hit a variety of gitis’ (gitii – “guy-tie”?) but for me there were many combos even more impressive with Rob’s machine-like precision juxtaposed with Ted’s almost operatic flourishes. And with each Phlaud seal answered by a barrel roll, or some daring spin combination, they kept egging each other to greater heights. Man, I love this stuff!!!

Last week’s edition of All*Star Thursday was held under an overcast sky but the rains held out until the last catch was made. The ageless Trevor Brown, Fearless Lou, Joey, Fresh, Rob, Pat*, Brad, Jan (the Yella Jersey designee who wore it with distinction), along with the Lovely Chrissy all were on hand.

Jestin the Mighty Heaver was also in the house so I have able to get my long toss groove on with great joy. Jam of the Day honors go to the last Jam featuring Joey, Ted, Fresh, Jan, and Pat. There was some very nice team work in this one with a couple of 5-man O’Malley’s and some really fine footwork on the part of our man from Denmark. The end of the day came with thunder and lightning coming in from the West and the call for a final dropless set of seals. Joey through down the gauntlet, followed by Dougie, Ted, Jan, and then the pressure was on Pat who did and nice roll combination into his signature spinning behind the back catch to the cheers of the crowd…okay it was just us shouting encouragement but I have a Poetic License in my wallet. 😉 Until next time…

Tall Paul, The Jammin’ Heaver

* – The Rejector of the Yella Jersey has not had his punishment meted out yet though several fine suggestions have bee broached. No Güb for an hour was however deemed cruel and unusual punishment

Hello to my Plastic Peeps,

The May 18th All*Star Thursday Command Performance featuring Left Coast Shredmeister Dave Schiller was a very serious gathering of the Hard Corps of the Big Apple. The weather forecast was foreboding, calling for a beautiful day with a chance of “isolated thunderstorms” to coincide with the late afternoon early evening rush hour. Hmmmm…immediately after the Yankee game which Joey, Fearless, Roger, and the aforementioned Chillman were attending and during our scheduled prime Jam time? Ah, the weatherman has been wrong before.

I could see beautiful blue skies to the East and a line of dark clouds coming in from the West. But we Noo Yawkuhs are a hearty bunch and pressed on.

When I got to Sheeps Meadow the Ageless, Trevor Brown, Jan from Denmark, and Richie Regensberg making a rare A*T appearance from LonGuyland, were already playing with the dark clouds now overhead. In short order Ted, Doug, and then Joey arrived with news of a Yankee loss and a report that Roger, Fearless, and Schillz were on the way. Mr. Fresh, as he was getting dressed said it best:

It’s crucial to start playing before the rain comes because once you’ve broken a sweat, getting wet just doesn’t matter so much. Rob, the Yella Designee then arrived so I stopped stretching to make the official presentation of the Jaundiced Jersey and shortly thereafter the beisbol fans came in.

After greetings the Jams began. Joey, Ted, Jan, and Quinn got up; Myself, Fearless, Trevor, and Richie; then Schillz, Fresh, and Roger all got going. At about this time Brad arrived bringing the first few raindrops and quickly jumped in with that last threesome and they instantly got hot. I did notice some very serious disc movement, hein combos and a long stretch where the disc did not touch the ground from that group. And then the rain came…

Now we pride ourselves on not needing “no stinkin’ conditions and this was our opportunity to prove it. Richie and Trevor took refuge under umbrellas showing a degree of common sense clearly lacking on the rest of us who soldiered on as the rain began coming down in earnest. It was right around this time during a particularly hot sequence that Schillz nailed a reverse spinning Gitosis seal and immediately thereafter the disc exploded in spectacular fashion on the next tap. Moments later, almost as if on cue, the first thunderclap was heard but we cared not.

Trevor came out from under the umbrella when the rain eased up a little and used a disc as a camera shield to take some pix of the event.* Then the first man-made threat to the festivities came: The Parkies came to stop play as they were closing the Meadow. Your intrepid reporter went into Negotiator mode, charming and cajoling away until I convinced these fine gentlemen to give us just a little more time…YEAH BABY!

* – Pix will be posted with this report on Frisbee.com…Big Ups to Tommy!!!!

