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Scout Camp 2008

posted at 2:10 am
on Jul. 30, 2008

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So, that Serenity movie—it’s pretty darn cool.

I spent last weekend car camping.  It was the 2008 Scout Camp, only this time, we had 100% more women than normal, and 100% less snow.  I can’t think how the two are related, but there you are.

We were camping at Silver Tip campground, which is about 40 km South of Hope, close close close to the U.S. border.  There are three official camping grounds for cars along the way, and plenty of other turnoffs and pullouts, so there’s almost no way that you’ll be unable to find a place to hang out.

Susie and I made fajitas for dinner; others had steak, burgers, grilled tuna and sandwiches.  It’s pretty cool to be able to bring your own BBQ with you on a camping trip.  Car camping: don’t tell the young scouts what they’re missing.

Susie and I were shopping at the new Meinhardt’s that just opened on Arbutus, and we happened across one of those ridiculous boxes of marshmallows, the kind that cost $5 and each marshmallow was had crafted by Norwegian ferret elf children or some other magical being.

Well, we couldn’t, we just couldn’t, pass up on the chance to take the world’s most luxurious snack and make it into the world’s most perfect smores.  So that’s what we did, and that deliciousness, merged with Susie’s superior snack toasting skills, results in more tastiness than you can imagine.

Martin was the one who “organized” it—by basically deciding he wanted to go fishing.

My grandfather had a poem he liked, that I got from him as a child.  It hung on my wall for years, and went like this:

A feller isn’t plotting schemes,
    Out fishin’;
He’s only busy with his dreams,
  Out fishin’.
His livery is a coat of tan,
His creed -to do the best he can;
A feller’s always mostly man,
  Out fishin’.

I looked it up today for the first time, and found out it’s by Edgar Guest.

I didn’t do any fishing, but I wish I had.  I didn’t really have any reason not to, I just didn’t want to trounce in the cold water, and I figured that casting with the one casting rod was about as productive as throwing sticks for Tennyson.

And I mean that—dog just *loved* fetching.

I wasn’t fully prepared for the trip—my thermorest had gone missing in the past year, and while I did bring a tent, it was tiny tiny—square, but not quite long enough for me to stretch out fully.  Luckily, Mike’s wonderful Bonair had extra shelter and a bench cushion that provided something for me to recline on.

The conversation was nicely balanced this time: 60% science fiction and Simpsons references, and 40% talk about pregnancy and kids.  By all accounts, the weekend was a great success.  Having couples instead of just guys was truly fun, and while I hope there’ll be a boy-fest sometime in the next year, this was in many ways better.

Overheard

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”

...who said it?

“Almost every American I know does trade large portions of his life for entertainment, hour by weeknight hour, binge by Saturday binge, Facebook check by Facebook check. I’m one of them. In the course of writing this I’ve watched all 13 episodes of House of Cards and who knows how many more West Wing episodes, and I’ve spent any number of blurred hours falling down internet rabbit holes. All instead of reading, or writing, or working, or spending real time with people I love.”

...who said it?

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

...who said it?

“I play with variables constantly.”

...who said it?

“Only the person who has learned Continual Love coming from a heart of Gratitude/Worship can effectively deal with the problem of loneliness.”

...who said it?

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