Yes I asked "Why the plunger?"

I love what I do, I really do. 
But sometimes I'm clueless.

I get to be around cool people doing cool things. I ask them questions and I get to write about them.

It's fun.

But sometimes it is an exorcise in humility and an acknowledgement of air-headedness. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather feel like an air head than prove that I am one.

So........

​Today I covered the Two Mile Run County Park annual polar plunge. There were teams dress-up in costumes and it was a fun time. There may or may not have been adult beverages.

I'll never judge.

One team donned plunger hats. When this seasoned reporter saw this, I chuckled and took some photos. It was funny and from a cameraman's standpoint, cool as that place the devil resides!

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​Educational opportunity

So I asked one of the participants, "Did the plungers have a particular meaning?"

A brief silence........

​ "Because it is a polar plunge!?!?!"  said Jodi Baker-Lewis, one of the key event organizers. She was kindly unsure if I was joking.

I laughed immediately. It totally went over my head.

Sadly, it sailed clean over. I mean way over.

If I have any excuse, it is the concussion I suffered four months ago. I cling to that as my explanation for moments when I'm really just not that bright.

Truth is, sometimes we just don't see the forest through the trees. It's why I ask for someone's name even when I think I know it. It's embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as publishing the name incorrectly.

So yes the plungers on the head were not some Area 54-esque or Knights Templar deep state thing. They were simply because it was a plunge and nothing more. If my face were capable of blushing, it would have been as red as a Crimson Tide fan T-shirt.

The fourth annual polar plunge at Justus Lake took on a new meaning. This year's event raised nearly a couple grand for the park's discretionary funds that is used for events or needed amenities not covered by normal county funding. 

Money was raised through a series of sponsors and the 30 to 40 participants who each paid 20 or 25 dollars to jump into the frigid waters.

Earlier in the week, they cut a large opening into the seven-inch thick ice to create a place for participants to jump, waddle or stroll into the lake and back out, all under the watchful eye of a couple Oil City Fire Department scuba team members.

​And believe me, it was cold.

Real cold.

According to Baker-Lewis, there are plans to grow the event. Next year they plan to add a 5K foot race and possibly more. A soup cook-off sorta took place this year, but next year will be expanded.

This year, they added a costume contest that was won by a group going by the name "Cousin Eddie."  Again, I was clueless until we looked the Pop Culture reference and discovered Cousin Eddie was a character from the movie "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."  

After learning what Cousin Eddie was about, I mentioned to Baker-Lewis that her team with the plungers on their heads should've paired up with the Cousin Eddies as one group based on an iconic scene from the movie.

We laughed. (Look it up if you have to!)

Baker-Lewis said the Rotary and area sponsors, in coordination with Luke Kauffman, the park's manager, named the event the Justus Jaunt. 

Baker-Lewis said fundraising for the park doesn't have to stop at the event. People who love the park and what it has to offer can donate by sending money to Two Mile County Park at 471 Beach Rod, Franklin PA, 16323 or call Luke at 814-676-6116.