It was still raining and there was a little lightning in the distance when Fearless and I got back to it. We got a nice rhythm and were joined by Schillz and then Joey. Things became a blur for me at that point but I do remember Schillz hit a Gitis pull into a nasty combo passing it to Joey who did a smooth brush combo to a very casual Gitis seal. What seemed like moments later Donovan the Parkie came to shut us down but Fresh said Bandshell? and the Board concurred in short order. What came next was something I will remember for the rest of my life.

The key to a Jam at the highest level is not individual virtuosity where one player tries to pack all of his best moves into one sequence. It is to receive the throw, make the appropriate play(s) and pass it on or seal it, to get everyone involved. As the circle remains unbroken the energy level increases and then it becomes special. Upon reflection I thought of Wynton Marsalis who in 1883 won Grammy’s in both Jazz & Classical music–that is what came to mind when I envision what I saw. Tournament play fits the Classical format and these guys all have made their bones there. Jazz bring in the freeFLOWing improvisational element that makes Jamming special. The Encore Bandshell Jam with the fearsome foursome of Chillman, Joey, Ted and Fresh is etched in my mind the way the lost Monk/Coltrane sessions must have echoed in the imaginations of those who bore witness. How does one describe that which goes beyond words?

When I asked da’ fellas what they recalled these were the responses I got:

Rob AND ??  It was hot¦so hot I wanted to bust real bad but I had to just wait and watch. Roger I couldn’t tell you any one thing ”they just SHREDDED When the Flow is right, you can’t describe it.

The Bandshell was clear of people for the most part and the Flow was instantaneous. Early on there were two, low Z quick-catch sequences with at least 15 exchanges and suitable seals. Things started to lose control when Ted hit a double spinning reverse Gitosis which Schillz answered with yet another Gitis pull into a massive combo. Right after this came a 6-pass O’Malley with a CHOMP of a perpendicular Scarecrow seal by Schillz. My mind was in sensory overload by this point but I got a quick cel phone video that looked like this: Dave lofted a clock set to Fresh; Fresh takes it against the spin to a rim delay for the angle set back to Schiller who flattens it for control, lets it fall to an angle for a quick brush to a vertical foot brush to Joey who does an inverted front roll off the set passing it to Ted who then works it into a frenzy and finishes with…with…I can’t even tell you how that one finished as my brain fell clean outta my head!

The rest of the Jam was a series of highlights with each player taking turns making spectacular plays and incredible passes in order to get the assist on the next most heinous of combinations. There was a roll sequence from Doug to Joey to Ted. There was Left Coast REPRESENTIN’ with Mr. Schiller chasing down an errant throw and catching it on the foot with a hopping toe delay. There was Joey somehow making everything he did look as if the disc made a personal request to please finish this soliloquy just so. There were several very Fresh moves and I even spotted two (count ‘em) Doug Mugs, not to mention a double spinning BIG AIR Gitis seal by Teddy O. I can’t even remember what the BEER move was to the end the evening but the round of High-5’s was heartfelt all around.

I must make mention that Mary and the lovely Chrissy (Margaritas in tow) joined in at the Bandshell as did Laurence the Parkie who gave us the grace period. He had checked us out last week and then cheered, ooohed and aaahed with the rest of us as I tried to do a little play by play on who was doing what. Finally, there was the incredible dinner hosted by Roger and his wonderful spouse Tricia to top off a very special All*Star Thursday indeed.

Ah yes…you were wondering who will be Yella? Well it would seem that several days of precipitation in New England must have made the roads impassable from a certain town known for overly thick beige Clam Chowder and a baseball team who wears Red (fishnet) Stockings. The Board took this under advisement and then voted ALL Y’ALL BAHSTON %$^#$%$’s YELLA!!! 😉

I know that was a long rant but it was a chapter in the All*Star Thursday Chronicles that will live on in the memories of us all and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Yours in Flight,

Tall Paul, the Jammin’ Heaver

Greetings to all Plastic Peeps,

How does one follow a maginficent inaugural A*T with multiple special guests?

Well, we went back to our roots. All of our participants were of the domestic variety but inspired by last week’s doings and another beautiful day, we carried on in style. When I arrived, the ageless Trevor Brown and my boy Fearless were up doing a light toss, with Lou trying to convince his strained thumb that ‘it’s only a flesh wound’. Mr. E. Fresh, Joey, Quinn-O, Roger, and Yella designee Pat were all getting nailed up and special guests Ms. Spook (consort of the Fearless one) and Phil Cruse, our resident martial arts and fitness expert made their first appearances of the season. Rob, Ted, Avi, Jill toting Claire and BenJAMin, Bradford T. and his new Danish lady friend, Jestin Heaver, and the lovely Chrissy with her trusty (NOT crusty) cooler filled with Margaritas rounded out the field.

