The bullseye

Yesterday was one of our periodic team building days at work. What that pretty much entails is closing down the library for the entirety of the morning and running out back to the day camp to roast marshmallows, climb trees, etc. This year we came to the rather interesting group consensus of the group swing and archery. I must admit that upon first seeing the group swing I was a little unnerved as it is high...around 35 feet high at it maximum apex. See, it requires other people to hoist you up to whatever height you desire (to that maximum of course) at which point you take a deep breath, nervously eye the carabiners and ropes and trust in their reputed strength (a couple of school buses I am told), and then pull the catch and release yourself (as the final insult in case you do die, I suppose). What happens next is a very interactive physics lesson as you swing around like a horrified pendulum and the earth rushes towards you. Centripetal force takes over at some point and you start spinning in a circle with the rhythm of the earth, and it's actually quite soothing. I suppose I liked it, although I don't think it's something I feel the need to repeat on, say, a daily basis. At least I threw my hat in the ring, as not everyone actually tried this experience.
Next came some archery. Now, I would like to take a moment to express my respect for various famous archers of the past, both real and fictitious: William Tell, Robin Hood, Green Arrow, Hawkeye, all English/Welsh longbowmen circa Hundred Years' War period, and every single one of the Khan's (Genghis, Kublai, Ogadai, it's all good) Mongol horse archers. I have a deep and newfound respect for what they all do (or did) naturally on a daily basis as effortlessly as breathing. I am, alas, not as skilled as they are/were. This is understandable as a properly trained archer practiced daily for hours...from a very young age...with progressively larger bows as they matured. On the occasion that we happen to unearth their remains their skeletons have markedly more developed bones in their drawing arms, that is the measure of their resolve. They worked that side out to the extent that one arm was noticeably larger than the other. Think about that. Now that having been said, I am nowhere near that good, obviously. But I never missed or overshot the target, fortunately, although I didn't pop any balloons...oh well. I cannot fathom the amount of dedication required to hit such targets whilst moving, much less on rapidly galloping horseback. So I salute them.