Baby... Its Cold!!

Polar Bear Plunge--- I have never ever liked to be cold. In fact, it was just a few years ago that I made a concious decision not to hybernate during the winter. I slowly but surely bought the right clothing and gear to allow me to "play" out doors in the coldest of months. None of that prepared me for this adventure. I had heard about people doing something called a Polar Bear Plunge for the first time, when I was a kid. I was sure it was in a far off land, where the people had thick skin and strange customs. It definitely wasnt in my back yard. Even at this young age my first thought was "They must be idiots!". No adventure that Ive ever undertaken has required less gear, or less skill and yet has provided as much of a thrill as this one has.. Read on, cause now - I am one of those idiots. Dave ******************************** The event was held in support of The Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation. This foundation is a non-profit organization that provides assistance to Wounded EOD Warriors and their families in the form of financial relief. An Explosive Ordinance Disposal “Warrior” has volunteered to be a part of a Military EOD program within one of the services. Despite the sun and relative warmth of the day there were seagulls sitting on the frozen water near the railroad bridge at the City Docks and the Fredericksburg Rescue Squad was breaking 1+ inch thick of ice away from the boat ramp. The intent was to “Plunge” 4 at a time till all one hundred attendees had frozen themselves to the core. Many of the plunger’s had plunged before. Everyone that showed up, was in good spirits and seemed exited at the prospect of making themselves into a popsicle. All around you could hear experiences being shared. One guy had plunged twice last year and swore he wasn’t doing that again. The first time, he said was fine, but the second time he felt pins and needles. He looked way too serious as he told me. There was a costume contest. Team Costumes included a full entourage of the Peter Pan crew complete with the infamous crocodile and a cigar smoking Wendy. Rocky and Bullwinkle along with Natasha and Boris were the Team costume winners, while a very brave and confident man dressed as Borat in his “slingshot” bikini took top individual honors. I was told by one of the other Polar Peril Seekers it wasn’t considered an actual Plunge until water got above your knees, but the ultimate was to swim the 20 feet out to the rescue boat, touch it and then come back. This defined my approach. I was simply going to swim out the boat and maybe do the backstroke back in. It was go time! I was in group that included 2 Lady Libertys and Captain EOD. I was not in costume, I figured I had enough to contend with without trying to embarrass myself too. In I went up to my knees; I heard the gasps of the Lady Liberties (Woosies, I thought) and then I jumped, . The water temperature was in the low thirties. I went further out past the “rescue” divers (which I assumed was for the purposes of a good show.) I kept going still only about 15 feet from shore. Things were feeling good, I was sticking to my plan. Then it began. The weight of the situation finally began to register. Each of my body systems started checking in; knees and other joints registering complaints… my lungs literally wanted to stop taking in air.. or was trying to take in too much air, either way, I couldn’t breathe and I was in water over my head. My pores all slammed shut simultaneously and I'm certain that my voice, had I said anything would have come out in a higher pitch. The most incredible thing is that my brain lost all unnecessary thought. Only one remained… and like the voice from Amityville, it only said one thing “Get Out!!” I was just a couple of feet from the boat but that didn’t matter. The feelings were primal and as far as my body knew we were in survival mode. It decided that we were heading back in to shore…. Nerve endings began firing off; it felt almost like I was being pelted from the outside of my skin. Pelting = fire and ironically Ice… hundreds of pokes to my skin. The description from the earlier plunger did not do this feeling justice. My movements were forced and deliberate. I could hear the laughter from the on lookers as I made my way out. I'm sure that the laughter was in enjoyment of the spectacle. Each of us made a different face indicating our reaction, but I'm certain they had no idea of what was going on in my mind. They have no idea.

We be Jammin'

Warning: this is a stream of consciousness post…  I took part in my first guitar Jam session this past weekend. I have some friends down in Norfolk that were having, of all things, a Ground Hog’s Day party.. Any excuse to invite friends over will do, I guess. This was a thrill for me…. Because it is very, very different than the way I typically play music. This was 6 guitarists with 6 different styles with 6 different interpretations of the same songs. The results were a lot of fun. This next statement may just be my own lack of self confidence in my playing…. But, I was the most inexperienced player there. Which basically means I learned A LOT. This type of playing was more about playing together… simple 3 chord tunes like “Mustang Sally” that everyone knows. I am typically playing by myself in my living room.. working a song towards my perception of perfection. Lack of perfection was more than acceptable in the jam session. Sitting in the garage in a circle of chairs, 5 acoustic guitars, one electric. One guy would start out the rest would pick up with the rhythm … the next guy would start singing.. Then another would take on the lead guitar role… at the end of that tune, the next person in the circle was expected to start the next song. And so it would go all the way around til it started over again. During the playing, everyone was encouraged to wail out the chorus… some would sing just the way that they had last heard the song on the radio…. Others would try very hard to harmonize… others would just loudly hum a muffled version of the words. It became a menagerie of sound that somehow made sense. Beatles tunes; Van Morrison; Old Soul; Buffet… all were represented really well. Our host for the evening is a relatively new friend of mine, Mick. He and I had played together several times before with the first time being when we met with our Significant others while on a trip to Keywest. This is another story in itself. (for another time). He had not played music with most of the others. They were well seasoned performers that had played together frequently at local pubs etc. Mick was beside himself at having them play in his garage. It became his turn. Now you should know that Mick is no slouch at the guitar, He usually but not always, fingerpicks and always sings. Every song that he takes on becomes his very own. He started enthusiastically with the Doobie Brother’s “Long Train Running”… and the group just fell in behind him, but the show was all his. He was so into it that his guitar strings began making sparks… This is not a joke. No one could believe it… also, no one got a picture of it. Turns out that he was using a pick, which is rare for him… and this pick was made of Jade. It was a very cool thing to see… and the sound it produced was incredible. When he finished…. Everyone cheered loudly.. it was one of those exciting moments that comes without warning and everyone.. the 6 guitarists and the 20 people listening were in awe. As for me… I realize I have a lot of work to do… I enjoy my playing, but like I said earlier, I'm working a tune to perform it… not that this is bad.. and I do really enjoy it. I want to be able to take more of a role in this type of an outing too… So, I’ll be working on my 3 chord tunes… and my timing and my singing and my memorization of the Keys and… and… and… well, working on just allowing myself to have fun playing just for fun’s sake. I am however thrilled to have been involved in this event. I keep learning new ways to have fun.. Dave