Afterglow - Rage for Timmy II

Slalom was upset that my Dad was taking his dogs away. Even though she has plenty of dogs to hang out with here, new friends are always welcome. And there will always be new friends at Afterglow.

We took separate cars up here because we all had a lot of cargo. Dad was rolling with 3 dogs and we brought along 2 guitars. It was time to head back home, but I could tell no living being wanted to do it.

Dad, Kathy and the dogs took off but we hung around a little bit longer. It was partly because we were too tired and hungover to move but mostly because we just didn't want to leave here. Afterglow is such a special place and once you spend even a minute of time here you never want to be anywhere else. So even though we were doing nothing by laying out on the dock, nothing here is better than anything there.

If I had the money to purchase Cabin #2 and the permission from Pete (both of which I never will get) I would live here year round. What else do you need in life than a place to lay your head at night and a place to enjoy your life by day. I wish that it was a reality.

I always like to be the last one to leave the cabin and I always take a picture to prove it. Kevin wouldn't allow me to be alone at this moment and jumped in before I could stop him. This time would be different than the others. Alright. I 'm always open to change.

Here I am right before we left. I don't know why I took my picture but then again I don't know why I do a lot of things. I've tried time and time again to explain my actions and I've always come up short.

We stopped at Ken + Mary's farm in Tripoli for some food and beer. And of course to see Sarah's parents whom Timmy loved so dearly. We try to stop and visit every time we are in the neighborhood.

Timmy spent a lot of time up here. It was his home away from home. Since he didn't have a "real" job for many periods in his life he could hang out here for an entire week or more. He loved it here so much that Ken and Mary gave him an acre of their land to do with it what he wanted, and he chose to build a tree stand. I know they are intended for hunting deer and although I'm sure he did that a few times, I'd also like to think that he used it for other things too. Who knows man. I never had the pleasure of coming up here at the same time as him, so I only know through stories of what he did here in this place he loved to go.

I don't like hanging out in the woods. When I got back to Ken + Mary's from Timmy's grave I was covered in ticks. It freaked me out big time. Then Mary took us to their neighbor's tree stand. If this is what living in the woods is like then sign me up. I'll deal with ticks if I can hang out in a sweet clubhouse. Here I could write my memoirs.

Before we started heading back home we once again stopped at Memory Point to say goodbye to Timmy and Afterglow. It would only be like 3 months until we were back up here again in July but I promise you those 80-some days would be the longest of the entire year. There is no place on Earth I'd rather be than right here next to my little brother. But I can't be here every day. That's how it is. But someday when it's my time to leave this world I hope to be buried right next here beside him. I know it sounds weird to talk about it but that's my final wish.

You are probably all too familiar with this picture as well by now. This is the breathtaking view of Afterglow Lake from Cabin #2's dock. This is one of my favorite places to hang out in the entire world because from right here everything looks and feels so simple. No worries. No problems. No reason to get upset. Right here you can just be. There is no greater feeling than to experience true peace and serenity.

This is another place that we buried Timmy's ashes last year because of how much he loved it here. We figured that he would want to stay here for all time. Kevin and I paid our respects to him but didn't stay out here as long as we do at memory point. Ken made us dinner, and we had to get going soon if we wanted to stay ahead of the weather.

We knew that a storm was coming and we couldn't stay here much longer. We had to go anyway because it was Sunday evening and one of us (Me) had to be at work in the morning. Kevin drove the entire way home and we had a little brush with death because of the rainstorms that enveloped us. Driving down Highway 41 South somewhere past Oshkosh we were caught in a blinding rain. A semi truck next to us on the road must have hit a slick spot and almost collided with us, which would have totally knocked us off the road into the ditch. Now we may have survived but for a spilt second I felt like that was the end. The conditions were right for an accident but we survived. Now I'm not much into spirituality and divine intervention and whatnot, but I do believe that I'm still around on this Earth to serve a purpose. Now I'm not really sure what that is, but I hope to someday figure it out. Until then I will keep Raging for Timmy be it in my everyday life or up at Afterglow.