Now I'm sure we all got a set of these kicking around somewhere in the back of our closets. An old trusty set of 'camo' that never seems to ever make it's way to the garbage can for one reason or another. You ever wonder the stories it could tell if they could talk? The victories and defeats. Games where you lasted forever, and the ones where you wonder why the hell you showed up in the first place? The lessons learnt in the early days: good and bad. If you listen close, I'm sure you can hear them whisper stories…
Tonight while digging through some boxes for wither clothes, my old set resurfaced. I almost forgot I had them. They are an old set of olive green Canadian Combats that I first bought 8 years ago. I had these shortly after I had bought my first mask (and after grilling most of the local players on what was the best camo), and just before I bought my first marker. I remember getting almost two years use out of them, off and on, definitely two winters anyway. I remember decorating them up with patches of different paintball manufacturers, and some old military emblems, something to give them a little more style and personality. I remember wearing them while playing my first winter game in thigh-high snow, freezing my butt off, but wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world at that moment in time! I was wearing them when I made my longest shot, when I earned my nickname, and when I first took out the entire other team. They were there helping turn a newbie into a regular player during a simpler time of the game. My time using them was short, but in that span I learnt a lot.
My other set of camo is a set of Tiger Stripes I bought about 6 to 7 years ago, and still use. It's funny, I've logged a helluva lot more miles in this set than in the other, but it just doesn't seem as memorable, no matter how well this set has served me.
As for my old Canuck Combats, tonight I almost threw them out… almost. Sentimentality got the best of me. They may be well used and need a little TLC, but they're not done yet.
The patches are long gone and it's wearing thin in a few spots from other usage, but although I may not have a use for them directly, they still have a purpose. These are now my "loaner" set to whoever wants to come out with me and try the game for their first time. They just became the guide for the next generation of players to come. For me, it's a link to my past as well as my future. A reminder of how I was when I stared, how far I've come since then, and how far I still have to go.
May they serve a new player as well as they had served me.
Posted: 10/29/00
SNIPER BOB, 2000-20010