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A quote: “The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less.” ~~ Vaclav Havel
I’ll start with a story …
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Camping was fun. Lily’s first try made her happy. Sleeping bags, falling stars and daddy making hoe cakes over the fire.
Fun because we got to go home to the real world of pillow-top mattresses where Lily ate toaster waffles and watched Little Mermaid for the 1-billionth time.
And antibiotics.
“Camping” became a full-time gig for those who escaped the collapse. Ran away to try and survive and Lily scratched her arm one day gathering wood and didn’t tell me until it hurt too much and …
Her picture is in my pocket and her kisses still burn my cheek.
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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license
Cameron says: Solitude was something I craved for many years. It’s why I took a gap year after high school and hiked the Appalachian Trail. It’s why I found the most isolated bits of wilderness and hiked solo. I found peace in small doses and at the end of a journey, I felt something was missing.
I hear the tent open and my daughter climbs out. I hold a finger to my lips to hush her as my wife is still asleep. She enjoys being out here as much as I do and I finally figured out what I’d really been missing.
Dupin says: “Is everything okay, Daddy?”
Daddy…he was that. She was too young to remember her parents or that they attacked him. He killed them but couldn’t kill the little blondie, so she was his.
“We’re going camping, honey. Will that be fun?”
And maybe not come back. He’d spotted the group several days ago…over a dozen. He couldn’t fight that many, so started moving provisions into different caches. It looked like they’d find the cabin, but no provisions now. They’d move on, or he’d have a decision to make.
“Yeah.”
He put a finger to his lips. “This is quiet camping.”
Navig8r says: “Whatcha ya think, Punkin?”
“I love it, Daddy. Are we going to cook breakfast over a campfire?”
“No, we’ll use this propane stove.”
“When do we build the campfire?”
“Probably not this trip. Gets everything all smoky.”
“So this is Barbie camping.”
She was right. It was a good label. Brand new, bright, shiny, designer everything, everybody still looks blow dried.
“I wanna do Xena Warrior Princess camping with campfires and stuff. When can we do that?”
“It’s gonna take some patience to bring your mother around to that idea.”
“Can I have a sword while we are being patient?”
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