The weekend started at 5:15 Friday morning when I had to get up. Didn't grouse as much as I usually do considering I was heading for fun times. As we were driving through town to get on the interstate, I noticed the gas gauge was on "E." Now in P's van, that could mean you still have 1/4 of a tank or you could be on fumes. I ask Mom if she thinks we should stop and get gas and she says, "No, no. We have a 1/4 of a tank -- that's more than enough to get you to Gina's and me to work."
You know where this is going, right?
So on South-235 just after the Zoo Blvd exit, the van starts choking. We make it to within sight of the Central exit -- where there is a QT mocking us -- before it dies completely. Mom tries to call Hubcap both on his cell and at Nay's, but she can't get him. She notifies work she's going to be late (it's about ten before 7:00, and she's supposed to be there at 7:30), then gets roadside assistance through 911. The entire time, I'm laughing my fanny off. Mom, needless to say, was not as amused as I was. We never HAVE had the same sense of humor . . . .
The very nice roadside assistance man shows up within 15 minutes, we get off on Central to load up on petrol, and I get to Gina's by 7:25. I'm SO jealous of Gina's apartment. It's a spacious two bedroom with a closet for W/D (which came with the apartment) in the hallway -- and it's only $460. I pay $510 for a 1/4 of the space. It's not fair. ::frown, pout::
Jump to -- we arrive at Chihowa. It's been about four years since I've been "home," and except for the concrete around the pool that's been painted aquamarine (I bet THAT'S slippery when wet), it looks the same. ::sigh:: Man, I love that place. I attended MDA camp at Chihowa from age 8 until 21, then went as a JC at 23. For whatever reason, I wasn't allowed to be a staff member like several of my pals who had MD, but I digress. The friendships I formed at Chihowa helped make me who I am, for better or for worse. The friends I have from here are the kind you can not talk to for months or even years, but when you get together again, you don't notice except that you sit for hours and talk and talk. Well, now that I think about it, we did that even when we saw each other all the time.
So we unload and get checked in with the manager. Because of the check-in, we're (Gina, Jen, Jen's son Grant, Heidi, Sharon, Jenni, Jenni's little girl Breanna, and me) the first to arrive. At one point, the manager makes the comment that the church that runs the place is maybe getting new beds soon. I look at the beds, laugh, and say, "It's a good thing, 'cause I think these are the same beds from when I started coming at EIGHT."
I'm 34, for those of you who don't know.
And I'm not exaggerating about how old the beds are.
Gina's cousin Tammy arrives, and Jen's mom and nephew are close behind. After they unload, we all head in to Lawrence to eat. Our waiter is the most adorable little nerd of a guy, and he's wearing the Superman "S" on his belt buckle. Loved it! At one point, Jen bets Tammy $5 to comment to the guy about it, which she does. I don't think Jen ever paid up on that $5, though . . . . After supper, Jen, Tammy, Gina, and I head to the store to get our portion of the groceries for the weekend. On the way, Jen hits a doozy bump which makes Tammy bounce on the bench at the back of the van. She exclaims, "Whoa! I think I lost my gizzard!" I start giggling (remember, I got up at 5:15, and it's now about 6:30 or 7:00) as Jen asks whether people even have gizzards. Gina says no, but birds do. "It's part of their digestive system," she says in her teacher voice before adding a little uncertainly, "I think it's in their neck." Tammy and I start laughing hysterically at this. Before you know it, we're all laughing like maniacs (I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard), and it's the first repeated joke of the weekend.
"Shut up, or I'll rip out your gizzard."
"Oh yeah?" ::covers neck with hands:: "Now you can't get to it!"
When we get back to camp what seemed like HOURS later (after stopping at two gas stations for coffee because the others wanted it after seeing the closed Starbucks in the grocery store -- only in a college town), several others had arrived -- including a portion of the Stolz crew. For those who haven't been associated with MDA in any of the last 20+ years -- Suzanne (Suz) has been one of my closest gimp pals for over 20 years. At one point or another, all of her five siblings have been attendants at camp, as well as a good number of her cousins. We used to joke that if Suz's clan ever stopped going to camp, the camp would be half what it used to be. She, three of her sibs, her niece and nephew, and a couple of cousins and THEIR kids had arrived while we were at the store, with Suz having only gotten in the state (from CA) at about 1:00 that afternoon. One of her sibs, John, comes running at me as soon as I come through the front door, hugging and kissing me. John unloads our groceries for us (sweetie that he is), and I follow him into the kitchen to chat while we put things away. A young woman walks past me and says, "Hi, Dawn." Oh crap, I hate when that happens. Who was that? As John and I are in the kitchen, the same young woman comes in and I suddenly recognize her -- Mary, Suz and John's baby sister. I've known this girl since she was like three or four, and now she's a beautiful woman of 21, in college majoring in women's studies and mass communications.
God, I'm getting old.
Friday evening commences with some of us playing one of Gina's games (I don't remember what it's called, but it has an EXTREMELY annoying timer on it) while others play dominoes. I start off with the word game in which I get to make an assessment of my friend Jennifer's boyfriend. Yes, Jen, Jenni, and Jennifer. Chris (the latter's bf) is very intelligent and sweet as hell. I adore him, and I can't tell you how happy I am that Jennifer has found him.
It also makes me want to stick my head in a gas stove, but I digress . . . .
Fairly late (around one or two, I guess) Tammy, Jen, Gina, Kerri, and I head downstairs to our room and get into bed. Jennifer and Chris come in, and eventually Suz and John do, too. We all sit around in the dark and laugh and joke and talk. I learn through the conversation that Jen is warm for John, which I find highly amusing since Nay and I suspect the boy is gay. I also learn Chris's assessment of ME. I don't know how the subject came up (I think I was starting to doze), but I hear him say, "I learned a lot about you girls playing that game earlier. I learned that Dawn and Sarah (another attendant who I just met this weekend) are brilliant, and the rest of you have a LOT of catching up to do."
"What?" I ask. "Just because I talked about radioactive decay to describe the word 'half-life'?"
"Among other things," he says. He never did elaborate.
Fortunately, no one seemed to be offended. I, however, was embarrassed. I hate when people say I'm smarter than someone else.
The laughing and joking continued until very late -- so late, in fact, that I start getting grouchy. Scratch that. I became a right royal bitch. I think I even asked at one point, "Do you guys think you can shut the f--- up soon so I can go to sleep?" Everyone finally quieted down at 5:00.
Up for 23 1/2 hours. I haven't done that for YEARS. There's a reason.
To quote Danny Glover from the "Lethal Weapon" movies -- I'm too old for this s---.
To be continued . . . .
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