I’m gonna washer that man right outta my hair

Thea- Here is an urgent message from Frank: “Tell Thea that if she finds a really great washers set in Italy that she shouldn’t get it for me because I already got one for my birthday.”

Hopefully you’ll read this before it’s too late.

For everyone else, here’ the deal with the washers set:

A few years ago at a UT Football game, Frank discovered the game of washers. Now Frank isn’t exactly the athletic type (although there was that stint in high school water polo and he does some impressive lifting and grunting at the gym) but with washers, he was pretty good.

So what is the game of washers?

Basically a bunch of guys stand around and throw rings into a cup. I know, it’s a little bit WT but that’s okay. Where did it come from? I think the verbiage from the official washers site explains it best:

The history of the game is cloaked in mystery but lends itself to colorful conjecture. "Betcha I can toss this here washer into that oil can over yonder", someone might have wagered years ago. Most certainly humble roots fathered the game as participants used readily-available parts, a hallmark of the game that survives even today.

“Cloaked in mystery?” Nice.

Apparently, though, “readily-available parts” wasn’t good enough for Frank. In 2005 he started making his desire for a washers set (a pit with a cup and a set of washers for throwing) known to all. Thea, either impressed with Frank’s washers skills or his passion for the game, declared that she would help Frank realize his washers dream.

So for his graduation from business school in’05 she gave him a set of UT washers, promising to give him the rest of the game (the pit with the cup) by his birthday at the end of June. And she wasn’t just going to buy it on eBay; she was going to BUILD it. She even showed me the design for the mechanism that would soon live in our backyard.

But, as with my wedding scrapbook, the washers pit became more of a lofty idea—something that took a backseat to other non-washers projects like work, school, a social life.

That didn’t stop Frank from bringing it up about once a month: “Hey, is Thea gonna ever build my washers set?” and “Today would be a great day for a game of washers…hey, what’s Thea doing?” and “Do you think Thea will finish my washers set by Groundhog Day?”

Now that it’s been over two years, I thought he’d forget about it. But he hasn’t. He says that our new backyard in Atlanta is perfect for playing washers. (I’m not sure what that means.)

Safety Dave, hearing about Frank's cause, stepped up--just in time for Frank's 30th birthday.

Yesterday the washers set arrived. While it actually was from eBay and not a Thea-hand-made original, he was still giddy. He can't wait to throw his UT washers into his new pit and impress guests with his washers skills.

So will Thea build the washers set anyway? Will she sell it on eBay or possibly keep it for herself? Who knows? The whole thing is cloaked in mystery.