Delay Post

So, I'm without an internet connection today. That's really weird, considering how often I am online. It has changed the dynamics of the day quite a bit. I'm not going to say that it's been a bad thing though, in a way it has been liberating. It's 11 oclock,and I'm going to get to bed before 12. I was able to take a huge nap today, and still hang out with the family. I watched a little show on KBYU about the amazon, and how the land goes through cycles and stuff. Pretty cool business, I love cycles and self-regulating systems. Self-regulating systems are things of beauty. I think that is where things are going to head in the future. Evolutionary algorithms are going to take AI to crazy new places, and it's because it's a self-regulating system. Without going too deep into it, seeing as I think I've done it before, I really like self regulating systems. I think that capitalism is going to kick butt. It's still kicking butt. Why? Because it regulates itself. If something sucks, nobody buys it and it's out of there. If something rocks, people buy it, and there we have it. If you don't like the way a particular news outlet presents the news, listen to someone else. Go read BBC instead of fox. After long enough, BBC is rich and Fox isna. So, yea verily, have a little faith in capitalism.

Now, on to the good stuff. Due to the great time I had writing all those dreams down a while ago, I've been wanting to do more of it. Nobody likes to hear about events, people want to hear about ideas. I can remember events just fine, the important ones at least. It's the ideas that run away from me, that get lost somewhere between falling asleep and waking up. Therefore, you get another idea tonight. This one has very very little chance of ever happening. In order to accomplish it, I'd need to be motivated. We all know that I struggle in this department. I know that I'm capable of mowing the lawn, and I know that I need to mow the lawn. I've known this since Monday. I'm not sure who decided to change the way we do things around here anyways. A few summers ago we decided not to water the lawn, and we only had to mow once a month. Now we're all pro-environment, and gotta water once a week. The grass grows like mad! I mow it and three days later it's huge again. It's healthier than Ghandi on a diet of chopped up Rambo. So, basically, I need to mow the lawn, and haven't.

Which illustrates my previous point: I'm good at thinking stuff, and bad at doing stuff. That's how I see it. At least I can recognize the problem though. That's the first step right? I think that I'm going to start designating one day a week as the "Shutup and do it" day. A day where I just do stuff that I've been meaning to do. Like clean the Van, mow the lawn, put my whiteboard back up, find batteries for my calculator, Fix my computer up a little bit, water the houseplants, clean up the yard, weed the garden, make that stupid chore chart I need for the merit badge, actually use that jump rope of mine so I can have mad hops. There's a huge list of stuff that I ought to do. I just gotta do it.

So, these dreams are so fun to have, but I rarely do anything. That hurts, I wanna do it. This next one, don't get your hopes too high in the sky. In order to get it done, I'd need a team of people to help out. I'd need motivated people that were right with me, equal in the planning, equal in the execution. I couldn't just pack up and do this. That's why it probably won't happen. But wow, it's not even a bad plan.

Like all good plans, it revolves around frisbee. I don't know why all my plans do, that's just how things go. Frisbee really isn't as big of a part of my life as it used to be. I don't spend as much time thinking about it as I did back in the day. The number of plans regarding frisbee as opposed to plans regarding anything else isn't an accurate representation of how my brain really works. The important thing to remember is that I'm a real person, with real ideas and hopes and dreams and feelings. I'm not just a frisbee bot. Even though that'd be really cool.

Anyways, next year. We're seniors, and we're pretty cool. Our cross country team has been very successful. We came out of the shadows and surprised everybody. Are we state champions? No. We're probably not even region champions. But all of the sudden we popped right back up and are contending against Skyline and Jordan. We're not the little floor-dwellers we used to be. We show up and people finally respect the team again, like they used to. We've got a huge team, bigger than this years by far. Everybody wants to come and run, people are finally remembering why it's so great, why it's fun. We're seniors, and we all did well last year. Everybody scored higher on the ACT than they expected to, we all passed those AP tests. We're taking it a little easier as seniors. We're filling in all those required classes that we have to. I might even take Health. Adult roles? you better believe it. We can finally drive other people around in our cars, things are looking good.

The Frisbee club is our pride and joy. Most of us play competitively for the team, and the rest show up to support. The dream has caught on around the state, and more and more schools are joining in on the fun. Play is getting competitive, but not losing the underlying sportsmanship. People are finally getting serious about the sport, and the board is moving towards making it an actual high school sport. Things are on the up and up.

