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At Fauquier County Fair, It's Not Rude To Spit
Assigned to cover the Fauquier County Fair last week, I had a choice to make: Which contest to participate in and write about?The watermelon seed-spitting contest seemed less exhausting than the pizza and hot dog eating contests. I have seen world class competitive eater Joey Chestnut win the famous Nathan's hot dog contest on July 4 enough times to know that it wasn't for me.
So seed spitting it was. The rules were as follows: You get two seeds to propel using the various muscles of the face and neck. The longest shot counts and your seed must land on the tarp to count.
Failure to keep the spit straight results in disqualification. Thank goodness I practiced my line and length beforehand.
How did I do? Well, I did not get disqualified and accomplished what I deemed to be an acceptable length.
Both of my shots were measured at 10 feet, plus I got reassurance from one of the officials.
“You did pretty good,” Joleen Teets said. “It's tougher than a lot of people think. Anything over eight feet is better than average.”
That means I finished in the top 20 percent, or a fifth above the average length. I can live with that.
Although I must admit, if I was above average, then some kids younger than me were supermen of seed spitting.
Luke McKennedy won the 9-13 age group with spit of 19 feet, 1 inch. Ryan Hoffman won the 18 and older age group at 19 feet 5 inches.
The 14-17 winner, Daniel Jewell, was the big winner with his best shot at 23 feet 8 inches.
Watching Jewell launch his tiny, slippery pellet, I couldn't help but feel like I was watching Carl Lewis make a long jump.
At first I could not see where Jewell's seed landed. I wondered if it landed off the tarp.
Then the measuring tape came out. At that moment, any thoughts I had of winning or getting a high finish ended...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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