Nole Mi Tangre
Denver, CO. 3 am, 5 hours before departure, and the last hour noted due to vacation time, meaning no watches.
It's the stomach flu.
I've waited several months and talked about it every day all summer and 5 hours before I leave for Utah, I am heaving a highly contagious grossness.
The crew arrives at the house, I'm begging them not to touch me, turing away the hugs and kisses.
I am pale, bent and ridged
But I leave anyway. (oh hell yes)
I don't remember most of the road trip to Moab. I'd never been. I'm told it's dramatic and I imagine it, I am three inches from my biohazard receptacle. My mind is set on recovery
The motel 6
my own room
my parents, Flo and Nightingale
15 hours of sleep later
I'm sore, but ready for the trip.
The Corporal
This is not the "bad" part of my trip, I'm just stating facts and details, but it just so happens that my canoe partner was one of our friend's daughter's ex-boyfriend's dad. We'll call him the corporal. Since he is. I didn't ask the details of his air force command, which goes against this story's objective, but as you will discover, I just didn't really care. The Corporal shook my hand and since I wasn't feeling well said he'd take good care of me on the trip, something about lounging in the front seat while he trickled water from the oar if I was hot. This is weird, but it's a detail. I am quite positive. I never had 'control' of this situation, the man met me and I was a little shell of kate, so I don't know when he started calling me 'kid'. I think on the second day I realized it, along with the other condescending offensive remarks he'd make and the little chill up the back of my neck to the EYE was triggered.
Not wanting to cause a total scene, because this is an invited friend, I decide to push buttons.
"hey Garry, how bout my turn at the wheel"
"huh, ooh kay sure"
I really don't want to go into this because I am saving the best for last and THIS is just part of this story and I don't want to get tired of typing or nothing, but just imagine your typical control freak, mid 40's fly boy conservative, eagle scout did I mention military? In a canoe with Me.
But, you know, he's just a shmub who's along on for the trip and he knows he's stepped out of line. And I'm family. But the worst part of all this is that he didn't know any of us, yet rude remarks kept flying out of his stupid mouth. No one called him on them, because my family would think that rude, they just laugh and take a step back, even if just mentally. My mother had had enough of him, any normal human being would have never noticed, she didn't even notice, but she'd set that man to the back of her table, I watched her do it. In my family we let everyone in, we may cast a few pearls, but we love really big. The scary thing about my family is one may sit at our table yet not know or have earned one's place there. Deadly. I am sorry I didn't not give him his place, because all I would have had to have said was, "you don't know me, be nice". I know he got caught up, we were all teasing each other, that's what we do, but everyone knows there is an code to teasing.

see? ick!

okay I'm gonna take the Grizz and the long board on a trip through the neighborhood.
Tune in for part II
If I had a therapist I'd ask. Is it okay that I wanted a mirror on the third day of the trip?