So Friday night I went on a little adventure in the woods. This turned out to be an unwise decision.
At some point I failed to properly latch the rear door of the camper, probably after grabbing a soda out of the cooler. I was punished for my inattentiveness. On some bump somewhere, my milk crate full of gear, the cooler, and ONE of my work boots, fell out. Possibly all on multiple bumps, a veritable trail of my junk through the woods, perhaps. I discovered my mistake upon reaching the circle k, and having made a big loop, and it being fairly late, I figured I'd just backtrack and pick up my breadcrumbs as best I could.
Got gas, a redbull, and when I hopped in Gertrude to go back the other way, the distinctive sound of a bad universal joint clanked in through my driver's window. Knowing that my trucks Indian name is "Deferred Maintenance", I got out and started to check under the old girl's skirt. Found a needle 3/4 of the way out of the cup.
Insert your favorite strings of swear words here. I didn't cuss the air blue, I stained the concrete right there by the gas pump, because I did it very quietly and quickly, like a spill, or vomit.
Remember that work boot I mentioned? There was three hundred dollar bills under the insole. The crate wasn't all that worrisome, just some chain, shackles, a bottle jack and a bunch of other crap that's been in my way for six months and completely unused.
I drove about a 100 mile loop, down a series of Forest Service Roads, and the last time I got in the cooler, was at about the halfway point. I've already toasted a u-joint and it's dark, but the mountain is FULL of people and campers this weekend for reasons I don't understand.
So I do it, I backtrack, going even slower, driving very carefully. It's not just that I can't afford to lose $300, and the boot I need to make more, it's that dadgummed crate. That thing has about a hundred pounds of steel in it, and if it slid out and said plop, right there in the middle of the road, because I'm going Mach Snail through the woods like usual? Then somebody in a side by side, trying to have a good rip with their buddies in the middle of the night, comes round some curve, or over some little rise and crams that thing? Or some teenager on a quad? That could be a life changing experience.
I didn't find an ought damned thing! Not even a wet spot from where the cooler spilled! Found the spot where I had peed and grabbed that last ginger ale, but not a dang thing else. That's when I had me a hollerin.
I took Saturday off, since I was up all night driving through the woods, and I still hurt from whatever I did to myself coughing a few days ago. Still have said cough, but the intensity has relented substantially, and my nose has stopped dripping. I am going to do as little as possible today, and deal with my problems on Monday, because that seems like a mature response.
The weather is supposed to be nice today, mostly sunny, 85°Freedom, light winds.