Mark One Off the List . . .

For Dave, water-skiing a slalom course was one of those "someday" things.  He's been skiing since he was fourteen - for those of you keeping track, that's 38 years - but he had never been on an actual slalom course . . . until Saturday.  As part of the Cornhusker State Games, Dave will be competing in the 50-and-over slalom event on July 21st, but he thought it might be helpful to at least see a course before then, so we went to a private ski lake north of Omaha where the competition will be held.  The lake is owned, in part, by Bud and Janet Pearcy - two of the nicest people you could find - and they devoted part of their day (not to mention their lake and their boat) to teaching Dave the basics of competition skiing.   

From where I was sitting on the dock, I couldn't get any closeup videos/pictures of him actually making the turns, but I did get this nice shot of him waving to the camera as he made the turn for another run.

 Dave learned to ski from Dr. Carl Plowman (the doctor who delivered me, by the way).  Doc closed his office on Wednesday afternoons and spent every summer Wednesday and Saturday at the lake, weather permitting.  He would select a jr. high or high school student to take along, teach them to ski, and also teach them to drive his boat so he could ski.  When that student graduated, he found a new trainee.  Doc skied to the age of 85, when his cardiologist told him he had to stop.  My guess is that Dave will be skiing to that age and beyond, regardless of what doctors say.  

Our boat with Mitch driving - circa 1997

James Bond in Live and Let Die

We own a classic 1977 Glastron GT-150 (the same type of boat James Bond used to make the famous jump in Live and Let Die.)  It sat in storage for a few years when we lived in Southwest Kansas where they have no water, but it's back out, polished up, and making weekly trips to the lake.  This means we've been seeing more of Amanda lately, as she lives close enough to run up for an afternoon of skiing.  Here's a couple shots she took of Dave last time she was up.  

You'll notice I'm conspicuously absent from these pictures.  As Queen of the Prissy Girls, I don't care for dirt, heat, sweat, bugs or much of anything else associated with trips to the lake.  I have driven the boat before and I spent a lot of time riding in Doc's boat just to be near Dave.  (Hint to the single ladies: Don't pretend to like everything a man likes just to get his attention.  He'll expect you to like it forever.)  But it's a long way from my favorite thing, so I'm always happy when the kids or friends want to go with him and I get to stay in the AC.

One of our retirement dreams is a house on a lake - where we can make a quick ski run in the cool hours of morning/evening without the hassle of loading up and driving.  Then we can spend the rest of the time fishing or just enjoying the beauty of the water and wildlife.  For now, that will have to remain on the Bucket List, but on July 21st, Dave will get to check off another entry.