2001-10-02 - 1:59 a.m.

If I Knew I Was Going to Die, I Would Have Run Slower

Since I last wrote in my diary, I have completed two main goals: I cleaned up my computer/guest room, and played paintball. The cleanup was very dull and I'm glad it's over. Paintball rocked. It was a cloudless day, 70 degrees, and the teams were so well balanced that our record for the day was 2-2-2. The rest of this entry will be about paintball; feel free to go on about your business.

I played tolerably well, coming within ten feet of hanging the flag at the end of one game before being shot out in a treacherous ambush. My favorite moment was earlier in that game, though. My CO2 tank had run dry, so I left my firing position and looked for a place where a decoy or extra pair of eyes could be useful. I came across a bunch of my teammates making an advance, so I followed them and stuck to the trees. They were pinned down by positions off to the right of the enemy flag base. Dead in front of the enemy flag base was heavy brush, and to the left was a river. There was no way to shoot at the base from my position- the brush was too thick. Since my gun couldn't shoot, that didn't bother me. I had something better than a gun. I had a paint grenade. At that point my intention crystallized: I would sneak up on their base and lob my grenade in.

Just before I got into position, we finally overran their flanking position. My man Eric led a banzai charge toward their base that totally overwhelmed them, with Eric taking out two of the three remaining defenders in a brutal close-quarters shoot out. I got to lob my grenade, but I don't think it went off- too short and soft a throw. So I grabbed the flag and took off running.

Now, I did get blown away before I hung the flag, and that was poor. Still, given the circumstances, I don't think I made a single bad decision during that game. It's hard to do better than that.

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