Author: Lauren Mirs

Enjoy Your Stay!

Some people really know how to camp. I’ve seen groups cart in bicycles, 4x4s, kayaks, canoes, inflatable pool rafts, fishing poles, lawn chairs, hammocks, coolers, a baseball and catcher’s mitt, corn hole boards and bags, plastic buckets and trowels for the beach- any toy, tool, or contraption that can be used outdoors. They grill a feast, light a bonfire, roast marshmallows, wear glow sticks after dark, and blast the radio… seemingly unconcerned with whether or not everyone else in the park wants to hear it.  

I’m amazed at behavior I see in campgrounds. Some people act as if there is a fence surrounding their campsite and they are no longer in public. As if the rest of us can’t hear what’s said through a thin sheet of nylon and netting. Part of me admires their authenticity, and another part cringes. Out here, I get a glimpse- or, in some case, an hours-long dramatic production- of what I assume normally happens behind closed doors. I find out which parents smack their children, who deliberately belittles and insults others, which kids run wild without discipline, who engages in shouting matches, and which rare families spend time peacefully playing frisbee together. I also realize that the reason I’m free from any of these particular judgements is because I’m camping alone. 

Ticked Off

In Arkansas, my great-grandparents lived across the street from a wild, wooded area. We’d hike there regularly- and get ticks regularly. I didn’t dread Arkansas on behalf of the ticks; they were just a feature of the landscape. New York was taxis, art museums, and Italian ice; Arkansas was Walmart and ticks.  

Nowadays, if you research tick removal, you will be directed to pull it out with tweezers and voila! I’m not sure what was so different back then- it’s possible that some ticks may have burrowed beneath the skin. At least once each visit, the adults would convene and swap home remedies they’d heard in passing, then decide which ones to try. I felt like a guinea pig in some grand insect experiment. Once, a tick got painted with clear nail polish to try and suffocate it. Another time, a flame and burning cigarette were each held near my skin to try and coax the tick out of hiding. Those were not the most comfortable moments for a preschooler. I honestly don’t remember which remedies worked or how the ticks were eventually extracted after failed attempts, but I always went to bed tick-free.

On this trip, I have seen a few ticks, but I’ve never found one on me. I like to think that because of all that experimentation, I now exude a natural tick repellent. It’s my superpower.  

Let’s Call It A Draw

For some family vacations, we’d drive to visit my great-grandparents in Arkansas. Once, as we got close to their neighborhood, one of my parents guessed that Great-Grandma would have dinner ready for us. “No way; it’s too late.” “Are you kidding? She lives for this!” They argued for a minute, then bet each other a quarter.  

A moment of calm passed. “Okay, if she cooked, what did she make?” “Navy bean soup.” “Beef stew.” They bet each other another quarter.  

It turned out that they each won one of the bets. Instead of just calling it a wash, my parents actually traded quarters.  

This story reminds me of how my mom and I sometimes disagree about the way a word should be pronounced until one of us looks it up in the dictionary. Almost every time, both pronunciations are listed. So now, when we disagree on something, I automatically assume that we’re both right.

a misty morning
our ferry plays hide and seek
with the horizon