We choose to go to the Moon! … We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win…
-JFK
I like to play arrow golf with my brother. We grab recurve bows and blunt tip arrows then wander around the field and lawn by his place. We take turns picking targets and everything is par three. There is a wide variety of targets; posts, fences, thistles, other random weeds. One of the favorite targets however is a Dandelion. The possibility of hitting such a small target with the added bonus effects from the puffball is super enticing. Over a week or two of playing, it never got boring. I never even hit one. My brother shaved half a puff ball, but that just made him want to get a center shot to make it explode. One day, I will hit one. Fuzzy white circles…
I’ve found that when I talk to people really into fly fishing and ask their favorite thing to fish for, the response is often steelhead. Steelhead fishing seems to involve a whole lot of casting, often in cold rainy weather, for a small chance to piss off one of these fish enough to hook one. It’s not uncommon for people to spend a weekend or more fishing to hook one or zero fish. They may however be one of the feistiest fish you can hook in fresh water and they are beautiful. It seems that the feeling of handling such an aggressive fish along with the feeling of beating the odds might be the motivating factors here. They’re also shiny…
One of the best feelings if ever had was shooting a clay pigeon out the air with a 22 pistol. I was just being silly, sneaking the shot in after my cousin had missed with a shotgun. I didn’t expect to hit it and quite frankly surprised myself enough to get startled when it exploded. I tried to do it again and missed 40-50 times in a row. Little white disc in the air…
I played a pool game the other day where neither of us really cared about winning. We would sometimes take really difficult shots because they seemed fun and were what we felt like practicing. We both made shots that we thought we’d miss. I got better at bank shots and curves; she got better at breaking and long shots. It’s easy to try difficult things when there’s no fear of failure. However, we did manage to hit the cue ball every time…
Most of the time when people talk about shooting the moon, they’re referencing card games or life goals. I don’t always find myself playing card games with this option (is Hearts the only one?) and shooting the moon with life goals is a heavy, variable topic.
I bet right now, there is something you can throw, kick, flick, spit, or even say; some type of shot you could take that would make you feel amazing if you hit it yet leave you with no hard feelings if you missed.
Shoot the moon, not because it matters, but because it does not… it’s just fun and lacking devastating possible consequences… and practice makes better.