Last year, we hosted the first annual Taylorsville Ultimate Invite. It was a big invitational, alot like a meet. We sent out invitations to teams and schools all over the place. Basically, we call them all out for a big tournament. They bring their men's team, or their women's team, or maybe even their mixed team. We run the big tournament, and eventually show up with a champion.

The whole environment is alot like the big track invitationals, except without the inherent downfalls. It's not a track meet, so you're not sitting in the bleachers for four hours. There's always a game going on, whether its on the main field or the side ones, it's always going on. Off to the side, there's a big halo tent set up. 16 or so people can come on in and play, for a little price. Gotta make money some how. There's concessions, there are teams milling around on their blankets, just chilling. There are the sweaty athletes, and the games going on all around. There's the sound system set up, with the man in the press box announcing.

Things progress, and we find ourselves with a champion. The main games are commentated by people who actually know what they're talking about. Things are exciting. Last year, the invitational was a huge success, and this year looks even better.

We've got more sponsors, and we've got more teams showing up. This year, it's not going to be a blowout like last time. This year they're all ready for it, and so are we. We've got more spectators, we've got more athletes, we've got a little more funding. We're set, this year is going to be pro.

It evolves in to a two day deal. Things kick off Friday night, with the dance under the stars. It's a modification of the dance we had last year as our pseudo fund-raiser. This year, we decided to open it up, and invite our friends from other schools. All the teams are welcome to come, even their fans are welcome. Same good wholesome music, same great atmosphere. It's a great time to get to meet the other people out there, make some friends. No competition tonight, no rivalry. We're all gonna be friends. Everybody is dressed up all pretty, and you get to chill and dance with the other teams. It's a great social event. A good time is had by all.

Tomorrow morning, the competitions start, and roll for a couple hours. As the games end, the teams want to stick around to see how the rest of the tourney goes. They don't have to, but they're welcome to, and they want to. By the time the championship game is being played, the stands are packed. Not with the parents that are obligated to be there, but by people that want to be there. Play gets way intense, commentated every step of the way.

