What is it about a campfire that makes everything magic? The flickering light, the creaking crickets, the snap and pop of the burning logs, the laughter of children...and Marty's stories. Always Marty's stories. We are transfixed.
Every year we gather around a campfire somewhere in Western New York. Our circle of friends met back in the 80s in our first years at college.And each year, it's like we've never been apart and we pick right back up again.
We know a lot of stories about each other.Which is no surprise, considering that we star in many of them.
Our stories are the kind of epic adventures you have when you're launching yourselves into the world. You know...the important ones. The ones that are about who we really are.
These stories are set apart from all the things that came later. Because even if some of us stayed together long enough to toast our 22nd or 23rd anniversaries, what we had then was before all that...
Before our kids...who continuously bring us joy and all form of other emotions...
Before our jobs and careers...which have tested us and which we have discussed and dreamed about all along.
Before we became "grownups." Before we mourned our parents.
What we have is outside of time. A rare thing indeed.
So you can see why it's definitely worth driving 8 hours to sit in the rain and watch your best friend's daughter drive through mud puddles. And talk about how beautiful she is - mud and all.
Or see Joey's smile
Or watch two boys emerge from the woods after hunting crawdads all day...
...and cook 'em up to see if they taste like mini lobsters. (They kind of do - in a fresh water kind of way)
And each year there is some kind of art project, usually inspired by Chaz.This year: The duck mask.
...which was nearly upstaged by the attack of the giant inflatable Christmas lawn ornament, rumored to be auto-inflated INSIDE Tom's camper. Alas, no pictures survive the incident.I mean...we may be "grownups," but we aren't actually grown up or anything.
So, a tip of the Red Cat to you all...especially Tom who hounds us mercilessly by phone all year to make sure we keep coming together.
Love you guys. See you next year.This one's for you...
More pics here.
