One of the pleasures of camp is a fire. It could be shared with old friends as you pass the flask and tell some tales. Catching up with your fellow travelers and discussing the latest news or outright gossip. Sharing the wonders of the world with your child as you roast a marshmallow. Falling in love. Or simply sitting by yourself having deep and meaningful conversations with your companion; fire is a true friend indeed. While we can't all sit a fire together, to a certain extent I think we can all agree; this site is an extension of that fire for us all from time to time. A place for a town weary traveler to visit and pass the time until our next trip afield.
There is an unwritten rule of the campfire as well. Let no hard feelings exist. While I can't claim to take a great many things seriously, a campfire is one of the few. It's good to have a decent debate from time to time so long as the fire is burned to ash and any hard feelings drift away like smoke by the end of the evening.
Around a fire you may hear people share deep thoughts, sage advice, personal details, humor and the deepest secrets of their heart. Around a fire you may tell stories; some scary, some ancient, some new, some fun, some sad, some taller than the tallest tree, and a few outright lies. Around a fire you sit for warmth, fellowship and entertainment.
Some folks concern themselves with the truth of the tale too much, forgetting that all good campfire talk lies somewhere between the light of the fire and the darkness of the night. Even worse, some have hard feelings on the subject. If you've found yourself on one side or the other of the Just Bill fence, or just sitting on it enjoying the show, let me open the gate for you. That way we can all pass it by and there's no hard feelings. If you're feeling kind you may call me a storyteller, if you're feeling less diplomatic on the subject I'll save you the trouble of dancing around it; I'm a liar.
So now that you know, maybe this particular campfire ain't for you, besides, you probably don't stay in shelters anyway. Or maybe you're manners are a bit better and you'd like to politely turn in early and say goodnight. No hard feelings.
But if you'd like, yer Ol pal Bill has a seat here for ya next to the fire. I take a pleasure in the telling, and perhaps you'll take a liking to the tale. If not that's fine too. It's just for fun, a little warmth to pass the time. If you don't like the talk let it pass like smoke in the wind.
But if you're amiable; toss another log on and pass the flask. That last one you told reminds me of a tale I once heard. Let me tell you a lie about the time a boy met a gal one afternoon in Vermont….
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5o...it?usp=sharing
An old tale revisited for those who want to hear it- Dedicated to Socks...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5o...it?usp=sharing