Eventually we have a winner. They are awarded their prizes, and people say their goodbyes and go home. Our sponsors are happy with the turnout, we're happy with the turnout. We made some friends, played some raging ultimate, and raised some money. We all know that we'll be back next year, and that our friends from around the state will be too. It's the Taylorsville Ultimate Invitational. There was dancing, there was ultimate. There was even a little ultimate dancing.

~~~

Whoosh, end dream sequence. So... yeah. I go to track meets and CC meets all the time. I love tri-meets. They're so fast, so compact and quick. Only three schools. You get to run, and you've actually got a chance. You don't go into the race knowing that there are hundreds of kids that are just going to blow you away. You know that you're finishing in the top 50 no matter what, just because there are only 50 people. It's fun.

Invitationals, they could use some work. They've got so much potential. I know that they'd be fun for the really really talented athletes. But for the normal guys like me, it's just another race, cept you've got to chill for 4 hours before you run it.

This magical Taylorsville Invite would be my counter to that. It'd be the way that things ought to be. You've got the greatness of a region dance combined with the potential of an invitational. Throw in world class ultimate, and you've got a great event on your hands.

Will we ever do this? Not unless things go really really well. Will this ever happen? There's a really good chance. Maybe not for us, but for the generations to come. We're planting these seeds here. Ultimately, we want Ultimate to become a high school sport. In order for that to happen, we've gotta push it at the club level. Taylorsville is going to push it this year. We're going to push other schools to do the same. We're going to have a little T-ville tourney this year if things go well. It's not going to be huge, but it'll be an event, it'll be there. It'll be publicized. We'll make sure the word gets out. People are going to pay attention. And maybe, just maybe, someday in the future, somebody is going to be able to live my dream. Somebody is going to go to this dance friday night, and dance with the cutest girl ever. Halfway through the dance, he's gonna find out that she's got a boyfriend. He's gonna see him across the way, and be incredibly jealous. After all, this girl is cute, modest, athletic, smart, and funny. She's got the greatest smile ever. And she's got a boyfriend. Tomorrow morning, this kid is going to get out there on the field, and get the biggest sky defense on that guy. There the lucky boyfriend is, on an easy jog to catch the floater into the endzone. No one's around him, the offense has played amazingly quick, and he's got this point in the bag.

Then, out of obscurity our hero streaks. He knows what's on the line. He knows that his team can't afford another point for the bad guys. He knows he can't get there in time to make the swat. It's impossible, he's too far away. His legs too short, his heritage not African enough. He can't make it, the bad guys must score.

But deep down, he knows that it's go time. The laws of nature and space stand tall in his path, and he bears down on them like a rhinocerous with Rambo on its back. He charges, knowing full well that he can't make it.

But from somewhere, some power not his own, his legs pump faster and faster. He's moving faster than he's ever moved. The air parts to allow him passage through, the trees stop growing just to watch him run. The crowd stops short in their cheering and frolicking, and gape in stunned anticipation. Breathless they watch, as our hero attempts the impossible.

"No one can stop that disc, no one can catch that reciever! It's too far, it flies too fast. The bad guys scored, give up."

But this was no man. Pushed on by the dreams of countless of noble players that went on before him. They could not live this dream, but they would live it through him. He was not acting alone, for he was the combined forces and power of all of their wills. Brad, Dennis, Bryce, Michael, Jared, Huish. Levi, Thadeus, Kyle, Nick, James and Myself are all present as he and we and us together fly onwards towards the impossible.

The hushed silence urges our hero on. With the will of a hundred ultimate players hurdling along right beside him, he breaks the impossible limits. The unreachable is nearly reached, and he takes one more giant stride and leaps, Nor embracing the sky, but rather challenging it, begging it to forbid him passage. Let the forces of gravity defy him, for he cannot be stopped, and shall prevail.

It's almost too brilliant to tell. As he flew through the air, he knew that he had reached it. He knew that it was over now. With the combined dreams and will and forces of generations of frisbee old guard, he pulled back his arm and unleashed the dream. Through the awed silence one could hear the authoritative *smack*. It echoed and bounced, reverberating through everyone's heart.

We had done it. We had stared the impossible in the face and overcome. We stood up tall, all of us, and made the forces that held us back bow down.

The frisbee hits the ground, the defense had been made. The crowd leaps and roars, united. No matter which team they were for, they knew what had just happened. They knew that they had witnessed something true that day. Our hero had done it.

No showboating, no yelling. He gracefully allowed himself a little arm swing of power, and then began his jog back to his side. He'd let the handlers pick up the disc and initiate play, he was a striker. As he jogs back, his head turns and he sees the crowd, still on their feet. He hears their roars, feels the tremor of the bleachers as they are shaken and rocked by the excitement they contain.

And there she is, that perfect girl. In the bleachers, she's radiant. Attractive even from a distance, he is caught off guard. Still grinning like an idiot from his play, she catches his eye. he stumbles a step and tries to look cool, while his insides celebrate. He had just forsaken the impossible and Sky'd her boyfriend. He knew that he was stronger. He knew that his dumb and lame jokes were just that much funnier. He knew that his car had more character than that lucky kids he had just stuffed. He knew he'd make her that much happier, smile that much more.

Feeling high as the sky, albeit a little akward, he doesn't break the gaze. He can see her smiling, celebrating with the rest of the world at that moment. He had just sky'd her boyfriend, and she was happy about it. Did the hero get the girl? We'll let you decide. I don't think he got her that day, relationships tend to withstand frisbee smitings. But maybe someday, in the future, they'll meet again. And they'll look across that college auditorium, and smile that sly smile, both remembering the events of that weekend so long ago. "Hey, you're that perfect girl I met at the invite, I've missed that smile." "Oh hi, you're the guy that harness the power and authority of a hundred frisbee pioneers and made the most ridiculous sky D the world has ever seen on that jerk that took me to Mcdonalds for Prom. Where have you been my whole life?"

But that's a victory for another day. That afernoon, amid the sweat and competition, there she was. Smiling, she was brilliant, and our hero won the day.

~~~

Wow, I don't even know where that came from. Oh snap though. It's a pity that can't be me. It's a pity that wasn't brad. It's a pity it wasn't the countless the heroes that went before us. The ones that paved the way for our generation. It's not our place...

But when that day comes, we'll be there. Standing on the shoulders of giants he'll swat that frisbee out of the air. Together, we will make the dream come true.

What more can I write? Haha, it's 12:30. This ended up much longer than I expected it to. I liked it though. I'm not sure it made sense to anyone but me.

So.... take it, run with it. Believe in the dream. Believe in the impossible. It's going to happen. The dream can't be conquered. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when.

*Together, we will make the dream come true.*