<it are already Fryedaye on the Atlantic coasts)> ...

... as i raced down the trail, a small-to-medium bear at my heels,
himself being chased by a couple of dogs off leash, they being also
chased by an irate granny in a suped-up motorized wheelchair, my mind
wander back a few days to the Topic of ...

What did you leave at home, son?
Why must you go to town, Bill?

an old refrain from the ancient times of perilous camping.

anyway, i dashed this little ditty off back then, and now offer it for
your constipation ... or consideration, whichever comes first within
90 minutes, no warranties expressed, implied, or otherwise indicated
by any media means whatsoever except possibly telepathy if you can
prove it exists. :)

R: And now, here's something we hope you'll really like ...
B: Who you calling a Fig Newton?

  Camp, Camp, Camping
       In The Forest

  (or The Alzheimer's Hope)

     by Geo. F. Patoot

  When we left our home that day,
  And began to drive away,
  We all thought that everything was still on board ...
  But when to the camp we came,
  We could see things weren't the same
  Cause the stuff we needed never had been stored.

 Camp, Camp, Camping in the forest,
 Wond'ring what we left back home
 Let's get drunk and never rise,
 As we lay and watch the skies,
 We're the Vanagon in campsite number nine!

  As we sat around that night
  Watching flames so warm and bright,
  Wishing now that we had brought the stupid chairs,
  But it's really not so bad,
  And it kinda makes me glad,
  That at least I brought my extra underwear.

 <Chorus>

  The kay-aks we keep on top
  Would be great to float and flop
  If a paddle we had thought to bring along.
  But they won't get wet this trip
  Cause we brought the wrong equip:
  Pairs of showshoes in a kayak is just wrong.

 <Chorus>

   So we sit and study bugs
   That have really silly mugs,
   And spend hours taunting chipmunks cause we're bored,
   And we swear on Bentley's Book
   That next time we'll surely look
   And pack everything that this time we ignored!

 <Chorus>
 <Chorus>

for those of you even vaguely curious or semi-interested,
i have a midi file with three verses (9kbytes) or an mp3
file with all four verses and choruses (2400kbytes).
or knot.
:)

and for those trying to figure the Ultimate Camping List, i re-offer
this little blurb of philosophizing ...

    Tales of the Workshop
    by Robert W. Service-Advisor   :)

            The Rules

  When they step up inside, as you go for a ride,
  And the first thing they see are the tools,
  Then they'll ask with a smirk if you do your own work,
  Cause they have no idea of The Rules.

  For it's Tried and it's True: What you carry with you
  Will help you get back; and it's certain
  What you leave back at home, as the country you roam,
  Will not help on the road when you're hurtin'.

  As you go through the years, you will learn from your tears
  All the tools you will need on the road,
  And you increase the weight, in attempts to cheat fate,
  Adding more and more tools to your load.

  Now, it's sad, but in trucks, fuel economy sucks,
  And gets worse with all that piled aboard,
  But the point we make here is that gas ain't so dear;
  Don't let tools and spare parts be ignored.

  So the bus weighs a lot. Even more when you've got
  All the spare parts your money can buy
  Hidden under the seat, stacked so careful and neat,
  In the hope Murphy's Law won't apply.

  But since Murphy still lives, and he seldom forgives,
  No matter how much you have pleaded,
  The Rules make it plain, but we'll state it again:
  Carry with you whatever is needed.

... and to all, a good night!
unca joel