12.01.05 - 4:07 pm

i took a shower in a sandbox this afternoon. the beach that had been smeared into my scalp last night was now pouring off my head to the floor of my shower. i slept with all that in my hair. i ate food and drove around this morning with all that in my hair. like some sort of cargo hold. i didnt notice it till the ride home, when every time my head would itch id find thick deposits of sand under my fingernails.

lets back up a bit.

the campsite was assembled in the dark. the fire didnt burn because the wood was wet. swarms of raccoons circled our campsite, anxiously awaiting our departure. they huddled out of sight, but were audible enough amongst themselves to give their whereabouts away. i ate rice a roni out of a bag and a slab of seasoned chicken breast out of another. both cooked and cold. i drank nearly three miller highlife 32 oz bottles. i melted the bottoms of my shoes in the fire, just a little bit.
then we walked to the beach and opened the gates of the gladiator tournaments. derek vs michael. michelle vs. michael. carrie vs derek. carrie vs michael vs michelle. michael vs jordan. battle after battle. backstabbing and double crossing. trying to help and then aiding the enemy.
michaels skin tight thermal long johns were stuffed with handfuls of sand. my hair was doused with handful after handful. my face was pressed into the cold wet sand. i laughed. i used all the strength i had. i threw in some UFC wrestling moves. unbeknownst to anyone other than me of course, because they all failed. in an attempted escape i ran toward what i thought was a sandy embankment. expecting to be able to just run up this wall of sand if i built up enough speed and had sticky enough shoes...i instead ran head first into a solid wall. breaking my leg and my elbow i collapsed right back into the sand, writhing in discomfort. i was not amused.
then wet and cold and soaked in sand, we returned to the campsite.

what was left of it.

the raccoons had pillaged out site and laid waste to our food stores. my bags of rice and chicken missing. our can of pineapples missing. the can of humus missing. and now we could hear them fighting amongst each other over our food somewhere out in the darkness.
we all stared at the fire while we spoke. while we made fun of each other. while we told humorous stories about one another.

i fell asleep sometime after 3 am in my sleeping bag. under the protection of a tent. i was warm.

when i awoke i was informed of dereks incoherant ramblings and gruntings during his sleep, all this while carrie and derek had a wrestling match inside the tent, limbs and feet and teeth carelessly tossed about.
then we ate at Rogues. some form of distillery. they make booze and beer there. the boys did oyster shooters. one for each. then spent the rest of the meal trying to keep the creatures from coming back up from our bowels. they simply refused to die.
i drove home scratching the sand out of my hair, trying desperately to fall asleep, and chewing on the remnants of a plastic coat hanger.

when i showered i looked down at all the sand at my feet and felt good about it.