Cheerleading Forever!

A Chance Encounter with Shaq…..

            Of all the things to do in Scottsdale, how I wound up at a Guitar Center for a “drum off” is still a mystery to me! No sunset tours on horseback, no hot air balloon rides to view the scenery…nope…a music store surrounded by group of high school and college aged drummers in pants that were far too tight! Standing there, wishing I was somewhere else, I looked at the front door and there he was….. “Oh my gosh, it’s Shaquille O’Neal!” Of all places to run into one of basketball’s biggest stars, a music store?

            It took a while for people to figure it out which was a little odd considering in walked a very large 7 foot tall black man in a sea of very scrawny and pale teens! Having no interest in the drum off, I attempted to play the very casual “I’m just going to see where he goes without appearing like a stalker” game. Shaq went straight to the keyboard and synthesizer room and just started making beats and playing piano like it was his job! At this point, there was a small audience around him but he paid no attention and kept bobbing his head up and down to the beat.

            People started asking for autographs and this was my chance! I saw how gracious Shaq was to all of the moms and kids asking for pictures so I grabbed the 6’8” pitcher I was with and used that as my “in.” Having no shame, I walked right up to him and said, “I’m with a guy who plays for the Marlins and he’s almost as tall as you. It would be great to have a picture with someone taller than him.” I grabbed Sean and we all smiled for the camera while the athletes exchanged some quick banter! I don’t think I have ever felt so small in my life!

            Happy to have had my camera, I went back to the little crowd and continued to watch the drum off! Suddenly, I felt a whiff of something big and sweaty and there he was again, standing behind me, watching the drum off! By this point, we were BFF and Shaq gave Sean the standard “dap-fist pump-athlete man hug” type deal and said, “Good luck to you man!” Like two star struck teeny boppers, we nonchalantly followed Shaq and his new toys out to the parking lot and watched him get into his macked out black Charger. He posed for a couple of pictures for some kids and even put on a little strobe light display as he pulled away! I’ll pretend like I didn’t see the movie “Kazaam” because meeting him in person was a much better experience!

Growing up in the South, I’m no stranger to four wheelers and a little dirt! I’ve been stranded in a field of bulls at midnight and have even flipped one a time or two. However, nothing I have experienced on any Polaris would equate to my off road adventure thru the desert in Arizona.

After scouring several internet sites for “quad adventures,” I landed on the site that allowed you to “roam free” on their four wheelers. Nothing like turning loose a group of potential non-experienced riders to experience the desert alone! After signing my life away, our group was given our gear – Fox goggles and a bonafide motocross helmet! If any of us didn’t know how to ride, at least we looked like it! The only exception to this might have been the father of two of the riders who thought Velcro white tennis shoes and tight jeans were appropriate riding clothes!

After we were led down a dirt road, we arrived at a stopping point and were told, “See you back here in three hours!” Just like that…”here’s the desert, you have your water, have fun!” So…off we went and ripped through the desert paths and mountainous bases in 4^th and 5^th gear at speeds of 35 mph. Having never really experienced the desert, I felt like I was at Disney’s Big Thunder Railroad or in a Wild West movie scene….only the cacti were real and the sun was a huge obstacle at times. I now understand the reference to “sun devil” because when the sun shines off the sand that is kicked up, you are completely unaware of anything in front of you – no visibility whatsoever! The blinding sun almost caused a severe accident when I didn’t see the fork in the path and stopped about a foot short of careening over a very steep cliff that would have certainly sent me to the emergency room. This is in addition to the 80 degree vertical climb that I made in 1^st gear and the alternate descent on the other side that had me preparing to bail off the quad at any moment. This is really the only part of the ride where I thought to myself, “You have no business being out here!”

At the base of the mountain, we came to a beautiful river that took me right out of adventure mode and straight to tourist mode…snapping pictures for a good 15 minutes. Why not test the limits of my four wheeler against the power of Mother Nature? These things are made to go in the water so why not give it a whirl? The answer to this question would be because your quad will then stall, your quarter panel will float away downstream and you will be stranded with a waterlogged machine that will only power to idle! Not to mention the disapproving stares of the rest of the group when two people return on one four wheeler. Like they didn’t enjoy the extra free hour back down the mountain where the crew had to literally tip my ride upside down to drain the water!

Like nothing had happened, my quad and I (although both of us a little beaten and weathered), made it back to base camp and sheepishly parked behind the trailer. So she wouldn’t start up again…maybe she just needed a little rest? I expected to get a little heat from the owner but he looked right at my dirty face and said, “I’ve had to ride up and down the mountains for some of the girls we’ve had out here! You’re pretty good…for a girl!” Story of my life!