And I have to brag a little bit tonight because I had one of my best evenings of bowling in a while... probably ever.
I opened the night with a 185... only left two frames open.
Then the bowling gods of east Houma helped me out a little by helping me bowl a 203. I started with three strikes and again, only left two frames open. I had my game printed out and I showed my roommates when I got home. Will was quick to point out that I also bowled a No-Tap 300. (No-Tap bowling means you're credited with a strike if you bowl a nine on your first roll of a frame) Because I ether had a strike or a nine.
I finished the night with a 137... still well above my average.
That gave me a 525 for my three games. Misty had a night like this a while back, and because she was in a league, she got patches and pins for a 200 game and a 500+ 3-game series. I got a "My Little Pony" sticker from Taylor. (I think I got the better of the deal there)
During league nights, the girl at the counter will read the names of bowlers who get over a 200. I begged to have my name read but no luck. She said because it was league night and everybody knows everybody that she'd get in trouble if she announced a name that nobody knew. Ahh well.
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I thought I'd also pass along a recent "Matt Stamey" I pulled last week. Just to refresh your memory... a "Matt Stamey" is something that happens to me (or anybody for that matter) that would be embarrassing to most, but because they happen so often, I can just laugh them off.
Anyway, last weekend, I was photographing a group of Army National Guard members training how to enter and exit a Black Hawk Helicopter while it was running.
The Army guys broke into groups of about ten and waited for the chopper to start. Once the blades were turning at full speed, the guys ran in a single file line chanting "HutHut Hut Hut HutHut" like you see in the movies. Once on the chopper, it took off, flew around for a few minutes, and landed in the grass where the soldiers filed out and laid on the ground "securing the perimeter"
It was pretty intense.
First, I photographed the guys unloading from the helicopter. They all jumped out, flopped on the ground and pointed their guns in all directions.
Then I went to where the guys were trotting onto the chopper. I would run backwards along side the soldiers photographing them as they ran towards the chopper. I'd stop about 10 feet from the Black Hawk, get on my knees, and photograph the dudes running past me and up into the helicopter. Then get up and run back a little ways as the chopper took off.
Pretty exciting... and windy.
On the last group, I thought I had it down. I knew what angle I wanted to get, I knew where to stop and get on my knees and I guess I got a little full of myself.
I ran backwards shooting the dudes running.
I stopped, dropped to my knees and got some great shots of the guys running past me and into the Black Hawk.
I started to stand up and back-pedal away from the chopper before it took off. But the force of the wind from the propellers and me being a little off balance knocked me smack on my butt.
So there I am, with all my camera gear, on my back with my feet up in the air, 10 feet from this HUGE helicopter about to take off. I hurry and get up thinking to myself... "it wasn't that bad, maybe nobody saw me."
Nope... when I got back to where the rest of the guys were standing, they all started clapping and cheering. I waved and nodded and I'm sure my face was a little red too.
The only injury suffered from the fall was by my pen. It had been in my back pocket and absorbed most of my impact with the cement. It has a nice little scar and it cracked in the middle. But I've patched it up and am still using it today.
Lesson Learned: Helicopters are friggen windy.
