The Old Heads

We have some really fantastic neighbors at camp.

Ken, a climber, has been living in Nederland/boulder/Denver area for the past 30 years.  He's a 61 year old free climber with more muscle than me! He grew up in my hometown, Normandy, Misery. Good guy Ken is. We made lasagna last night and he was so sweet to throw down for the meal. He brought a can of Great Value white meat chicken. The meal was delicious and he raved over the results. It made me feel pretty good, as it was the first time I had ever attempted the nearly impossible meal of skillet lasagna via campfire! Ken sat up with us and chit chatted the old days like we'd know each other our entire lives. We had just met each other days ago when he had locked himself out of his truck, needed screwdriver, and I had offered him a cup of coffee upon the screwdrivers return.

-

Tim, The Dude, is about 50, and has his name tattooed on on his arm. Makes it easy to remember Tim *Lebowski's* name. Everyone calls him The Dude, even though he was too stoned, and passed out while trying to view the movie ages ago. Very "Dude" like indeed. Tim is really more hair than man. He let his hair down by the fire and I wondered, as he blew on some coals to re-flame the fire, if that's he how he trims his hair. "It's like Janis Joplin's hair. I love Janis Joplin...", he said. After he said that I aggreed; and we sang 'Mercedes Benz together around the newly enlarged fire, ending with "That's all!" In unison and laughing. I sang a little of my/Janis' version of George Gershwin's 'Summertime and he really enjoyed that as well. Soon after, he graced us with a fer Beatles songs he had memorized to keep his sanity while marching for the Army; Rocky Raccoon being the most memorable.

About a week ago, on the way to Nederland from camp, we saw Tim walking down the gravel road and scooped him up, and gave him a lift to town. He was telling us about how he had felt sore because he was lazy the day before, that he should have worked out, and that his legs are just going to continue being sore, and he could really use a banana. Just after thinking that an old Buddy of his was driving towards him and stopped, asked him from his truck, "Want a banana Tim? I just gotta bunch in town!"; Tim had materialized what he needed just by thinking it. Crazy how the world works like that.

The night Tim came by for dinner I made sausage, potatoes, onion, and garlic skillet yum. He and his camp-mate Adam, a kid of 23, ate and enjoyed. It was a lovely night of new friends, once again, as though we had all known each other a lifetime.

-

I hope I can snag a few photos of us and the "Old Heads". Great memories aren't created everyday, and great friends to share with them are getting harder and harder to find all the time.