| February 01, 2006 |
| 2 Guys at a Rock quarry in the Dark |
What do you get when you have 2 guys at a rock quarry in the dark? A recipe for fun and disaster.
Once again we find Darren the Dashing in one of his most common settings. He's doing something crazy with a friend and in the dark. How many times has Darren the Dashing been involved in an activity at nighttime without any lights? Nothing ever happens to Darren the Dashing (except for running into a barbed-wire fence). The friends with him, however, are more likely not to navigate the darkness quite as well.
Darren the Dashing works out with one of his friends, Mike Treat every week. The setting is usually in his garage. Last week the venue had to change. Main reason is Mike got rid of his bench and hadn't gotten a new one yet. You see, Mike's a man going through a transition phase. He's getting married, but we won't hold that against him. I met Mike at his new house that his fiance is living in but not him. (He's a good boy)
I got to his house just when it was getting dark. After waiting a few minutes while Mike took care of business at the First National Porcelain Bank, we loaded up in the truck and Mike told me to drive. (Oh NO! I've been hi-jacked!) Mike wouldn't really tell me where we were headed. He would just say turn right, turn left, turn right and pull over. The place we went to was about a mile from his house. I came to stop in a driveway entrance to a rock quarry. Keep in mind it is now dark. If it wasn't for the headlights shining for a few moments, we wouldn't have seen the cable stretched across the drive that keeps fools like us out. HAH! Didn't work.
The purpose of being at where we were was to throw and flip rocks. It's not your everyday work-out routine that's for sure. Did I mention that we were in the dark without any flashlights? The only source of light was from a distant street light and the occasional car.
First line of duty was to find some rocks. Calling this place a rock quarry may be misleading. It was more of a dirt quarry with some rocks. We found an area that was had some potential. Mike pauses for a moment. "You know," he say, "this is really stupid. I hope we don't get into a snake's den." Oh, boy did my spirits raise on that thought. Without missing a beat, I replied, "It's winter time. We shouldn't have a problem." My brain heard what my mouth said and sent a warning message to my mouth. "Don't say such dumb things without consulting me first. It's been a warm winter and it just rained." All my mouth could do is move up and down like a fish's mouth. Forget about having nun-chuck's skill, I need to work on communication skills.
We found three different sizes of rocks: big, bigger, and biggest. The smallest weighed about 20 -25 pounds. These we shot-putted down the road: three times with the right and three times with the left. We couldn't see where the rocks really went. We just followed the cloud of dust. My rock kept getting lighter every time I threw it. It wouldn't break the way a normal rock should break. Layers would split off. This wasn't too bad. We kept a safe distance from each other.
The medium sized rock weighed about 35-40 pounds. It came with built-in hand holds. We threw this rock backwards over our heads. Sounds simple I know, but not really. While you threw over your head, you were supposed to jump at the same time. It was more comically looking than anything else. On my first attempt, I split my pants. My second attempt I almost threw the rock straight up (not good). Finally on my last attempt, I got the rock to go some distance. While one was throwing the rock, the other kept track of the dust cloud.
Mike thought it would be good to pass this same rock to each other like a medicine ball. I didn't say we would catch the rock. The problem with throwing a 40-pound rock to someone else in the dark is YOU CAN'T SEE! I had the benefit of facing the distant street lamp. I could at least see a shadow moving towards me. Poor Mike. All he had was darkness. He had no clue where the rock would be landing until it was right upon him. I knew this. I was nice for a few throws. I gave the rock an arch to let Mike have a chance to see it. I got bored with that. I started throwing the rock more in a straight line. It's nice to see a big guy having good reflexes. One time the rock bounced 2 feet in the air and right at Mike's legs. He did a quick move and the rock sailed safely between his legs. (I'm telling you I was having a good time. It reminded me of all the times Heather and I would do silly things in the dark)
Now we move on to the last rock. The rock of all rocks. The rock that should not be moved by hands alone. This rock easily weighed over 135 pounds. The goal was to flip the rock five times. I had it easy. I was going downhill. I had gravity helping me. Since it rained recently, everytime I'd flip the rock it got muddy. I prepared it for Mike. Mike's turn consisted of him flipping the rock uphill with the rock covered in mud. At one point, he was able to get the rock past the point of no return when his hands slipped. The rock went over but Mike landed on top of it with his chest.
This was a new experience for Darren the Dashing. He has had adventures similar, but not involving massive rocks to throw. I had a good time. The darkness doesn't deter me. I look at the darkness and laugh. I don't run until I hear the hyenas. |
posted by Dare @ 7:57 AM  |
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| 1 Comments: |
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Oh man, that was a good laugh. I wish I could've watched that. What critical synapsis in the brain fails to fire to cause men to do such....uh....strange and often painful things?
Don't know...but it makes for great stories or blogs.
Laters
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Name: Dare
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Oh man, that was a good laugh. I wish I could've watched that. What critical synapsis in the brain fails to fire to cause men to do such....uh....strange and often painful things?
Don't know...but it makes for great stories or blogs.
Laters