Yeah, so I plagarized myself....

"I’m having far too good a time to bother with writing a column.”
I went on a camping trip a short while back up to Bryson City, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. We had a great time, and I took some notes along the way….
”Last night we sat around a campfire on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, eating smores and telling ghost stories about ex-significant others.”
I was sharing a small tent with a tall fellow named Joe, who I’ve known since high school. We were in drama together and in a garage band. I was his campaign manager for a while when he ran for the state house last year.
”And drinking cabernet sauvignon out of Styrofoam cups. While our beers cooled in my trout net drifting in the nearby stream. I don’t think there are any trout in there. I hope there’s no giardia, either. There’s some rum around here, somewhere.”
Come November, he did as well as anyone could in such a polarized district. According to the math they taught me at campaign manager training, for our side to have won we needed to bring out our “base” vote, all our “get out the vote” vote, something like 90% of the “swing” vote, killed a few hundred members of the opposing party….
We didn’t have the budget for that.
”You drink a room-temperature red wine with meat and a chilled white with fish or fowl.What do you drink with Chex Mix (with M&Ms mixed in – yum)?”
Joe was traveling with Emily, who I’ve know for a while (worked at a wine store, very helpful), Leanne and Stef, aka “The Rock”. That’s a pretty strong nickname, and having met her I’d not question it. She supported my moniker, “Squirrel”, and even gave me another – “Grizzly Little Bit….
”I must confess we did have a tent pole break last afternoon and I wound up with a shard of fiberglass through my finger. But I got it out. I’ve never hammered in tent stakes with an unopened beer bottle before. Better wait a while before I unlock that one….”
We had all sorts of fun – a little something for everyone. Usually when I travel I run myself into the ground, but we took it easy and I enjoyed it… cruising the kitsch shops of Cherokee, cooking over an open fire, hiking to the top of Clingman’s Dome….
”I think this afternoon we’re going over to Cherokee. Some of our folks wanna try their luck at gambling…"

Yep. In my anthropological quest to explore strange new cultures, to seek out new lifeways and new cheap thrills I donated 10 bucks to my friend Ben’s tribe.

Don’t thank me. Just doing my job.

For a photo of beer in a trout net, and more of John’s thoughts on gambling, the universe and everything, check out his blog: jderrickstar.blogspot.com.