| Afterglow RFT V: Return to the Hive - Day 2 |
| Waking up at Afterglow is perhaps the most beautiful thing in the entire world. Imagine opening up your eyes, looking out the window and watching pure beauty unfold before your very eyes. Even in early May when the trees are barren and aren't fully developed, it is still breathtaking. That is what keeps me coming back. That and more random moments with Kevin. And this bear. And Rhinelander shorties of course. Look, I don't need to explain myself to you or provide reasoning. This is my life. And it will never make sense. |
| It's been well established that I have been coming up to Afterglow since, well, since before you were born. So why do I come up here at other random times in the year (aside from July)? To Rage for Timmy of course. Since that is the main reason that we are here, it's only fair that we spend as much time with him as possible. Even though we got up here yesterday while it was still daytime, we didn't venture out to Memory Point until this morning. We know that we must be here but it is still hard to do it. We should be raging with Timmy, not raging for him. It's not fair. But life isn't fair. That's the way it is. But we are still here. So rage we shall! Until the wheels fall off! |
| After submerging ourselves in the ethereal waters of Lake Afterglow, we decided to walk back towards the cabin. I wish I could say that we ascended to a higher plain of consciousness on the way back, but that didn't happen. Sadly, we just walked. We didn't even stroll, galivant or meander. But when we got to our destination, we saw P Baby hanging out on a chair. So it was worth the effort. |
| Home |
| While we were out in the woods, my Dad and his 3 dogs (P Baby, Sweet Lou and Scrappy) finally showed up. I owe this entire weekend to Dad and Kathy as they were funding this endeavor. We had planned to meet up here as we would be coming from Milwaukee and they from New Richmond. So much had already happened, but I couldn't imagine what was yet to come. How could I? That's crazy. |
| A normal person would not be swimming in Afterglow Lake on May 2. We are not normal people. That is why we find ourselves drawn to the waters of Lake Afterglow regardless of the season. It screams to us like a banshee. We cannot resist her calls. So she welcomes us. And we enter her. And we get wet. And it feels good... Wait... what? Settle down pal. This is a family website. |
| Dad and the dogs came to visit us at Memory Point and then they followed us down to the beach. He has brought the dogs up to Afterglow many times and they are very familiar with the layout. In fact, I'm pretty sure that they think they own the territory. They wander about as they please like the King (Percy) /Queen (Buffy) / Court Jester (Trixie) of the castle. And why shouldn't they? Everyone feels like royalty up here. Even the hell spawn loons. But they don't deserve it. And they can't be trusted. |
| I've spent more time on the raft than I have with my ex-wife. I guess that's why we're no longer together. The raft is dry-docked until the Summer season (which is after Memorial Day?), so we had to enjoy the pleasures of this wooden beauty on the shore and not floating out on the water. So it just wasn't the same, no matter how hard our imaginations tried to convince us that it was. |
| Even though we had "broken the ice" and/or "popped our cherry" yesterday when we went swimming, it was still a daunting task to have to do it again. Who swims in a Northern Wisconsin lake in early May? I don't know who does that, but I kind of want to party with them. While we contemplated the path that led us here (and all decisions along the way), I looked up at the sky and felt a sense of calm and a bizarre realization that I was meant to do this. I am supposed to be here. This is where I am at home. And it all just feels right. |
