30 Minutes in the Life: In light of the Mockingjay…

30 Minutes in the Life is now live and I wanted to do something different this month, but what to do was the question.  My son, Cameron, works at an archery business, that sells archery equipment, as well as has practice lanes for clients to come in and gain some experience shooting, and hold various archery competitions.

What I remember about archery is limited to my brother, Barry, and his bow and arrow and the points of the arrows barely missing my feet. My brother had these great games that we should play, somehow I was always the one on the wrong end of a very sharp point.

John, the owner of Palm Beach Archery, has been in the business for a number of years.  John first started with a archery store in Boca Raton, however, the business has grown so rapidly, that within 4 years, John found himself needing new premises, and Cameron was part of the big move.

I am sure that with the advent of the movie, The Hunger Games, archery has become an even more popular sport. Right now I can just hear the music to the Mockingjay whispering in my ears.  “Are you, Are you coming to the tree……”

So I decided to head over to Palm Beach Archery and see for myself what happens at the archery store.  Walking up to the doors I can see people through the Archery sign.  Walking in, there is a buzz of activity. University students hanging out, shooting arrows and just generally having a good time. There are 26 lanes and more than half of them were busy at 2pm on a Friday afternoon.

Bows line the walls and these are far superior to the little bow and arrow that my brother was using to shoot at my toes.  Finally carved and strung to perfection, I was impressed at how advanced they were.  Focus bows offer a low mass weight and custom craftsmanship.  The Polaris bow is crafted from maple and walnut and is ideally suited to a young archer.

Arrows of different colors, and shapes and sizes are in bins for the clients to purchase.  There are also bins of arrows for clients to use when they practice, if they do not have their own.

The targets start to look to like pin cushions as the students began to wrap up their time at Palm Beach Archery.  The lanes on either side of the service area all needed their targets changed.

Katelee arrived to give a student a lesson, and so I asked her if she would be willing to shoot off a few arrows for me.  Katelee was gracious enough to do so.

Katelee was very good at this.  Apparently there is much more than just putting a bow in, pulling the arrow back and shooting.  It is far more technical than I could ever imagine.  Each bow has a level to ensure that you are balanced.  There are sights to look through, a wrist sling, and various other things to take note of.  Things my brother’s little bow and arrow certainly did not have.

She made it looks so easy, yet I know that this all takes practice.  Posture, accuracy, precision can be taught to a new student.

Cameron on the other hand, was easily attracted to the more technical bow called Hoyt Nitrum 30, which is apparently one of the fastest and most accurate shooting bows on the market.  I can vouch for it being fast.  I decided that I would like to try and capture the arrow in flight.  Can you hear me laughing?  The arrow was in the target before I had even managed to put the button down.  The bow has a mass weight of 3.9 lbs.  It has a Zero Torque Cable Guard System, which resembles what looks like a pulley system.  Overall it is pretty impressive.  However, it does not look like your traditional bow.

This sweet bow,  really look impressive, with all sorts of sensors and levels, however, that comes as an additional cost to the the basic bow.

At the end of the visit, I found that I had learned a few new things about bows and arrows.  I was also pleased to see that folk were leaving the building happy and excited, chatting with each other about when they would be back again.

While I was writing this, I had the background music from the Hunger Games playing.  This has to be one of the most haunting songs I have heard in a long time.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we’d both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

~ Written by Suzanne Collins

~ Melody provided by the Lumineers

~ Sung by Jennifer Lawrence

I had written and completed this bog, when I headed off to finally see The Hobbit.  I am not sure who was more impressive with the bow and arrow, Katniss in the Mockingjay, or Legolas in The Hobbit, but both made using a bow and arrow look like a walk in the park.

I hope you enjoyed my time spent at Palm Beach Archery.  Remember this is a circle blog so don’t forget to look and see what my sweet friend Karen of Karen Hunt Photography / Remington VA Photographer has for you.  I have loved getting to know Karen and her family over the past couple of years.

If you want to know more about Palm Beach Archery, check out their facebook page, or head over to their website.

If you want to read more about the 30 Minutes in the life group, check out their facebook page, or their website.

If you are interested in seeing more of my photography take a look at my Facebook page or my Flickr Page.