Hick Date

The first semester of law school Meredith and I went on a "hick date" with three couples from law school. We drove to Heber, ate at Dairy King (that isn't a typo) and went bowling at a charming little alley. This past week, the boys (that is what Meredith calls my law school group) decided we need to replicate that date. Because one of the wives now had a job in SLC, we decided to keep this "hick date" a little closer to home. The images and accompanying explanations may be disturbing. It is recommended that only those age 14 and older continue reading this post. Last names have been withheld to prevent our stalkers from jumping over to another couple...

Hick Date Credits (Listed in the Order of Appearance):

Emily, aka Pumpkin Tits
We honestly have no idea where this nickname comes from. Her husband, Miles, first revealed it last October during a group overnight in a cabin in the mountains. Needless to say, Emily was less than thrilled to have her nickname flashed up on the board. Emily ended up winning the second game narrowly over Miles. As you can see, her form is excellent and it came through for her in the second game. Emily played a focused game while bowling; however, according to Meredith, Emily did participate in the wilder activities. None were captured by our photographers.

Miles, aka Slaur
Again, the origination of this nickname is shrouded in mystery. Miles was the powerhouse player, finishing in first place the first game and second place the second. Miles has a careful, methodical approach which allows him to harness his great power. Miles plays his game seriously, never giving succumbing to whimsy or showmanship. Miles is also one who encourages others, never insulting or booing. Perhaps most attentive to the games of others, Miles was always there with an encouraging word after a less-than-successful attempt. Because of his placement on the end of the seating, there are few pictures of this elusive participant. It looks like Miles is simply placing the ball on the ground, but at the end of this bowl there were no pins left standing.

Dustin, aka The Hulk
I am by far the biggest person in this group. The others guys are kind of slight in build - something I have never had - and run or bike more than they lift. I am not the tallest, but even at my skinniest I carry more weight around than these guys do. Thus, the nickname. The bowling alley had almost brand-new equipment that made bowling that much more entertaining. One of these features tracked the speed of each bowl. Because of this, many of my bowls in the first game were made to reach the highest speed possible. Unfortunately, no bowl from any participant was able to break 20.9 mph. We think that there was a cap on the speed that the screen would display because I definitely threw some 20.9s faster than others. I ended up getting the lowest score on the first game, a 69. The second game I focused and used a combination of right and left-handed throws (right for power and left for accuracy). This allowed me to finish 3rd in the second game. I do not have great form. My only advantage was the ability to send pins flying in all directions at alarming rates of speed.

Meredith, aka The Rail
I think this nickname is obvious; however, I think it makes a nice contrast to mine. Meredith takes a laid back approach to bowling. She used an 8 pound ball - one of the lightest if not the lightest ball any of us used. Even using a light ball, it was probably too heavy for her to bowl with (demonstrated by the video below). It is so cute that she practically just drops the ball at the end of her swing. Despite this difficulty, Meredith took home the silver for the first game. Unfortunately, her strength didn't last and she placed last in the second. Meredith is credited with some of the photography and cinematography for this post. As for the extra-curricular activities, Meredith was purposefully absent from the shenanigans that were instigated by others.
In addition to braving the adventures of bowling and the potential embarrassment in associating with these people, Meredith also gritted her teeth and continued bowling despite the war it was waging on her nails. Meredith isn't really that particular about her nails; however, she had just gotten them to the length and "roundness" that she felt was perfect earlier this week. She lost three nails on her right hand in the name of camaraderie.

Meg, aka Kim Jong Kill
Meg is part Korean. Her husband is in law school and a political science undergrad major. I believe that the formulation of her nickname stems from this. Meg is a fairly quiet participant in most of the activities that we do as a group. When her attempt didn't go as planned, we got a one-armed swing in front of her body. When the attempt was good, it was a double-armed swing. Although Meg wasn't a power player, her presence kept her husband, Drew, from getting too wild. She and Meredith sat quietly together and observed the embarrassing antics of their husbands while managing not to get embarrassed. There are rumors that someday these two women will be rewarded for their patience.

Drew, aka Sloth
I believe that the story was told regarding this nickname; however, I didn't hear it. From what I gather, it has something to do with Meg's family and the character Sloth from the movie "Goonies." Drew is the "prankster" of the group. He and Spencer have known each other for many years and, as a result, Drew torments Spencer at every opportunity. Drew was constantly laughing at Spencer's bowling form, Spencer's random acts of dancing and frequently directing the group on how to respond to participant's bowling attempts. These ranged from clapping for gutter balls to booing for any attempt made by a certain person. Drew was also a competitor in the speed challenge, coming up with a speed of 20.9 mph. Again, we believe that the speed display was capped at this speed, since it seems unlikely that two different people using the same ball would throw at the same speed consistently. At times, Drew's antic interfered with another participant's game. In particular, our photographers captured a disturbing image involving one of Spencer's more creative bowls and one of Drew's more aggresive pranks. As for involvement in the extra-curricular activities, Drew was one of the most active. While Dustin demonstrated possible moves that could be done, Drew would take them to the next level and perform them for all who would watch. I believe that Drew finished middle-of-the-pack in both games.

Cate, aka Mrs. Carlos Boozer
Cate thinks that Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz is hot stuff. This is something that comes up almost every time that all four couples get together. I guess what I am saying is that the nickname just seemed to fit. Cate was the only one who got into the spirit of the date by wearing a hick-ish outfit. Cate was a fierce bowler who approached each attempt with the goal of getting a strike. Careful, calculated and powerful, Cate had a solid performance in both games that allowed her to finish third overall. There was much commentary and amazement at the angle of her back ankle at the end of each bowl. The participants had never seen such an extreme angle achieved outside of sports injuries. Although Cate did participate in some of the crazy antics, she was mostly engrossed in conversation with Emily. This probably saved her a lot of embarrassment, as her husband, Spencer, was randomly breaking out into song, dance and a number of other noticeable activities.

Spencer, aka Thunder Tights
This nickname was created on the spot. Someone suggested Thunder Thighs and I made a joke that I had seen him running in spandex and it might be an appropriate name. Miles then made a unilateral decision to change the nickname to Thunder Tights. Spencer put in an odd performance. There is really no other way to describe his game. Spencer frequently approaches bowling and throws with his right hand off his right foot. Since Drew was getting too much laughter out of this method, I suggested that Spencer throw off his left foot. This ended up making all of us laugh, as Spencer had a difficult time in coordinating his body to the new method. He continued to experiment with different methods throughout the night, giving him a finish that was near the bottom both times. Luckily, he was distracted from this fact by his own involvement with singing and dancing. This publication votes Spencer the Most Entertaining Aspect of Hick Date.