Last fall, I sprained an ankle. It was a mild sprain, from an extended time walking on steep terrain in the rain. I didn’t even notice the injury at the time. This wasn’t my first ankle rodeo, so I knew what to do. I rested it. But then I got too
Tag: slice of life
I grew up reading books where kids jumped in lakes and rivers to swim. I also grew up in Louisiana with a bayou just beyond my back yard. I grew up with my parents constantly telling me not to jump in the bayou behind our house to swim, because it was
This collection of stories is, to the best of my knowledge, an accurate recollection of my experiences, as I experienced them at the time, and an accurate report on what I have been told by individuals known to me. Any divergences from what happened were either intentional changes made to protect
When I return to visit Louisiana, I like to make the time to stop in at Camp Claiborne, revisit the old stomping grounds. Over the years, it has changed. A lot. At some point, the state or military or some kind of authorities swept in. They said it was hazardous, that
If the knowledge that I actually went out to adventure in Camp Claiborne on a Halloween night doesn’t make you question my sanity, then the story of what happened might. It’s a story that I don’t really like telling for that reason. If there hadn’t been another witness there…well, then I
I’m not usually one for content warnings. I mean, I don’t begrudge people who use them or need them, but I can never remember to until it’s too late. That said, I really, really like dogs and cats, so I’m giving a reverse content warning here: nothing bad happens to the
When I recount these stories to friends nowadays, there’s one question in particular that comes up again and again: “Why did you keep going back?” Sometimes I try to answer it, but other times I dodge and instead laugh and mention that there were places in the camp that were too
Why exactly was Camp Claiborne so wretched, and when did it start getting this way? For answers, let’s look to the history of the place. It’s hard to find detailed accounts of the land’s older history beyond what we can infer from archeology. To summarize what little I found, what’s now
So there I was—about an hour left in the anniversary, in a five flan match (sweet, sweet 530% bloodpoint bonus), in a game where two teammates dc’ed on first hook, leaving me (death hook) and our fourth (no hooks, clearly team mvp) sitting on a mountain of points for chases, saves,
It happened one August. I was to drive from Louisiana up to New England for college, arriving early for orientation leader training and the like. Because of the way the timing worked out, one of my best friends was able to tag along for the road trip, have a short New