Camping Trip

This is what you get for volunteering:


The newest students in the course are getting ready to go out for land nav practice and testing, (that’s the thing where you try to find your way around the woods with nothing but a map, a compass, a totally useless rubber rifle and an equally useless and much heavier rucksack.) The cadre running it have asked the graduating class for a few medics to do med support for this event. There were three medics signed up, but two couldn’t make it out for some reason, so in formation yesterday the cadre said, “Hey, we have a land nav thing for the junior class on Thursday and I need two more volunteers for med support.”

Crickets… Crickets... All the brand new medics are staring off into the wild blue yonder, pretending we can’t hear.

“Come on, give me two. I need two hands.”

Dum-de-dum-de-dum, I’m just standing here trying to be invisible. Don’t mind me.

“Let’s go, medics, I’ve got all day.”

Okay, this is looking a little embarrassing. It’s just med support, so you go out there on Thursday and sit around hoping no one hurts himself. No big deal. Somebody has to, so I decided it may as well be me. I raised my hand.

“Okay, go link up with the --- guys to figure out where and when you need to be.”

So accordingly I went and linked up with them. It turns out this little exercise does indeed start Thursday, but it continues Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday as well, depending on how bad these guys are at land nav. Nice.

Oh well, there it is. What can you do? Well, since this is not tactical camping for me, this is going to be comfort camping. I’m bringing all sorts of little comfort items out with me, this time, and I’m going to be straight chillin’. I’m bringing books, snacks, a pot, a cup, oatmeal, sugar and tea, and even a tent in case of weather inclemency! This is going to be the most laid-back camping trip ever.

Did I mention I’m bringing books? “The Evidential Power of Beauty,” by Fr. Thomas Dubay; Nelson Mandela’s Autobiography, “A long walk to freedom”; The Brothers Karamazov; Little House in the Big Woods, and Farmer boy, and of course, my trusty Bible. I’m set. See y’all when I get back.