During the stretching/prepping dear Patrick was given much grief for, well, being the Yella one by just about everyone (including your humble correspondent) but he took it in the spirit of the day and only cried once. Actually that might have been one of the kids but why ruin a joke with the truth. When my slow behind finally got out of civilian gear Ted, Quinn, and Trevor were up, with Joey & Fresh doing their thing with a 100E mold. Since Brothers don’t mess around with small discs, I let Fearless Lou bust those gents while I created a mini mob-op with the former. We got some nice flow going with Ted being in particularly good form early on. I think he must warm up in his office before coming out to the field. Trevor is rehabbing an injured wrist and Quinn-O’s cranky knee led them to drop out fairly quickly leaving Ted and I alone.

Now for you A-List jammers this is might be just another shredful round of play but for me? I gotta tell ya’ it was flat out inspiring. We already were warm so our flow was good. I always say that throws don’t get enough dap and if you are throwing strikes to a guy like T.O. anything can and will happen. As Joey aptly put it “it’s like feeding quarters into the pinball machine”. For this reason my description of any of the other Jams is extremely limited because I was too busy focusing on keeping up. Ted, as usual was hitting everything he tried. You want multiple roll combinations into a phlaud seal? Coming right up. Double legover to controlled ground work and back up to a nasty scarecrow seal? Okay! How about that crazy slap brush of my counter UD overhand into a variety of moves and a Gitis finish? Hell &%$^$^ Yeah, Baby!!!!!. Shucks, I even did some fancy footwork of my own getting a couple of foot brush sets and my Statue of Liberty drop to a heel kick that I never even tried before.

Now I can say that the 100E Jam grew into a mob-op featuring Joey, Pat, Doug E., Rob, and Roger that must have been wild because I kept hearing Fearless leading the peanut gallery in much hootin’ n’ hollerin’. Playing with the smaller disc mean you have to share more as they have less mass and retain spin for a shorter duration thus requiring a deft touch and a desire to make the pass and seal the deal. This was accomplished with style as dusk settled when Joey, Roger, Pat, and Fresh did a and amazing O’Malachy foot brush, brush, foot brush, brush, set, MIGHTY GITIS (BEER!!!!) SEAL to end the evening. It just doesn’t get any better than this!!!!

Kevin is the Yella designee for next week but I fear I know the identity for the following gathering. He walks in size 14’s and has to work. Dang!!!

Tall Paul, the Jammin’ Heaver

Whassup my brethren and Sistren,

The report I heard was that VA was a veritable shredfest with a couple of dropless routines and remarkable performances. Cograts to all participants.

A*T 4/13 was indeed notable for the fresh blooded Jammers (Bob & Jan) and the freshly bloodied and maybe DL’d Fearless Lou. Jamming with the mindset of a linebacker will sometimes get one in trouble, especially in new shoes on unforgiving concrete. Lou, Ted, Kevin and myself were in the midst of just getting rolling when my boy Fearless in full out “go for it” mode, found himself on the wrong end of a physics problem involving gravity, mass, motion, friction, rapid deceleration, and (unfortunately) impact. The upside was the raspberry on his dome was on the side with the titanium armor-plating–the downside was his thumb was not protected in the same fashion. Get those positive vibes going for his rapid recovery as we need the Juju he brings to our circle.

With Rob, Lou, Kevin, Tedley, Bob, Roger, Brad, Bob Jan, Pat (who will be Yella eligible this year), we had multiple mob ops. Roger, Rob, Bob, and Jan were up when I arrived and the Ted, Kevin, Lou and myself were in the ill-fated “nook” jam. Geographically speaking we have 4 areas to jam in: The Mainstage (by the Bandshell), the Stairs, the Nook, and the cranny. When Ted, Roger, and I continued we decided that the Cranny was better than the Nook (but Cran is never better than…well, you know) 😉 That jam wound up evolving into the Last Jam with Bob and Jan rotating in. Mr. Clutch should off his fast hands and Jan amazing fluidity and touch. Overall awesome. BTW – Joey, Trevor, Round Rich Heaver, Mary, and the Lovely Chrissy were spectators.

