Donkey Basketball

Making the T-Shirts

Okay. You all know that I’m weird. Strange. A little off. So when an ad appeared in the Gardiner newsletter for Donkey Basketball, Heidi and I discussed whether we wanted to play. We both thought it sounded like fun but weren’t too sure about writing. So we caviled for a little bit but finally decided that it really was too cool to pass up. How many times do you think you’d have the chance to play Donkey Basketball (and raise money to help a local with medical bills)? Um, like, none. So to pass this up would be the height of utter foolishness.

Going to get the Donkeys

I called and signed up. Or tried to anyway. Unfortunately, there were already the maximum number of teams. So I went to Plan B and joined the National Park Service (NPS) team. Except that the point person for that team didn’t want to play, she was just trying to be helpful and have a team. Since I was the first person to respond, I became the default captain. Oh, yeah. I’m the CAPTAIN. And that was my nickname. My first email was to scout prospective teammates. We gathered a pretty good team. My next decree was that we all should have nicknames (the only team to do so). I also decreed that we would wear white t-shirts and wear brown pants (Carhartts or Red Ants Pants). That second one was dumb. Have you ever tried to get on a donkey wearing stiff pants? It just doesn’t go well.

Playing

The big night came. You may have noticed that I already have a post for Park to Paradise on this day. “But, Jessi,” you might wonder, “You set up the food for P2P, you ran 5 miles that day, did you actually go and play Donkey Basketball as well?” The answer is “Yes, and I even fit in a memorial service for a former boss as well.” It was a long-ass (see what I did there?) day. By the end of the night, I felt like I blinked and 15 minutes passed. I’m pretty sure I was “this close” to hallucinating.

Bringing in the donkeys

But, this is not a post about exhaustion, it’s about Donkey Basketball. It was fun, it was fantastic. For the whole two minutes I was on a donkey. I got off to retrieve a ball and COULD NOT get back on. My pants were way to stiff and I just couldn’t manage it. At that point, I had been on the donkey, my mission was accomplished, so I called a teammate over and had him jump on.

The whole team

Taking a shot (I missed, but I tried!)

Yep, this was necessary

Another long absence

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know at this point this is more a diary than anything else, but I feel like I should be keeping it up. There's been a lot going on lately. I'll try to get some pictures and posts up about going back to IN for a whirlwind weekend of wedding stuff, training our new staff, garage sales and all of the other stuff that's been going on lately. Summers in Gardiner are always full-packed. I think it's 'cause we have to shove all of our socializing and activities into roughly two and a half months of the year. There haven't been any barbecues this year yet. It's partly because of burnout from last summer, part from not having the yard ready to go, and part from sheer laziness. Hopefully I'll get it all together next weekend and we'll be able to have a party on the 20th before the second day of the Gardiner rodeo. Oh my gosh, that's the weekend after next. And then, that next Thursday I'm back in Indiana for two weeks. And then it's July. JULY people! Where does time go? I swear I'm going to blink and it will be September again.

Snow Day

Well, since I didn't have to do anything today, it wasn't a true snow day. However, it is still a snow day when your plans (however tentative) to go skiing fall through, I think it counts. We've got lots of wind, lots of snow and plenty of cold. It's the second storm of this Montana winter and I am enjoying it, a LOT. My brother came down last night and chopped me some more wood. He, Allie, and I made a delicious dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and some mixed vegetables and watched "It's always sunny in Philadelphia." Strange show. I don't really like it, but I enjoy it...if that makes sense. The people are obnoxious but the writing is hilarious. Allie headed out and Josh and I just read and watched more of the show then went to sleep. Today, we woke up to a white landscape and a view that you could barely see through the swirling snow. A perfect day to sit home and enjoy some hot cocoa with a little bit of butterscotch schnapps. Or to go visit with your friends who had an impromptu brunch and then played hearts for two hours. Yay Snow Days!

Scary

So, you're walking down the street, going to get groceries. It's quiet, as only a small town can be on a snowy night. Through the headphones of your iPod, you hear something. As you get closer to the grocery story, you lift the latest episode of "The Daily Purge" to get a closer look and listen at something completely startling...

What does one do for fun in Gardiner?

On a Thursday, one goes to the Christmas stroll. It's not an unusual thing for larger towns but it's much more fun here, where you know everyone. You can find out where the best food and drinks are. You can talk to the artists about their work. It's a wonderful time. I'm quite happy to live in a small town. Even if it can often be called the "Island of Misfit Toys." At least I fit in [wry grin].