"The World Was Not Her Oyster"

I used to play volleyball on a coed league team called the "Mudsharks" every Friday night during the Fall, Winter , and Spring at a health club known at the time as the "Norseman". We would have fun playing volleyball and then afterward usually go out to one of the local Cape Cod "watering holes" and get some ice water as well as a beer or two (or maybe three).

As well as frequenting the local bars, from time to time there would be parties held by and attended by members of the volleyball league. One memorable party was held at "Maria D's" house one New Years Eve. The theme of this party besides being New Year's Eve was to make your own hats. I made a hat that looked like a shark that night and "Craig", one of the "Mudshark" team mates, took a picture of me wearing my shark hat and later made this picture into a photo button that he passed out to the members of the team.

"Bob", one of the league members, was an oyster farmer and he brought some fresh oysters to the party for people to have some raw oysters. Now, not everybody I guess is a fan of raw oysters. Me, I like them. "Maria D." was not a fan of the oyster. Everyone at the party was teasing Maria for not liking oysters and someone offered "Maria D." twenty dollars if she would put a raw oyster in her mouth and slither and swallow one of these ocean delicacies down her throat. Well, "Maria D." put an oyster in her mouth but then she couldn't swallow the oyster. We were cheering "Maria D." on for her to swallow the oyster but she started to make gagging noises as if she were going to "throw up". "Craig" tried to help "Maria D." swallow this oyster as he started to massage her throat kind of like a "little bird" and said, "Come on Maria, just swallow, you can do it!". But alas, "Maria D." couldn't swallow the oyster and didn't earn the twenty dollars. She was close but "no cigar" or in this case, no oyster. For "Maria D." that night; "the world was not her oyster."