My First Paintball Experience
paintball
Adrenaline rush with Paintball
Honestly, I should have suspected something was up. But I didn't. Along with some other men, I had agreed a year or so prior to form a scout troop. Our sons planned our camping trips with a little oversight from the adults. On this particular camp-out, we would be staying on one of the parent's farm. And the main activity of the entire afternoon was billed as PAINTBALL WARS.
Mind you, even though I was the scoutmaster, my life was extremely hectic. My business career had taken off and I was traveling extensively. But I made time for these monthly weekend gatherings. It was important for me to be there for my son and not be an absent father. What I didn't have time for was staying up to speed on various outdoor games. You know, the ones that came along after you enter adulthood with all the demands. Well for me, paintball was just that. I had never heard of paintball.
It was explained to me as a sort of modern-day capture the flag except you used airguns and shot little balls filled with paint at one another. You get hit with paint and you're out. I was also told that sometimes these little balls of paint, which come in all colors, don't burst upon impact. In that case, you're not out (dead). One other little thing, they said that we needed to wear masks purely as a safety precaution. We contracted with a company to outfit everyone at the designated place and time. The boys told those of us who didn't know to just wear some old clothes.
As the weekend drew near, all the talk at meetings was about paintball. I cannot recall ever witnessing such excitement and enthusiasm from this group. Believe it or not, there were other activities during the weekend. Finally, Saturday afternoon arrived and we all gathered on the field designated for "battle." Now let me just tell you, it was one of those jaw-dropping shocked experiences for me! Boys showed up with their own automatic air guns and in camouflage along with all sorts of other paintball gear. Several had their own menacing looking masks and could even communicate electronically with others. It was unbelievable. Where on earth had I been? There was an entire paintball culture and I missed out on it.
Just in case you, too, have been missing out, check out Wikipedia's article when you click on PAINTBALL. I swear, it even ranks a significant article in this online encyclopedia. Go figure!
My first afternoon playing paintball was an absolute blast! I thoroughly enjoyed it. The tykes allowed me to think that I was evading them for quite some time. But they had a plot. You see, as scoutmaster, they'd deemed that I merited a total assault and splattering from ALL of them. Yep, they got me in what I thought was a decent hiding place -- up in a tree. Once caught there was no escaping. I ended up a total mess. But my goodness what fun!
Since then, our family wanted to do the paintball thing. There are businesses that have grown up to offer exactly this kind of opportunity. At a corporate retreat, paintball wars were used as an "exercise" to take our group further down the road of the importance of teamwork versus on-your-own. Fun and enlightening!
Love affair with Paintball is one of a kind
So, if you haven't yet experiences this paintball phenomenon, based upon my first and subsequent experiences, I heartily suggest you give it a shot (pun intended). You might just find out that you've discovered a new hobby in Paintball.