Saturday, April 16, 2005

light a fire

Last night was awesome.  I joined a big group of kids from Alpha and Gamma (two of the KE apartments) for a bonfire.  We drove to a park just ten minutes (or so… I’m bad with time) away, where there was a big sand dune surrounded by tall, thin pine trees. 

So it was great.  A few people (who are used to this kind of thing) built a fire and sharpened sticks, and I skewered my hot dog and held it too close to the flames, so it caught fire and half was charred while the other was a little cool.  But I haven’t roasted a hot dog in ages—if ever—so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A friend of mine (from freshman year—we were on the same floor) and I explored the pines after I ate my burnt dinner.  She was wondering if there might be bears.  We did find a bunny, which was close enough for us.  The woods were beautiful, and I felt light-years away from essays and anything remotely stressful.  I half expected to see Robert Frost come charging around the corner, scrawling a sequel to “Birches.”  (But we only saw the bunny.  Good thing, too.  Frost would have scared me to death.  Mostly because he died about forty years ago.)

Anyway, after reporting our bunny sighting, we joined the others around the fire, singing worship songs and camp songs, playing goofy games (the “Laughing Game”???  Someone drops a piece of paper—or in our case, an issue of Chimes—and everyone laughs from the moment the paper leaves the hand until it hits the ground.  Then you have to stop, or you’re out.  It was hysterically funny, and very weird to hear the echo of our laughter on the hills once we stopped.  You really have to try this), and getting to know each other.

We spent about six hours there.  I kind of sacrificed my khaki pants to the ash (I didn’t always sit on a blanket… oops) and I have never seen my feet that black, but it was well worth it. —jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 04/16 at 10:21 PM
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