![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/pic3.jpg\" "\\"pic\\"")
Last week marked the culmination of months of planning: I had achieved my watermelon lover\u2019s dream of competing in a seed-spitting contest. The contest was held at the Cumberland Ag Expo here in central Pennsylvania last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Competitors could try their luck all three nights and the person in each category with the longest distance at the end of the third night was declared the winner.<\/p>\n
I arrived on Friday evening to give it my best shot. I had skipped my final practice session earlier in the day \u2013 I didn\u2019t want to \u201cover practice\u201d or risk spraining a tongue muscle \u2013 and had polished off two wedges of watermelon before arriving at the fairgrounds. I was as ready as I\u2019d ever be.<\/p>\n
The boundaries of the \u201cspit field\u201d were clearly defined and signs on the ground marked the distances to beat in the men\u2019s, women\u2019s, youth, and children\u2019s categories. The distance marked for the men\u2019s category leader looked impressive. I\u2019m not sure how far it was, but it looked farther than anything I\u2019d ever spit in practice. If I wanted to surpass it, I\u2019d have to muster my very best seed-spitting performance.<\/p>\n
I strode to the line, confident and without nervousness. Using the same technique I\u2019d perfected in training, I took three steps back and one step to the left. Virtually the same method used by a football kicker. I was ready. I took a few quick strides toward the line and let my first seed fly. It was good, but not great. It fell just short of the women\u2019s distance mark, which was six or seven feet shy of the men\u2019s mark. I needed to do better if I hoped to win that gold medal.<\/p>\n
The moment my second shot left my mouth, I knew it was a good one. It was a high-arching shot that tumbled beautifully through the air, straight down the spit field. It landed squarely and took a quick bounce (remember, \u201cthe bounce counts\u201d) before coming to rest about 10 inches short of the leader. To me, it looked like my best distance to date, which meant I\u2019d have to do even better on my third and final shot in order to win.<\/p>\n
I paused to catch my breath and collect my thoughts. I closed my eyes and visualized another perfect seed, tumbling perfectly through the air. Landing perfectly. Bouncing perfectly over the leader\u2019s marker. I visualized the crowd cheering. Chanting my name and carrying me away on their shoulders. Perfectly.<\/p>\n
Back to reality.<\/p>\n
I took my position about eight feet behind the line, took three quick steps forward and let \u2018er rip. The seed was anything but perfect. It took a nosedive onto the paved spit field and came to a dead stop about nine feet from the line. It didn\u2019t even make it past the children\u2019s leader mark.<\/p>\n
Oh, well. I gave it my best shot and, even though I came up just short of a victory, I\u2019m still happy that I can cross \u201ccompete in a watermelon seed-spitting contest\u201d off my to-do list. Now, if you\u2019ll excuse me, I need to start training for the next dream on my list: competing in a watermelon eating contest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week marked the culmination of months of planning: I had achieved my watermelon lover\u2019s dream of competing in a seed-spitting contest. The contest was held at the Cumberland Ag Expo here in central Pennsylvania last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Competitors could try their luck all three nights and the person in each category […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n