6-09-01:

  Well, today was almost (ALmost) boring. We started out with 10 fighters. But, due to flu-like symptoms of 2 of them, we
scaled down to 8, then 7 when Jeff's AutoCocker went through a 20oz. tank in 2 rounds due to a leak, and he ran out of air.
I mean, it's still exciting doing the hunter/hunted thing, but it's WAY more fun with a lot of people.

  One thing's for sure, we MUST start out earlier in the day. It takes us about an hour to pick everyone up at their homes, and
then drive out to the game preserve. Today was even worse, we had to go to WallyWorld for some BreakEagle paint, and then
to the outdoor shop to get gas. (I personally get gas after eating a garlic-laden pizza, but that's another story) So, we didn't
even get out to the field until around 10:30am. Good thing we had some cloud cover, 'cuz it got pretty toasty pretty quickly.
Terr was hoping it would rain, because he has some perverse liking for being wet and cold, I guess. heh. Makes for soggy
paint as far as I'm concerned, and masks fog pretty fast.

  Let's see, where was I? Just got a phone call that interrupted the thought flow, like there's a flow,, but that's ok, DAWN !! ;-)

   Capture the Flag - what a bust. Only having 4 on a team, we sent 2 out to capture, and Tammy and I stayed to guard.
Waiting, waiting, waiting for the inevitible enemy to show themselves, breathing quietly trying to hear the sounds of breaking
twigs and crunching leaves. Finally, I spot the two, and I hear them say, "Where's the flag?" - "I don't know, but it's got to be
around here somewhere." So, I carefully leave my position to sneak up on them from behind, and.... SPLAT - SPLAT - SPLAT
"Ouch, I'm HIT !" So, I dejectedly make my way back to the Caravan (remember, it's a CAR, no, it's a VAN, no.... etc) and
sit and wait for the round to be over. I was thinking, Dang, that was unexpected to have all four of their team sneak up on us,
sure wasn't expecting that one. Oh, well, never take anything for granted, eh? Cool move, too. I'll remember that one. So, the
round finally ends, they won, dang. And I never even got one shot off, NEVER expecting the two who nailed me to even be
there. When everyone makes it back, I bring up the subject of them sending all their guys after our flag.
  "What are you talking about, Dad? Our two guards are still guarding our flag. We only sent two out after yours."
  "Say what? Then who was I sneaking up on when I got shot?"
  Guess.
  The two I was going to ambush were, get this, MY OWN TWO GUYS who were supposed to be on the other end of the
field. I have no clue as to why they came back (especially withOUT the flag), and that's why I wasn't expecting to get hit.
Hmmmm. Bummer, dude. Guess we'd better make it clear next time: Don't come back without the flag. If you do, you're
a target as far as I'm concerned, team mate or not. (ruthless, eh? haha)

  I'd made some red armbands but unfortunately, we didin't use them on the Flag game. Dang. NEXT TIME! The armbands
really help, especially when you're all dressed the same, and you change teammates every round; you tend to forget who's
on your team, and what they look like. Need to get a couple more colors going for multiple teams.

  We had one game with 2 on 2 on 2 on 2 (let's see, that's 8 total, eh?) and Terry and Wayne still had on the red bands.
I know Terr can't sit still for long, he's got to get up and hunt. And I figured, correctly, that he would head to my favorite spot
to get me first. So, did we go there? No. We headed up the hill to wait for the first shots to get an idea of where the others
were. Sure enough, Tammy says, " I see a red armband." Terr was after me. Heh. He found two other guys, and after about
5 to 10 minutes, the firing ended, and I thought Terry's team had taken out the two he thought was me. I spotted them coming
to the hill area, and Tammy and I had them pinned down in some brushy trees. Lots of paint went splattering, and, since we
were playing Tag (one shot - you stop until either your teammate tags you back in or the other team tags you), we were like
almost holding hands - I'm hit, tag, I'm hit, tag, I'm hit, tag.... lots of hits that round. Anyway, we started flanking Terry and
Wayne. And what to our surprise? The two that I thought had been taken out flanked Tammy and me, and we got nailed HARD
and there was no tagging back in. Whew, Tammy had a back and legs full of hits, and so did I. One round hit me in the arm,
and my whole arm went numb, like when you hit your crazy bone. Weird. Good thing the gun was in my other hand. That was
probably the coolest round. Gotta remember to always expect the unexpected, and not to take things for granted. One thing
I figured out by listening to the postwar chat, was that Terry (and other son Dylan) think that they know what I'm going to do.
Up until yesterday, they were right, so yesterday I made it a point to not do ANYthing that I normally do as far as hiding, etc.
That plan worked out, and I shared it with Terr. Now, to try it out on Dylan (he was in Albuquerque so didn't get to war with us).

  I think the biggest bummer of the day was that everyone had gun troubles, EVERYone. My STS started not firing - pulled the
trigger and nothing would happen until I recocked it. And this happened in a big ol' shootout. I was bumming - and sorta
concerned that my gun was broken. We got home, took everything apart, and I found an O-ring that was literally 10 times
bigger than what it was supposed to be, and broken. Hmmmm. That may have something to do with my issue. After replacing
both rings, I tried it out, and it works just fine now. Can't believe how many O-rings these things go through, and it's time to
buy some more. Weird sizes, too, and they're not something I can buy at the AutoParts places - I tried. Even tried the local
King Bearing place, and at least they had calipers to actually measure the little things; but they couldn't help either, so I
ended up buying the kits from Piranha. Good thing I did, 'cuz at that point, I didn't realize how fast you go through them.
These things are high maintenance, that's for sure.

  OK, that's about it for now.... it was a relatively short day - only about 4 hours instead of 7, and none of us was really tired
like usual. That's good. Today I feel pretty good - not very sore, etc. I think I'm actually in pretty good condition, considering
my age and occupation: 50 and a computer geek who sits at his computer for at least 10 hours a day everyday of the week.
So, there's hope for all you old codgers out there, just be sure to have the right daily diet of donuts, coffee, and plenty of
tobacco. (True. That's pretty much my diet)

  Talk to ya L8R - time to get this ftp'd up to the server..... K