Meet George Essig, St. Louis' Competitive Boomerang Superstar
Categories: Longform  It began in the spring of 2005, following
a harsh winter much like the one that gripped the nation this
year. Essig, a lifelong resident of Fenton, was undergoing a
difficult period in his job as a Web developer and was in
desperate need of an outlet.  "I got stressed out at work, and I
found out the thing that made me feel better was exercise,"
Essig recalls. "But exercise has to be fun. I don't like 'chore'
exercise, like lifting weights."  Essig thought he'd found the
workout that suited him perfectly when he and his family spent
an afternoon tossing a Frisbee back and forth. But while Essig
wanted more, his wife and daughters quickly tired of the game.
Later Essig found himself in a Target, standing in front of a
plastic boomerang and having an aha moment.  "I was like, 'I
could throw that by myself.'"  The boomerang, however, does not
yield its secrets easily.  "You can learn the basics in, like,
fifteen minutes if you k