The Aunt Jemima Sisterhood of the dump

On a whim, I took off for the North Woods. With a cheap freshly purchased tent, enough food for a small army, and a bunch of clothes thrown in a back-pack, on little to no sleep.

This shouldn't be a big surprise to anyone.

Once I arrived, it was early evening, the wood was covered in a thicket of rain, fog, and gloom-beutiful.

Quite differnt from the bright lush of green folliage from the summer. The "Welcome home sign" was gone, and it was quite desolate.

There were five of us: Mecca, Lilly, Eikon, and Snake (who appeared on Saturday). Kiva had set up a tent, which I took over: had a cot, a chair within, and set up in the middle of a thicket of wood. I bared the weather both nights, listening to the rain and breathing clean air.

It was a work weekend. We cleaned up the sanctuary, hauling trash, and waste to the dumpster located 1/4 of a mile from the clearing.

The history of the land includes a hunting lodge/logging cabin. Always male energy. Past the cabin, on a hill-side was once a dump of trash from these past inhabitants. Once, as we spent most of the day, clearing out tin cans, bottles, rusty bed frames-you get the picture. It was an assembledge artists died and gone to heaven-wet dream.

Admist our discovery among other notables including olives still picked in closed jars, 2 shoes, vampire fangs, were 5 intact Aunt Jemima Syurp bottles. Those drunk loggers must of ate alot of pancakes!!

And the five of us, bonded, slightly, in the north woods, and became the Aunt Jemima sisterhood of the dump.

Vision Quest

There is something to be said, about being alone, in utter darkness in the middle of a thicket of woods, during a drizzle of rain, with no watch, cell phone, electricity.

And I wouldn't mention this, except both nights during the cold, the rain, the wind, I had the same dream: that I had human visitors come to the tent. You were there, and definately you were there as well.

But that isn't what I'm going to write about.

It was Saturday morning, pushing a wheelbarrow down a crooked path, heading into the woods, returning to the dump, to pick up another bag of rusty cans, during yet a misty rain comming from the fog overhead. I was alone, knew I was alone, and it was deathly quiet-the only noise was the noise I made.

Out of the East, you were there. I think it was the east, one looses direction quiet easily. In a red shirt, and jeans, unusual since you hardly wear blue-jeans..... and you smiled and said Hi, in this overt welcoming calming voice that is so unique to yourself, with a huge smile. I stood there, dumbfounded. How did you find me, out here-where you don't even know where here is. Specially since no one knew exactly that I came out into the woods.

And in an instant, you were gone, as fast as you came. The only remnant was the one already there..the trail that continued into the thicket, and I went back collecting cans and putting them into industrial thick garbage bags....