Marc had the day off. When he woke up, he told Alana he was going to camp. This time, he told her, not like the last time when he just snuck away. He asked her to play hooky. She had work to do. Marc understood. Alana also had plans to hook up with Tzipora after work. The hook-up would just be for dinner. Tzipora was very happily married. She was in surgery today. She had to work on a star athlete. Everything was kept under wraps. Afterward, the team and hospital would announce the success of the procedure.
Marc jumped into Alana’s Infiniti and headed upstate. The camp was cold and quiet in the winter. As usual, his iPhone played a heavy camp mix. Some tunes included “Pulling Mussels from the Shell,” “Baba O’Riley”, and mostly the Ramones. Marc was not looking to be sedated. Alana is his Sheena, and whether they had teenage lobotomies is up for debate. One of Marc’s camp friends likely did. He pulled into the shuttered camp and wept. All the happiest places were gone. This camp is a shell of what it was. The original Yankee Stadium is now a park. Greed changed the Stadium, and dumb leadership and a nasty health inspector wreaked havoc in Marc’s playground.
Marc drove to his hill. He walked around and saw the remnant of what once was all. He sat in his old leanto. It was the only thing still left. It was no longer sitting where it was. But Marc was happy it was still there. Lots of fun happened there. Kids leearrnned. Ice-cold Gennys were sipped, and people rested. Marc hoped Jay wasn’t in camp. He remembered the battle he had with him a year or so ago. Jay did not fit well into the program when it ran in the 80s. Jay did not fit in anywhere. Even his ex Diane knew that. Kari is a different story. She is dumber than Diane. At one point, Diane had a friend or two. Kari had none. Well, she has Jay. Let’s see if it lasts. If she starts with Alana again, she might not last.
Marc built a fire. He was hoping for something. But knew it may not happen. As usual Marc was drinking Cherikee Red and eating Freihofer’s. He had some Genny. He was gonna make some burgers. He started playing “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and “Elvis is Everywhere.” For an old camp friend whom he sees once a year, he played some Judas Priest. Marc hates metal. He quickly went to “Behind the Wheel” and kept Depeche playing.
Marc lit the fire and was dreaming about Alana. The two of them were the right match. They had their own screwed-up beliefs but helped so many. Not just by beating people evil people down with their superpowers.
Marc had just bit into a burger when he heard the noise he was dreaming of. Buffalo was coming into his area. Why in Narrowsburg were there buffalo? They are not native to the site. But that did not matter. The old sage of the camp, Marc’s hero, the Woodsman, always traveled with his herd.
Marc was getting excited. The Woodsman jumped off the last buffalo and sat next to Marc. First, they talked about the old latrine, which was now just a hunk of metal a yards away from them. He then told Marc his powers were getting stronger. He told him so was Alana. They will need them, and like he always tells Marc, the two need to stick together. The Woodsman told Marc to go up to the picturesque special window. He said there he would see a vision. The Woodsman gave Marc a special handshake and rode off to the lake.
Mitchell's thoughts, photos, etc. 