My phone likes to bring up “Memories.”
It does this by bringing up a picture with the title, “On this day in the such-n-such year.” (It uses the date on the image.)
I smiled at the sight of the picture. I then forwarded it to my two best friends, who were also in the picture.
It’s a photo of a younger me and younger versions of my two best friends. We were camping. The year was 2009.
In the photo, I’m playing my acoustic guitar, “Charlie,” and my friends are playing their acoustic guitars. We are standing around the campfire.
Some other people stopped by to watch, listen, and hang out.
I remember asking one of them to take a picture.
My truck, seen in the background, was less than a year old. I still drive it today.
The Honda Ridgeline came with a trunk that doubled as an Ice Chest. There is a plug at the bottom to let the water drain.
We were playing “Johnny Cash” during this photo.
Cash is always good to play around the campfire.
I remember my friends had to tell me which Chords to play. I always forget how to play Johnny Cash songs. Once you tell me the Chords, though, I can play it with ease.
I didn’t have a Colostomy or a Urostomy at this time in my life.
I simply had a Foley Catheter in my “Wewe” that ran into a “Leg Bag.” I was also wearing a diaper.
My Health was great at this time, though. I didn’t even accept the fact that I had a disability. I just Pee’d and Pooped differently than my friends. —Life was Great.
On the table sat my Coleman Stove and Coleman Lantern.
We had each bought food for each meal—breakfast, lunch, and Dinner.
I drank back then. I don’t drink now.
In the trunk/Ice Chest of my truck were three cases of beer—all covered with ice.
I drank “Light” beers, and my friends drank “Pabst.”
My tent was brand new.
I bought it because it was easy to set up. You pull a string, and it pops right up.
We had a rule that you couldn’t drink until your tent was up.
I pulled the string, and the tent popped right open. —I popped the top of my beer and sat down and watched them put tent poles together.
The place we were camping at had a Bath House.
That was the one thing that I required: a bathroom and showers.
I still had to keep germs down to a minimum.
I did enjoy walking out in the woods and opening the valve of my Pee Bag and letting it drain, though. That was as close as I could come to Pee’in in the woods.
I would open the valve and let out a sigh of relief as if I were feeling relieved from emptying my bag.
When it was time to leave, I couldn’t get my tent to go down.
I ended up tying the tent to my truck’s bed and driving home with the tent still up. I gave that tent away after that.
The picture brought back those memories and many more.
So, I smiled when I saw the picture.
