Full Cycle # 697

     When I was starting school each year, my mother took me on the dreaded pre-school shopping trip.  I just was not like the other girls in my class, I did not care about getting new clothes, partly because I was the only kid in my class that did not have hand-me-downs from someone and who did not wear the same clothes over and over.   When the announcement was made that tomorrow we were going shopping, I would look like someone just said I had to put my dog to sleep.  To sweeten the pot, my mom would quickly add, and we can look at the camping equipment.

     I went into the change room and my mom brought stuff for me to try on and when we had enough, she would go to pay and I would go press my nose to the girl scout case.   I wanted the hatchet.   Dad said I had to be a scout to that so I joined as soon as I could and at age 10 went off to camp for two weeks.  You couldn’t bring your own hatchet, but I did have the one in the case at home.   I have lived in several cities, traveled, a moved 20 times, but I still have the hatchet.

     I got hooked on camping and the game of making something out of nothing and creating an environment that was comfortable.  A good toilet seat on the trench john, a rack to stack your dishes and cook wear, a secure tent or lean-to.. I know them all and eventually earned my curve bar (like eagle scout) and advanced camp manship with American Camping Society.   I could survive in the wood and knew how to make twine out of bark and eat whatever was eatable.

     So here I am years later in Asia and I am still camping.   My neighbors and I decided you could wash your small clothes and spin dry them in a lettuce spinner.  I went all over to find the spinner, but could not locate it here.   

     It is half way through my time in Asia on the 9^th and I have the annual malaise.  I have tried for 3-4 days to watch the intake etc. and use herbs.  Today, I gave in and went to the pharmacist, who calmly said, “take two pills tonight then one morning and one night’’ and until you are better,  no fruit or veggies.   So I went a bought rice bread, butter, macadamia nuts, and tea.  The problem with the tea that I wanted, it was bulk tea and I could not locate a strainer.  They did have small tea bags that you fill and then tie with a string.   I had a flashback of being a young camper …   and again.. it is all good.