With a little luck the Meadow will be open next week and ALL*STAR THURSDAY 2006 will open our 3rd season!!!!

All the Best,

Yo, What Up, Yo?

The days are getting shorter as the summer races to a close but great weather and the promise of a party at Roger & Tricia’s brought out a large contingent of your fellow enthusiasts. Our Special Guest Jammers this week were Tom & Rick, the Flying Aces from the days of yore. With Tom making his 3rd consecutive appearance he now becomes eligible for the dreaded Yella Jersey though he’ll be safe for a week. You see, I neglected to mention that the designee last week was one Robert Fried, who donned ‘la camisa amarilla’ for the first time in history. HOWEVER, in being sick yesterday he committed the unpardonable sin of not making sure the Jersey made it out for the following week. Unless the Board shows a greater measure of mercy than is its habit, it will be his to wear yet again.

Along with our special guests, joining in the fray were most of our regulars and a couple of irregulars: Ted, Dougie, Lou (now known as The Unclean), the Ageless Trevor Brown, Avi, Roger, Joey, Bill Doobs (from the North), Richie (from the wilds of Long Island), Bradford T, Eddie and your intrepid reporter.

The Flying Aces got up with Ted n’ Lou to get things rolling early but then Dougie nailed up and split off with Tedley. Avi & Trevor got going strong and Roger busted in somewhere and continued his summer long shredfest. I got lucky this evening as not one but TWO Mighty Heavers were out there. Dan Weiss, a very serious long time Ultimate player, along with Aldo gave me the chance to stretch out at distance and I can tell you the pleasure was mine. Both of these guys are remarkable in their own flight and got me running and sweating up a storm. I then got in with Doobs and Richie in a mostly Counter Jam and had a blast.

The moves of the day were a big air UD Gitis seal off of foot brush by Dougie and Bill Doobs nailing his own Gitis off a blind, half turn scarecrow brush which ended what I thought was the combo du jour. Jam of the day honors went to Ted, Joey, Doug and the Unclean. The funny thing about that one was Joey came down as said “I’m just gonna be the Central Scrutinizer today–I’m just watchin’!” and then he proceeded to have a couple of Margarita’s provided by the lovely Chrissy. But ya’ know, when Old Demon Alcohol meets up with his pal Goober the best laid plans of mice and men are thrown to the wayside. Joey got up and as usual when he Ted and Doug get going all you can do is watch in wonder. Gonna have to get some video of this stuff as I simply can never remember all of what I have witnessed other than to say WOW!!!!

The party at the Meier’s was great with Tricia outdoing herself with Coconut Shrimp, a great pineapple/apricot dipping sauce, grilled veggies, a flaky crust tomato pizza hybrid, and a grapefruit/rum punch that was simply outstanding.

The Board decided they are welcome to have one of thse events every All*Star Thursday moving forward.

Paul

P.S. While I’m heading to the Left Coast on Thursday September 15th, Pipo is coming up from PR so if you’re gonna be in the NYC area that is a good one to make it to. Hope to see all the CA Jammers at Chipper’s Jam.

I have been lax in my reportage lately and I wanted to let you know that last night’s gathering of the Frisbee Faithful was both well attended and full of bon-homies. The weather was spectacular as has been the case for the past several days and while there was little breeze, at least it was not swirling.

My daughter (Carina) and I were the first folks out followed by Ted n’ Chrissy who came fully prepared to make Margarita’s (shaken, not stirred). Fearless Lou, Rob, Roger, Doug E. Fresh, Joey, Brad, Kevin, and the Ageless Trevor Brown rounded out the field. Our special guest Jammer was Tom Robideaux who introduced himself to me by saying that he heard about A*T’s via my ramblings here on JOTN–this was both deeply gratifying and humbling.

