The Return

Here's the short version: The Happy Camper recently returned home after a five year stay along side the Gasconade River. It is no worse for the wear though it survived more than a few floods and high winds that brought down some pretty big old cedar trees nearby. We sold the property to the local Postmaster and his wife. (They plan to build an off the grid home on the bluff above the river.) After cleaning out the wasp nests and polishing the walls, it is as good as new. Well, as good as 1963 new. And so, we are back in the business of taking the trailer on the road. I didn't expect it to make me so happy, having it back in the driveway, squeezed between the basketball goal and our cars, but it really does. I go out to the trailer in the morning, drink my coffee, read the paper and think about the possibilities...where we will take it, the fun we will have. I mean, half the fun of doing anything is the anticipation of it, right? That's why I like baseball too. The art of watching baseball is in part about considering all the possible outcomes of a given inning and then watching the inning play itself out. Another example: I have a colleague who lives to surf. He spends most of his time in the landlocked Midwest, but once he gets out on his board in the waves, I am sure he is in heaven. And a lot of it is because he spent half his year anticipating the moment. So The Happy Camper makes me happy because it is a small space where I can imagine a world of possibilities. Like I said, I'm glad it's back.