Yes, I've seen that fly catching technique. My father, who is now 98, used to be good at doing it in his younger days. He used to catch flies in the manner you described, but his method of dispatching them was different. Instead of clapping, he would throw the fly as hard as he could onto the floor, which might not kill the fly, but it usually would stun the fly just long enough for him to step on it. I never mastered this fly catching technique myself, but I always thought it was impressive to watch. Sometimes it was even more entertaining to watch expressions on the faces of bystanders who happened to witness the maneuver.
Rod -----Original Message----- >From: Rick Corbell <rlcorb...@hotmail.com> >Sent: Feb 10, 2011 8:53 PM >To: texascavers@texascavers.com >Subject: [Texascavers] OT-fly story > > >Place:Scurry Old Fields around Snyder in west Texas >Time: '50's (1950's) >Long hours waiting in the "dog house" at tank batteries could get boring. My >dad made a game of catching flies in his hand. He would sweep his cupped hand >an inch or two above the subject and more often than not the fly would fly >right into his hand. A quick squeeze would capture it. Try it sometime. If >the fly doesn't get caught between your fingers or a fold in your palm, you >can feel the buzz when it tries to escape. Kind of tickles. A clap would >most often dispatch the fly. Sometimes they get away, sort of like catch and >release. > >Rod, et. al. thanks for bringing back the memories. > >This could be cave related if you think about breaking out your lunch while >ridge walking and drawing flies with that smashed sandwich. While waiting on >everyone to finish, you now have something to entertain yourself. > >Rick Corbell > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
