Kansas Badminton

So for the Fourth of July, my dad and I drove from Washington to Kansas so hang out with Britny (aka AWESOMEST PERSON EVER) and her family. We spent a couple days in Manhattan, where Britny goes to school. Then we drove out to Cambridge, where her grandparents and horse live. Then we went out into the middle of nowhere, where her parents own a house and tons of land.

Now, when I say middle of nowhere, what I mean is this: drive out on a country highway until you are 20 minutes away from any signs of human life, turn onto a gravel road, and drive for nine miles. It's very very very isolated. VERY isolated. Good luck getting a cell phone signal out there.

Anyways, when we pulled up, Britny's brothers, Zack and Zane, were riding a four-wheeler around, because that's what they do. We got out of our car and said hi to Britny's parents and some extended family members and friends. After all that, Britny took me outside to show me just how huge the property was. To put it simply, they own a lake. A whole lake. With fish and a dock and a boat.

After the tour, we found Zack, Zane, and a cousin named Lawrence setting up a net of some kind. I saw badminton racquets and a deflated volleyball lying next to a cardboard box, so I figured the net went with those. The net was anchored with several plastic spikes, which were impossible to drive into the hard, dry ground. Fortunately, Britny's Uncle Ed brought a hammer, which solved that problem.

After we got the net set up, we decided to play badminton - or rather, smack the birdies back and forth for a while. Since there were only four racquets, I decided to sit out and inflate the volleyball, since more people can play volleyball than badminton. The set came with a small air pump, which I found easily. What I didn't find was the needle attachment, which made the pump completely useless.

That was kind of a problem, since we had an extra person. Lawrence offered me his racquet after a while, and Britny and I played against Zack and Zane. After a few rounds, Zane offered Lawrence his racquet. I figured he'd sit out, but instead, he decided to improvise. He grabbed the cardboard box and walked back onto the court. We all thought he was just being silly and that his idea wouldn't work. The birdie flew towards him, he swung the box, and with a loud thwack!, the birdie sailed over the net.

We were all too astonished to go after the birdie, and when we recovered from shock, we burst into laughter. Zane continued playing with his box until finally, he swung at the birdie and, in his best Skyrim voice, shouted, "BOX-RO-DAAAAH!"

It was the best line ever. We all died of laughter, and by the time we recovered, it was time for dinner. We had spaghetti and garlic bread. It was delicious.