30-Hey! Want to play?

Wham-O Frisbee, 1966

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我是貪玩的,但那天郊遊的時侯,我卻不敢把背包裡的飛盤拿出來,然後跟大家說:「唏。我有飛盤,要一起玩嗎?」

我怕大家報以一個興趣缺缺的眼神,不是說我自尊心作祟,只是怕被拒絕的是飛盤這玩意本身。它就這樣一直藏在我背包裡。

I am always up for a fun time, yet I was reluctant to take my frisbee out from my backpack the other day at an outing. I desperately wanted to yell, “Hey! I have a frisbee. Want to play?”, but found it too embarrassing to ask.

An indifferent stare serving as a reply is the last thing I want. It’s not like I have such a big ego that I can’t handle rejection. What concerns me is the frisbee being a subject of uninterest. After all, it has been sitting unused in my backpack for quite a while.

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飛盤到現在已不是甚麼流行的活動,以前夏季到海灘游泳,或者秋季旅行的時候,總會看到它的身影。假如現在我在海邊碰到有年輕人在玩飛盤,會不禁像碰到知音人般感到興奮,光是看著飛盤在半空中你來我往已不覺得膩。

飛盤就是這樣的活動,簡單而重複,擲出去,然後接回。我特別喜歡這種活動,像棒球也有類似的拋接遊戲。有人說狗隻喜歡撿主人丟出去的球是因為移動的東西刺激了它們的捕獵本能,而我是單純喜歡飛盤那「順利擲到你手中」或「成功接住」的感覺,不需要講究,沒甚麼要準備,輕輕一扔,它會飛到意料之外的遠方。實際玩起來時,才能體會拋和接帶來的直接快感難以在其他活動中找到。

Frisbee is not as popular as it used to be. Back in the day, you could always see them flying around on a summer beach or in an autumn park. Now when I see youngsters throwing a frisbee, it’s like seeing an old friend. I could easily spend an entire day staring at frisbees flying in the sky.

Throwing and catching are the essence of the game, and I am particularly fond of this simple yet repetitive routine, which is similar to baseball. Some say that it is the natural hunting instinct that makes dogs run behind a moving object in any “fetch the ball” game. For me personally, I like the feeling that my friends can smoothly catch the disc I throw into their hands. It’s not about skill and technique. Just a simple throw and the frisbee will fly high and far. But at the end of the day, one has to be in the field to actually understand the real fun and excitement of throw and catch that is rarely found in other kinds of sport.

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美國玩具公司Wham-O自60年代開始生產飛盤,成為當時人們生活的一部分,甚至把「Frisbee」這個詞申請作品牌專利,至今亦已成為飛盤的代名詞。據說那時家家戶戶的屋簷上也能看到擱淺了的飛盤,一時蔚為風潮。我把1966年Wham-O的天藍色飛盤反轉一看,上面印有四行字:

Play Catch-Invent Games.
To Fly. Flip away backhanded.
Flat flip flies straight.
Tilted flip curves-experiment!

意謂玩飛盤的要訣是抓緊飛盤從胸口向外拋出,盤身水平拋出會形成直線,傾斜拋出則成弧線。由於飛盤的飛行依賴氣流,身置風向不定的戶外,即使是專業選手也無法百分百命中目標,此正是飛盤的魅力所在。當擲過來的飛盤開始偏離預想的航道,我一邊緊盯著它,一邊不假思索拼命追趕,哪怕仍然會落空吧,但沒有比最後能勉強接住更美妙的事了。

The American toy company Wham-O has been producing flying discs since the 1960s and even patented the design for frisbee, making it a synonym of flying discs. Back then, the flying disc game was a big part of people’s lives and the stranded discs could easily be spotted in the eaves. Written on the back of a Wham-O sky blue Frisbee produced in 1966 is:

Play Catch-Invent Games.
To Fly. Flip away backhanded.
Flat flip flies straight.
Tilted flip curves-experiment!

I interpreted it as pulling the disc along a straight line will get you a flat flip while throwing at a tilted angle will result in a curved-flip. Aerodynamics ultimately directs where the frisbee goes. Even professional players can hardly do a perfect throw in the wind. But this is also why frisbee is so fun.

Nothing feels better desperately chasing after and eventually catching that flying disc when it goes off the desired track.

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今天飛盤雖然只是小眾活動,但經過六十年已延伸了很多不同的玩法和活動,除了比遠、比準,也有像「飛盤高爾夫」這類的大型活動。無論如何,飛盤依舊是一副塑膠玩具的樣子,始終散發著濃厚的60、70年代氣息,鮮艷的塑膠顏色總讓我聯想起同代的搖滾老唱片和嬉皮文化,經典的檸檬黃飛盤不正是披頭四《黃色潛水艇》的那種黃嗎?

Although frisbee is far less popular nowadays, the variation of disc games that has been developed over the last 60 years is still enjoyed by some. There are games in which players throw the disc for the longest distance, and there are also the large-scale activities such as disc golf that requires the players to throw the disc at a target. Nevertheless, the frisbee has always maintained its plastic appearance which is easily associated with the style of the 60s and 70s. The bright, vivid color on the frisbee reminds me of the old rock and roll music and hippie culture of the same generation. Don’t you think that classic lemon yellow on the frisbee looks the same as that on The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”?

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我特別懷念那些玩飛盤的時間。遠離過多的人群,在廣闊的天空下自由奔跑,此情此景如今在香港已不易覓得,所以我更加下定決心,下一次旅行我必帶備飛盤上路,走到杳無人煙的草原,然後從背包中把飛盤拿出來,說:「唏。我有飛盤,要一起玩嗎?」

I dearly miss the time when I could put my hands on a frisbee. Being away from the crowd, running freely under the sky; these are the times and space that can hardly be found again in current Hong Kong. I am more determined than ever to take my frisbee with me on the road — To take it with me to the uninhabited grassland. “Hey! I have a frisbee. Want to play?” I imagine myself saying.

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