The Spirit of Adventure is Alive and Well
Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 11:00:27 AM EDT
In the spirit of adventure, I now begin in the words of Monty Python "Now, for Something completely different..."
This past weekend was one of those that I think every father dreams of whilst they are busy changing diapers and wiping noses.
But before I tell THAT story, I beg your indulgence as I set the table from the beginning.
My parents purchased ten acres in the thumb of Michigan (about an hour and a half drive from home) when my sister and I were little kids. A family retreat in an unlikely place. In the country, surrounded by farms, our place was half wooded and perfectly suited for camping. It started with a little 15 foot black n white trailer and then a well we drove that was pumped by hand. Friends and family began to come up with us on weekends for time to breathe, campfire and swim in nearby Lake Huron or our recently dug muddy little pond. As the years went on, our place changed into something more established with the purchase of a mobile home, landscaping, strategically planted trees. Some friends and family even parked their trailers / campers / even a renovated bus - for summers of fun. Church youth groups would hold a retreat weekend with us as their host. Tents everywhere....
Flash forward 25 years later. My mother (Edie) died of cancer in 2000. This place was so special to her that we buried her in the township cemetery several miles away. At that point, my dad was so grief stricken that he was considering selling the place because it was just too painful. My sister and I understood, but requested some time for wounds to heal (We too wondered if we could ever rekindle this fire). For a few years, the place languished and was lonely except for a couple trips a year. Then about five years ago, I encouraged him to build. He agreed, but more out of just for something to occupy his mind (and hope that it would have life again. A legacy / place - for his now 6 grandchildren). But even then... "Would we still use the place?" But we went forward... Built a nice manufactured 4 bedroom house (and had the now old mobile home hauled away). Even dug a second pond in the east end of the property. Then... After five years of grieving, he met a wonderful woman who is now my stepmother. Although we all still grieve, new life has begun... Old friends, new friends, new family, children.
Last month we were up there for a work weekend (spring cleaning of sorts). My eleven year old nephew Joshua had a brilliant idea. An Airsoft weekend for a bunch of his friends/classmates. My sons: Seth (9) and Luke (5) although young, were invited. We had introduced Joshua to Airsoft the year before, but all of us had those whimpy, cheap guns that so easily break... But now... Now, it is War! So off to the store we went last week. Bought them the good guns (M16's). Seth had the red dot sight too. My wife then says to me before we are checking out... "Aren't you going to get one?" hmm... "What a good idea ;-) " Yes, I bought a really, really good one.
So here is where the tale begins.
This past weekend. Beautiful early summer Michigan weather. We arrive Friday after work. Seth already went up in the morning with David- my brother-in-law and Joshua. Tents everywhere already set up . 6 fathers (including me and David ). Eleven boys (including our sons). Our women folk (daughters included) and my dad sitting on our deck laughing at all the Mayhem (boys and grown boys) running here and there across ten acres. Howls of pain and peels of Joy.
AirSoft (like paintball but with plastic bb's... That hurt!) Capture the Flag (Two bases):
I was the wielder of my new purchased Pulse R76 (looks like an AK47 ) metal gun shooting .20 gram plastic bb's - 350 feet per second) that rained death and destruction upon all that were before me :-) I was the Master Flanker taking out 4 or 5 at a time. Unlike paintball, Airsoft is an "honor game", meaning you must call out if you've been shot. However, with boys in the heat of the moment they tend to ignore or "forget". So.... At 350 fps, if you Pour it on! They (shall I say) much more quickly call themselves out. Ow!!! OUT! Sometimes when I flanked right up on them, I'd just quietly speak "Surrender?" One did. Later one didn't... He turns and points his gun... (Surrender would have been a better idea for him). lol... But I applaud his pluck. In fact that was the coolest part. Seeing these boys become braver and smarter as time when on. Eventhough many had welts all over their bodies. btw, we all had safety glasses on, heavy clothes, some had face shields.
I eventually loaned out my gun for the rest of the weekend to various boys and their dads, so they could have a fighting chance (lol). The other dads were doing the same thing... So, I humbly went through the remainder of the weekend with a pistol. And became sneaky sneaky guy (stealthy death dealer). And just to give the boys thrills, we would sneak up on their base and then rush out howling and whooping as we crashed through the brush, trees and tall grass. This of course would subject us to merciless automatic fire... But it was a thrill to hear them yelling to each other "I shot mister Jim, or uncle David, or dad!!" My partners in death and I would laugh to ourselves as we headed off to the respawn point (with arms up in the air yelling "Out" Which of course you had to do unless you wanted to get shot again...).
Must have been a dozen games during the weekend. So many little stories to tell. I'll put some down some more when I've got some energy back.
Here's a Preview of the best one....
The Last Battle: Where brave little Lukie captured the flag!!
The Theme of our weekend was "Wild at Heart". God made us men with the Heart for: Adventures to Live, Battles to Win and (when they get older...) Maidens to Rescue.
Hope you enjoyed this. Life is truly good.
p.s. Suns if you would, post a couple of the pictures that I sent to you.
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