[thechat] Duck Bucketing --- wuz Something Really Silly

[Luther, Ron]

A thousand pardons Messieur Nagrom ... 
     ... I had thought you were the keeeedding weeth me!!

Wow! What a cool sport!

My stupid conference call ran late Friday, which stuck me in rush hour 
traffic ... which wasn't moving. I 'opted out' into a shopping center 
to kill some time ... instead of some fellow commuters. By coincidence, 
there just happened to be a sporting goods store in there!  ;-)

Being rush hour, the store was pretty empty. Which was nice ... but it 
also meant I was quickly pounced upon by one of the freckled-faced 
weasel youths:

"Can I help you, Sir?"

Wishing to wipe that smug grin off his face ... and just being a general 
purpose smartass, I replied: "Sure! I'd like to see the 'duck bucketing' 
equipment if you don't mind." ... just to stop him dead in his tracks.

It worked too! 

... but only for a moment ... then he smiled ... 

(bad sign, that)

... and said "Of course, Sir! This way please." ... and walked off.


Now ... I let him get a good head start. I'm from up North ... so I 
know all about leading smartass customers into the back room where your 
buddies can beat the hell out of them ... (A word to the wise for our 
overseas shoppers!)

Sonuvagun! ... It wasn't quite what I expected ... but they had the gear!

Dude tried to gloat, asking me if I preffered 'meadow ducking', the 
traditional 'pond ducking', or the new 'free-range ducking'.

Now ... I already knew he was a smug kid, so I figured he might try to 
call my bluff ... but I'm an old dog and I know better than to let him 
know when he's got the better of me ... so I've been quickly scanning 
the gear ... he's just putting names to it for me. 'Meadow Ducking'; 
that's gotta be the padded handle baskets ... to protect your wrists. 
"Free Range'; he called it 'new' so that's *gotta* be the bright green 
stuff with the sharp angles to appeal to the younger 'extreme sports' 
crowd ... Anything left has to be 'traditional' ... hmmmmm.

I casually reached for one of the blander looking wicker buckets and 
snapped back with: "Oh, the traditional of course! What *else* do you 
have for entry level 'pond ducking'?"

He was crestfallen!  ---- <pumps fist /> ---- Yes!!!!    ;-) 

[Hey. 'Shopping' is also a 'sport'. Ya gotta play to win!]


Anyway. Dude hooked me up man! I got ...

* Gloves - Gotta keep them hands dry to keep a good grip on the bucket!
* Sleeves - Safety First! (You can get a nasty nip on your forearm 
without a decent set of sleeves.)
* Spiked Rubber Boots - (I went with the FootJoys. The color scheme on 
those Nikes was way too 'over the top' for me!)
* and a full set of Buckets - A standard set of wickers and a #1, #3, and 
#5 rattan ... for distance.  They had a few of those new Nike composite 
material buckets ... even that new 4500cc #1 ... but those prices were 
waaaaay out of my range! Whoa!  Who buys that stuff?

The buckets themselves weren't what I expected. They would be hard to 
describe to anyone who hasn't seen them. If they resemble anything - 
hmmmm - I would have to say it would be a mutant union between Art Deco 
woven baskets and those LaCrosse thingamabobbies. 

But you know? Now that I have a set ... I'm pretty sure I've seen 
people carrying these around before ... I just didn't recognize what 
they were!

It wasn't bad. I got out for about $225 ... plus tax ... and got directions 
to some local courses.

Couldn't get out Saturday ... too much going on.

Got up early Sunday morning ... and the weather was perfect! Light wind. 
Upper 50's. Nice steady rain. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day 
for ducking! I was pretty stoked!

It took me longer than I thought ... cuz it wasn't well marked ... but 
eventually I found the course.

I stopped at the pro shop ... paid my pond fees, bought a large box of 
bread crumbs (I certainly didn't want to run out halfway through my first 
round!), grabbed a scorecard, one of those damnable miniature pencils, 
and headed off to the first waddle.

I hung around there for a while waiting for a group that was one short 
of a gaggle ... that wouldn't mind having a beginner join them.

{One of the nice things about living in Texas is that you **never** have 
to wait long to find a group that is 'one short of a gaggle'!}


Anyway ... it was great! I had a little trouble on the fourth waddle when 
I totally shanked my #3 rattan ... nothing but feathers ... not even past 
the ladies nest ... (good thing I wasn't 'meadow ducking' ... the rest of 
my gaggle told me about _that_ rule!)

Overall I think I did quite well. I can see some areas for improvement, 
but for an initial attempt I'm pretty pleased. I did get a little annoyed 
with my group on the sixteenth ... they were all quite insistent that I 
use a #7 wicker. I'm just a newbie. I'm not that long. I should have gone 
with a 6 ... or maybe a 5 with a 3/4 scoop. I dunno. But next time I'm not 
going to listen to them ... it's all about pond management and playing 
within yourself.


So Hey --- Good Ducking!!


RonL.

(Enthusiastic new player)
(Ooooo! ... Looks like more rain for next weekend!!)  ;-)