Monday, December 22, 2008

a chilling memory

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This time last year, a few of us attempted "roughing it" by having a father/son barbecue and then camping out. Sleeping outside. In the snow. Let me tell you that it was rough! So rough in fact, that only two of us were up for the challenge of seeing it through to completion. After dinner and a snowball fight or two, the children were taken to stay with their mothers. Virtually all of our camping compadres disappeared in that process.

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I remember that night clearly. The wind was brutally fierce. The lights from the mini-mall next door relentlessly beamed their harsh lights like x-rays through our tired eyelids. The tarp over our heads was as loud as a jet engine! We toughed it out, and stayed through the frigid night, but did not accumulate any decent sleep time.

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My lunatic friend decided to do it again this year. This time I declined, hoping he would come to his senses, but to him, this is perceived as one of those manly things that must be conquered, rather than a great and useless inconvenience that is easily avoided. He endured another tough campout this year, sans Craver. After he shared a few details from this weekend's sequel, he tried to recruit me for next year!

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Can you guess what time of day that small photo was taken? Try MIDNIGHT!!

11 comments:

dot said...

Tell him to join up with those folks who go for a swim in the winter. I think they call them polar bears. BRRRRRRRRRR!

dot said...

Forgot to say "Merry Christmas"! Hope you and your family have a great one.

mommanator said...

pretty light in your walmart parking lot eh!?
WHat are you NUTS!

lime said...

that description alone sent a shiver up my spine!

brrrrr

sorry to be so late catching up. love michael card too. thanks for sharing that post.

thanks also for a practical clarification on my post today too. i deeply appreciate the work you and your wife do on behalf of the hungry.

Craver Vii said...

Truth be told Dot, I have considered joining the Polar Bear club also. It's just a quick dip, but what an opportunity to snap a few hideous pictures, eh?

Of course I'm crazy Mommanator! You're not just now figuring that out, are you?? :-)

Oh, that pretty light was a very dark east view. WalMart was South, and absolutely flooded with light. I'm sure they have their reasons, but I wish I could shut all those lights off sometimes, so we could get a better view of the stars.

Very kind of you, Lime. Stay warm.

Merry Christmas to all!

L.L. Barkat said...

Oh, I remember this! To think I've been with you so long that I can say I remember this... :)

donsands said...

"Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!"

A very Merry Christmas to you Craver, and your family. May Christ make this a warm Christmas for you with his dear presence. Amen.

Mona said...

whoa! Sleeping out in that snow! I'm glad you are still alive!

Merry Christmas to Craver & Family!

lorenzothellama said...

Bah Craver. Camping in the snow is such a girlie thing to do. Only women do it in England.

Happy Chrismas.
Lorenzo.

Anonymous said...

woah...cold.
i am shivering just thinking about it.

Craver Vii said...

L.L., I'm so blessed to have had these exchanges with you for the past year. You've always inspired me to be more diplomatic.

There is nothing like the presence of Christ, Don. Christmas presence beats Christmas presents any day of the year!

I'm glad you said that, Mona. Part of the allure for me last year was to get a small taste of the experience of homelessness. It is frightening to get to the point that my body tells me "enough is enough," and to know that even though I can turn to safety and warmth at any moment, there are people who cannot. My heart goes out to them.

Har-dee-har-har, 'Renzo. There were no women or children who were up to the challenge this year or last. And when we've gone camping with friends, there are some families who put their matriarchs up in a hotel, because they won't sleep in a tent at night. Thanks for leaving the comment. I think we were on each other's blogs at the same time. :-)

NaNcY, do you know what the hardest part was? After prolonged exposures to extreme heat or extreme cold, my head hurts real bad. I had a terrible headache the day after (last year). That's part of the reason I declined my buddy's invitation this year.