Armwrestling birthday party

My girlfriend recently attended an armwrestling birthday party. She used to be a writer and wanted to get back into it. She is really interested in any comments you guys might have on her writing. So, for your reading pleasure, here is what she thought of a bunch of crazy armwrestlers.

"Saturday, September 27th marked an important occasion for none other than Randy Stanaway, arm-wrestling champion. It was the day his friends and family gathered to celebrate his 50th birthday with food, drinks, and of course...pulling.

The party was a surprise for Randy, who looked rather confused as he entered his home and was greeted by a crowd of well-wishers. As his closest friends and family welcomed Randy with embraces, well-wishes, and over-the-hill jokes, the pullers in the crowd retreated to the garage to allow Randy some quality time with his loved ones.

As we entered the garage, which was actually more of a home gym than anything, my eyes were immediately drawn to the sheer number of trophies that lined the far wall. A quick count revealed that there were over fifty, all of them tributes to Randy's legacy.

The day was pretty low-key, with different pullers stepping up to the table to try out various techniques and teach each other new tricks. Keith Dowdy, Chris Heath, Ray Barry, and Craig Stevenson (all of different weight classes and expertise levels) took turns pulling against one another. Meanwhile, the other guys would stand around the table offering their own point of view on the match. The wealth of knowledge was incredible; both novice and expert alike could benefit from the comments and feedback offered from the onlookers.

Perhaps some of the most valuable advice came from Steve Stanaway who regaled us with pulling stories from sixties and even demonstrated how the rules of have changed since then…and with good reason. For instance, he demonstrated with Craig Stevenson a move that pullers use when their opponents leave their thumb unprotected. Applying just a small amount of pressure to the thumb nearly renders the opponent helpless. Steve reported that he saw many pullers get serious injuries as a result of this tactic. Nowadays, most competitors know to protect themselves a bit better…and most refs will call a foul on this move to prevent any injuries from happening.

Randy didn't get to join the other pullers until late in the day and was rather unfortunately only able to have his turn at the table for a few moments before he was called away by his guests again. However, even his short stint at the table proved that he deserved every one of the 50 plus trophies lining his wall. He demonstrated, that if anything, pullers only get better with age.

The celebration ended in the early evening, with each of the pullers going their own separate ways. There's no doubt that each man left with at least a little more knowledge and better perspective than he arrived with. "