HAPPY CAMPERS - Segment 2 (Scroll down for opening segment and earlier chapters)

     I remembered seeing a picture of a happy camper when I was a young boy.  It was in a camping magazine.  The young man was smiling and seemed very happy as he erected his tent with a remote while sitting in the warmth of his car.  He went on to tell how this tent would withstand floods, hurricanes, nuclear war and teenagers.  It even came with feather beds.

    I liked this picture. 

    Then I realized the extensive knowledge I could gain from spending time around accomplished happy campers.  So, one summer I decided to embark on a personal quest for the happy camper.  By the end of the summer, I had spotted several Sasquatch, but no happy campers.  I did run into a few campers, but they were cold and wet and trying to light a fire with soggy matches. Just to be sure, I asked, “Any happy campers here?”  They made several life-threatening gestures as they ran me out of camp. 

     The following summer I continued my quest for the happy camper.  A golden opportunity arose when I was mistakenly invited to go camping with our youth group.  Arriving at our destination, the air was filled with heightened expectations, along with a plague of swarming mosquitoes. 

     I knew I could learn a lot about happy camping from our leader, Archie.  What could make a person happier, than leading an incorrigible group of pre-teenage boys into the wilderness, unless he was planning on leaving us there?  Looking into Archie’s eyes, I was certain I could see the peaceful gaze of a happy camper.  As we unloaded our gear and started to set up camp, I could sense a significant upcoming event---probably all the knowledge I was about to gain from spending time around our leader.  It was just about this time that I took a step backward and sat squarely on Archie’s fishing pole, promptly dividing it into two equal parts.  As I looked into his eyes, they were missing the peaceful gaze of the happy camper.  I stepped forward for a better look.  It appeared the gaze had been replaced by a glare.  Then I noticed his muscles twitching.  I could feel an adrenaline rush coming on as I backpedaled slowly, looking for an open space.  When I spotted the open space, I took all of it.  As I bolted from camp, I realized that finding a happy camper was not going to be an easy task.     

     To this day, Archie hasn’t invited me fishing again. And I know he has two perfectly good poles.  It doesn’t matter if they’re a little short.  The fish don’t care.   

 

 

To be continued...check back soon