Sunday, June 5, 2005

New Hampshire, Autumn/Winter 1987

We used to go to Contra-Dances, the other kids working at Boston University's Sargent Camp, and I.

The dances would be in old wooden churches, mostly.  We'd pay a few bucks and dance.  I have forgotten almost everything except the women's whirling skirts, and how the dancers would redirect you to keep the dance unbroken.  It was serious business and it was a blast.

Nothing has reminded me more of the faces of the people I worked with than this memory just now.  We had two Andy's.  My favorite was blonde Andy with dreadlocks.  He loved Bonnie Raitt and got all dressed up to go to see her in concert.  Then there was Mary, my roomie.  She is the daughter of a former president of the Audubon Society.  And there was Will.  He was a bike racer.  And Raina.  What a sweetie she was.  There were several others but these are the ones that stick in my mind.

We used to sit around the dining room table at the farmhouse and play "Slap and Go Uno."  It didn't even matter if you put down the right card.  It was all about the speed and the yelling.

Why I didn't tell my friends that the woman I always talked to on the phone was my lover I will never know.  I mean, they must have figured me out.  Duh.

Those were good days.  They were the beginning and end of my career in Outdoor Recreation.  After that, and a brief stint with Nature's Classroom in Ohio, I started taking care of my mom.

New Hampshire is a wonderful state.  I wish things had gone differently.

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