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On August 5, teams gathered from all over Vermont on a muddy field in Essex for a day of mud volleyball.

It was the 18th Annual Mud Volleyball Tournament and the proceeds benefited The Epilepsy Foundation of VT.

The Town of Essex provided the field and the firetrucks which poured over 160,000 gallons of water into the parched earth.

The mud was fragrant and spiced with manure. Frogs kept the volleyball players company in the pits.

95 Triple X was on hand for musical accompaniment (I counted and "Beautiful Girls" played over 4 times - the glories of Top 40 radio).

The players worked hard to detach their feet from the treacherous muddy pits but there were many ungraceful belly flops and Jackson Pollock-esque mud splatters.

At the end of the day, there was a garbage can filled with discarded and duct-taped shoes. Fire hoses were used to clean off the first layer of dirt.

Did you know that mud can creep into your most intimate crevices and days after the event, the pesky substance continues to seep out slowly? Eek.

Despite this, you will probably see me on the field next year. It is too fun to watch from afar and it is for a really good cause.

I plan on being a mud beast but don't expect me to wear one of those yellow banana hammocks - they take guts!

I am glad to have been, quite authentically "stuck" in a field in Essex Vermont.

Aptly titled song, "Let Go," by Lowell Thompson (MySpace).

UPDATE: 8/12/07 - YouTube made Mud Volleyball it's Pick of the Day which lead to 11,000 hits. Thanks YouTube!