Back from a long break

It has been ages since I updated this thing. Since last I wrote, I have had a birthday, lost a friend to a kidney failure, saw The Police play a live show, cried alot, smoked some weed for the first time in about ten years, and this weekend I went camping with a good friend, and two....12 year old girls. Plus Cooper.
We managed to cram all our stuff, the dog, and ourselves into my Subaru. We tried unsuccessfully all week to find an available campsite on the coast, but we ended up about 20 minutes up a mountain from the ocean at this little campground on a lake with tent sites. It was lovely and silent. And damp. The campground had a nazi lesbian camp host who seemed at first to be really friendly but as soon as anyone, and I mean anyone in the campground did anything against the rules or something she didn't like, she would come over with her clipboard and say something.
I let Cooper off his leash to pee for 30 seconds and she was all over me for it. She told some fisherman that he couldn't fish with a lantern. And she busted the kids for making too much noise when it was "almost quiet time." She also complimented me on my clothes each day.

We made friends with our campground neighbors from Tillamook, who were high level rednecks. They were really friendly, however, and they loaned us all kinds of tools and one night JB and I sat up late drinking beers with this guy Don Otto, who told us his whole life story, showed us pictures of his kids, and provided us with at least four really dirty jokes. They were kind, even if they weren't the same kind as us, and it was nice to have met them and laughed with them, even if ordinarily we might not be friends in a million years. Don Otto, however, did take the opportunity to tell me that I have "a really nice body" when JB went off to take a whiz. Funny how married men can sometimes think that saying things like that to strange women is appropriate.

We spent a sunny Saturday on the beach with the girls, who are crazy people and swam in the chilly Pacific all day long. I haven't spent all that much time with kids. It was really fun. I did find myself saying things like "put your shoes on" and "roll up the window please", and "No, you do not need anymore marshmallows". I worried over them going out too far in the surf, and nagged the one with blood sugar issues to check her glucose levels. I was surprised to find this sort of vigilance inside me. Nonetheless, we all laughed a ton together, enjoyed lots of food, took naps, and stared at a campfire. I can't really imagine what it would be like to be a parent, but I find I do so enjoy JB's daughter and her friends when we are together.

Still, it is hard enough having a crazy huge dog to try to rally. I'm glad I don't have kids, but you know what? Suddenly I really like 'em. Well, not all of them. But the ones I like I really like.