Back before Baleen and S2B came along it was a family of five. We went most places together, usually in a minivan, but sometimes in a C-151, which would generally get you close to where you wanted to go in less time than if you rowed there, but more than if you flew coach.
For my sixteenth birthday we spent a few weeks in Maine, where we ate our first lobsters, marveled that McDonald's had it on the menu and dared each other to go in the ocean. We also took a family hike to Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain in the NorthEast. About 3/4 of the way to the top, we stopped at a hut for some food and drink, and a discussion of whether we should push for the peak. It was getting late, the fog was rolling in, and it's not like the first 3/4 of the mountain had gone quickly and easily. We settled on a vote.
Grizzly and I rose our hands. Wood Duck's was down and was staying down. Those votes were guaranteed, like Texas and New York in the presidential elections. It's the swing states that matter. Shrimp Jr. looked around. She thought about it. She thought some more. Margarine sat to Shrimp Jr's left, facing forward but with his eyes looking left. Just as Shrimp Jr. capitulated and she started to raise her hand, Margarine's shot up like GMO corn. Four to one. We were headed to the top*.
* Postscript: we made it about twenty more steps up the mountain, long enough to pass a group of 4 boys in Dartmouth sweatshirts asking where we were headed, then saying "No way!" when we said the top, but not nearly long enough to make it anywhere near the top as the fog really rolled in and we could barely see the family member in front of us
For my sixteenth birthday we spent a few weeks in Maine, where we ate our first lobsters, marveled that McDonald's had it on the menu and dared each other to go in the ocean. We also took a family hike to Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain in the NorthEast. About 3/4 of the way to the top, we stopped at a hut for some food and drink, and a discussion of whether we should push for the peak. It was getting late, the fog was rolling in, and it's not like the first 3/4 of the mountain had gone quickly and easily. We settled on a vote.
Grizzly and I rose our hands. Wood Duck's was down and was staying down. Those votes were guaranteed, like Texas and New York in the presidential elections. It's the swing states that matter. Shrimp Jr. looked around. She thought about it. She thought some more. Margarine sat to Shrimp Jr's left, facing forward but with his eyes looking left. Just as Shrimp Jr. capitulated and she started to raise her hand, Margarine's shot up like GMO corn. Four to one. We were headed to the top*.
* Postscript: we made it about twenty more steps up the mountain, long enough to pass a group of 4 boys in Dartmouth sweatshirts asking where we were headed, then saying "No way!" when we said the top, but not nearly long enough to make it anywhere near the top as the fog really rolled in and we could barely see the family member in front of us
No comments:
Post a Comment