Tom and Ted, reprising their Rhodie collaboration, began the first Jam of the day with my boy Fearless while Doug and Rob elevated shortly thereafter. For myself, I started our by getting my long-toss groove on with Jamie, one of the major Heavers of the meadow. We got a very nice flow going as the field was wide open with plenty of room to roam. By the time we broke for water, I had a good sweat going. Ted busted Rob and Doug who were very hot indeed. Rob is playing extremely well as his performance at Naragansett will attest though his knee is bit balky and that trio was smokin’ as usual. As for the Jam of the Day honors, something extremely unusal happened…

When I was ready to Jam, I went to bust Joey and Roger who were already cookin’. Roger was nailing spinning seals in both directions and Joey looked better than I have seen for some time. He had that Eye of the Tiger thing going with just tremendous rhythm to his game. Maybe it was because my daughter was with me, but I jumped in with both feet and the it was ON! Roger hit several major combo’s including three Gitis’ one of which he just crushed off of an awesomely high under the leg set. Joey hit “the best Bodonkodonk of my life” along with a counter combo featuring an angled tap over his head to a foot brush behind him to quick guide to a heel kick to a scarecrow catch. I saw it and it just took me 5 minutes to put it into words and I’m still not doing it justice. We also had mulitple O’Malley’s with the disc moving from man to man to man again and again. As for myself–all I can say is I kept up with these guys at their hottest and hit a couple of first time moves though I just missed the Gitis I was going for in the heat of the battle. We went at it long and hard with a very high degree of difficulty until the sun was setting.

When I looked up, even Ted had sat down so it is with a measure of pride and a deep respect for all on the field that I call ours the Jam of the Day.

I should mention that Roger’s family came out, as did Jill E. Fresh (sans progeny), Tom brought his son and we had a bunch of our friends join us as well. It was a truly great evening for all. Until next time…

Tall Paul

Hey Now!

T-minus a few days to the World’s and instead of venturing Westward “I gotta go
grease Wheezer”–Get ‘yer minds outta the gutter–that’s a pop culture reference
which works only for the Elder Statesmen in the crowd. Anyhoo…

There was a light turnout this week as there was a big hootenanny in upstate NY
featuring Hot Tuna which several of our brethren attended (Roger, Brad, Joey,
Rob). They floated an appeal to the Board that since they would be Jammin’ up
yonder, they should be ineligible for the dread Yella Jersey. This request was
summarily DENIED!!!! The designee will be Joey H. (the first man to ever wear
said garment) unless he is still on the Injured Reserve list, in which case
Rob’s will serve as the alternate.

Myself, Kevin, Avi, Fearless Lou, Dougie, and a late arriving ageless Trevor
Brown rounded out the field with Jill, BenJAMin and Claire hanging out in
support of the paternal unit. The main event Jam started with Doug and my boy
Fearless warming up, me bustin’, and then Kevin making it a fearsome foursome.
While Fresh was the only Jedi Master in attendence, the Padwan Learners managed
to use the Force effectively enough to generate some nice flow. Doug had
several combo du jour moves including an extraordinarily tight “around the
world” into a series of front and back rolls which ultimately led to a very
sweet barrel roll seal. Not to mention any number of other outrageously
marvelous moves.

So after the Jam as we were all catching our breath, your intrepid reporter
reminded himself of his promise to share other perspectives which lead to the
following exchange:

Paul: “So Doug…Why do you play–what brings you to out to the game?”

Doug: “Hmmmm…(several seconds go by and Doug goes to the wifey for the
assist) Jill, why do I come out to play.”

Jill: [without missing a beat] “Because when Doug is out here Jamming, he is
his “most authentic self”. I sometimes come to see him play just because of
that fact.”

Now I usually don’t go for the profound when I write for you folks but the
fundamental–no, make that ELEMENTAL truth of that statement made me think long
a hard about a number of things from how that rings true for me whenever I am in
the Meadow to the fact that Jill’s wanting to share in her husband’s joy was
sorely lacking in my own now dissolving marriage. Truly amazing this sport of
ours. One friend described it as Tai Chi with a tool and I could not agree
more. Our Flow certainly appears to be a manifestation of Chi and one could
extend that to the Jedi concept of the Force in certain ways. And yes I do want
a real Light Saber more than any amount of $$/sex/power in the world.

Hey, If I can’t get metaphysical on yo’ collective a***s periodically, what good
is sharing the vibe? What–you think such ideas only occur out on the Left
Coast?

Good luck to all competing/attending the Worlds. I will be thinking of youse.
I hope everyone goes dropless and makes the judging tough. May the mob-op Jams
before/during/after be filled with the joy and delight of new blood.

Tall Paul