Back From Hot Shots !! part 1

Oh My - where to start, I've got all kinds of stories and people and events swirling around inside my head. This is going to be a process, not likely in any kind of order, altho I think I may have a new definition that defines our sport for me personally.

I am in Love with Curling ! Curling is like the most seductive woman I have ever met, she challenges me both physically and mentally and calls me back for more and more.

What other sport has so much competition yet is so NON-COMBATIVE, has so much tradition and etiquette, style, grace and finesse, then fellowship, sportsmanship and the winners buy the losers.

Hot Shots was awesome, yet that one word alone does not begin to tell the story, the story is really about the people I met, the new friends I made, the technical skills I learned and the fact that you really only "rent" beer, you don't buy it. Thanks Glenn, I hadn't thought of it like that before.



YEAH I had a great time !


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BETTY: I think we are going to invade Cuba
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Sorry, private joke, likely to be lots of those....

I need to unpack, sort thru my mind, Andy and I were blogging all the way back to Texas. Every once in awhile after many mins. of silence a "blog" entry would just sort of explode in front of us.

Just to end this entry, our fantasy trip to Oakville started out by spending 3 long hours on the taxiway at DFW Airport, yeah, Chicago was closed due to thunderstorms. Our flight to Buffalo was cancelled, we managed to get on something else - WE mangaged - our luggage was not so fortunate. While on that taxi way I heard Andy talking to Betty on his cell, Betty was our hostess in Canada, we were invading her house. She asked about any special needs and Andy repeated my request for a cavalcade of dancing girls to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

She offered up a bottle of Tequila and a blowup doll. When we finally got to her house, no tequila, no blowup doll just a yellow rubber ducky. I must be special as Andy said he didn't get a yellow rubber ducky. Dancing girls to a yellow rubber ducky....I think Betty is sending me a message.

To Be Continued......

----- I'm back and it's 12nooon -----

I really liked the way Hot Shots broke down curling into 1 hour segments. 8 curlers and 2 instructors per sheet. The concentration would be on a single aspect of the game, like the delivery. Everything from how you step into the hack to sliding out, broken down so you understand what you are trying to accomplish. For me it also involved S L O W I N G me down, way down. Turns out I wasn't really pushing with my hack foot, I was really driving with my slider. No wonder I'm off balance.

We had to verbalize each step - Rock Back, Foot back, P A R K, Rock Forward, Foot Forward under the chest behind the rock, push with hack foot. Speaking the steps forced me to slow down. The instructors are so good they instantly saw what I was doing wrong, instant feedback !

This was exactly what I needed. We had time to practice over and over and over again - without a rock - sliding with just the broom or stabilizer - no rock. It forced you to get that leg under your chest and get balanced. Old habits die hard, but everytime I did it right I could feel the difference.
These pictures are in no particular order, this is Victor J., commedian and a very good one, entertained us saturday nite. That's a whole post in it's self. But not now.



One of our group of 8 was Mary P., a vice principal, the only vice principal that's ever let me cheat on a test. That way we could keep drinking beer. She was fabulous, wonderfull laugh, great sense of humor, we were high fiving everytime we made a good shot. Very good curler, belonged to the 16 sheet club in Toronto that was sold out from under all the curlers. Now looking for a new place to play. Mary if you are ever looking for a mixed or open spiel and need a body, let me know !

One of the instructors I really enjoyed was George Karrys. George is editor of The Curling News and an OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALLIST. George has this great big smile that makes him so approachable. He also has a blog, which I will get link posted over there ----> Soon I promise.

In one of the on ice sessions I was standing next to George, he noticed my name tag and then said something that floored me. No Really, floored me. Are you Dan from Dans Blog ? OMG ! You've read my blog ? Seems Gearge has not only read this crappy little blog, but has referred to it and says I was the first one to find the Vancouver 2010 Curling Wallpapers. George I owe you an email, lots I want to thank you for.

I need to find a picture of George.........well I can't find one at the moment so here is a picture of Earle and Paul. Sorry George.