Water Ski Thrill Show

When I was young, my mom's family would spend a week together at the Lake of the Ozarks. I can't remember how old I was in the beginning, five maybe. Anyway, my Grandpa Green had a 22' cabin cruiser that would pull two skiers. Dad had a 16' runabout that would pull one skier. We would all camp out in tents. Swimming, boating, skiing during the day- shows like Lee Mace's Ozark Opry at night. We went to music shows, the rodeo, and... The Water Ski Thrill Show. The skiers would jump ramps, form pyramids as they skied, run slalom courses, and to a young boy it was amazing. I learned to ski on two skis when I was fairly young, and learned to slalom not long after.

This past Thursday, the Fourth of July, some friends invited us to Mark Twain Lake. On my bucket list, if I survived the trip to Ireland, was to slalom again. Keep in mind I haven't done it for at least 27 years. Our friends have a pontoon with a healthy outboard, but there were enough people on board, the captain was afraid he didn't have the horses or speed with the all of the weight, to get me up on one ski. So, I greed to two skis for now and slalom later this summer.

Here are some pictures of an aging, crazy man, just trying to have fun.

Did I get up the first try? Place your bets. I'm 62 now and haven't skied for at least 27 years. Check out the first try video below.