Monday, November 23, 2009

The Camping Pot Incident

There is a huge turnip in a Charles Shaw wine box at the end of my driveway. I have no idea who put it there, or why it's there. Is it a gift? A suggestion for my yardscape? Will someone be returning later, expecting soup? For some reason seeing the turnip in the box reminded me of running over a camping pot and a sorry-looking yucca "tree" with the family car when I was a teenager. The turnip at the end of my driveway rivals the yucca. Really, it does. Bulbous base...not much in the way of greens...lurking in the dark.... Plus the yucca was scrawny, and this turnip is huge. So yeah, I could make the case. Why a wine box reminds me of the camping pot is not exactly clear. They both hold stuff, but my trash can makes regular appearances at the end of the driveway and it has never reminded me of a camping pot. I guess the brain just sometimes yields curious connections. I should, perhaps, explain that I ran over the yucca and camping pot not because I was inebriated or taking the driveway turn too fast, but because I was still new at driving and terrible at backing up. It was a look-over-your-shoulder-turn-wrong-and-panic-with-your-gas-foot maneuver. My parents didn't seem to care too much about the yucca. Perhaps they'd considered taking it out themselves and I'd just saved them some time. And since by some miraculous stroke of luck I hadn't caused any harm to the car, I got off easy with the yucca. It was the camping pot that I caught heat for. It was our big one. Some sort of prized aluminum, no doubt. One that I needed to buy a replacement for. I should have just chucked the pot in the trash with the promise that I would buy a new one. After all, what good is a smashed camping pot? But I took it inside and put it in my closet instead. And every time I opened my closet door, there it was, reminding me. Making me old. I didn't use that phrase at the time. It took me many years to coin it, but the Camping Pot Incident was the event I trace the feeling of a nagging burden back to. It was like the turning point of responsibility, where instead of hoping I'd get out of something I'd been told to do, I was now weighed down by the fact that I hadn't yet done something. It's different than a conscience. It wasn't about having done something wrong. It wasn't even about not having done something to make it right. It was knowing I had to take care of something...and putting it off. I look at my life now--at all the things I've been meaning to do, all the people I've been meaning to contact, all the promises I've yet to fulfill--and I wonder at the unappreciated simplicity of a life where buying a camping pot could free me from the sense that something was "making me old". And I would pontificate on this some more, because I find the whole concept of avoiding things that "make you old" quite compelling, but Mark just walked in with a Charles Shaw box announcing, "Someone left us a present!" Really. So I better go. I think he's planning on making soup.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, so if its our choice I want her eyes to be green. I have blue eyes, but i've always liked green. Because if she also had brown what would be the point in making her admire Casey's amazing eyes? : ) And if you dont mind, can you please keep us (very patient, cough) fans updated on the publishing of Wedding Crashers? And I really cant wait until its out!! :D Last year it CHC came out on my birthday month and I didnt get to buy it for a week, and then I told my mom, "ITS SAMMY KEYES! A NEW ONE HASNT COME OUT IN LIKE A YEAR. HURRY UP MOM!" and she's like, "Ok ok!" haha. ;) And THEN after I bought it to delay reading the book (Ugh, I know) I had to go see a movie with my friends (High school musical 3) and really, I didnt pay attention, i was like, Gotta go home gotta get home.
The point is, I think I can OCD. Not Obsesive compulsive, but Obsessive Casey Disorder.. or OSKD. Obsessive Sammy Keyes Disorder.
And I dont know how you imagine her (your way is defiently the right way, you *write* the book) but I imagine Sammy as green eyed and brown haired. ;) Okay, so I have a whole detailed description but you probably dont have time to care, so..
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU and OMGOMGOMG everytime you mention the fact that something about Cammy I get sososo excited and the result of it is a very long comment, lol. I'm acting like Marissa towards Danny.
OHMYGOSH, ITSCASEY!! :D There he is, he's hiding in my closet! :D Gotta go... sorry, Sammy, Casey is...
MINE. Mwa ha ha

--Your Biggest Fan X29655
PS- If anytime you have time, you should read a Sammy Keyes fanfiction at fanfiction.net called Confessions of an Obsession. Its not a Cammy pairing, its the only non-Cammy, even thought the person who wrote it (My friend, Lola) is obsessed with Cammy too. She decided to write 1 (just 1) story out of her millions of Cammy ones about a Billy-likes-Sammy thing. Its very entertaining. ;)
Buuut
CASEY-and-SAMMY-FOREVER. (:

Anonymous said...

Oh, and tell me how the soup tastes. (: Just kidding of course (I hope). (:

Anonymous said...

OhMyCasey, I'm going to have heart attack. I know this i my 3rd comment but I just read a website/sort of interview thing that had youtalking about SK13 (it said Santa Maria Sun or something? I dont know i dontlive there..)
And it talked about Sammy Keyes Fanfics about Casey + Sammy growing and getting married -- AND THATS MY BEST FRIEND'S STORY!!! I almost screamed! It's called All You Need is Love, and its about their fame and them being married. ;) Casey *is* an actor...)
And then.. and then.. I dont know if it was about me, but it said a fan WROTE IPOD PLAYLISTS FOR THE CHARACTERS!! It said YOU said that, and I'm like, "Could that possibly be.. me? Because I emailed you about it..."
So I would really like to know. I know its self centered, it could be about a million other people but... Yeah. :D
But I was especially excited about the Fanfiction mention! :))) Newgirlintown204's SK fanfics are absolutely amazing. Their so.. different. Of Billy liking Sammy, or Danny liking her.. or Casey and Sammy being married :) , or even Sammy beng a singer... ;D And some just go by the rules but their really good and I'm glad her story All You Need is Love was noticed. Her newest story, Lost in Heaven (the first one on the SK secton on fanfic at the moment) get this: It's about Sammy and Casey being married, and they have a kid (Tara) and about Casey's death and Sammy's depression and it goes back in time to their memories. Some memories are from the books and some are made up memories, but its so cute!
Sorry again! But I was SO excited by those mentions..
So can you tell me if the 'sighing person who makes iPod Playlists for the teen characters' is a specific person? Or ifi ts not? Now I'm off to continue my search! I'm going on every website about Sk13, lol. :) and is Sammy going to find her dad??? :)

--Your biggest fan who puts too much smileys :) :)

Anonymous said...

You know, I'd really like to see a fanfic about Grams and Hudson. That would be funny.

Anonymous said...

There IS a Hudson/Grams fanfic! Its on the 2nd or 3rd page i think, and its really great and cute. (: Gramson All The Way! :D

Anonymous said...

You know what? I might write a Grams/Huson FF! BTW- if anyone reads Sammy Keyes fanfiction, I'm updating all 21 stories I have of TOONIIGHHHT :D because I'm bored and I just *need* to set a goal and *need* to achieve it. SO COMMENT PLEASE! :D I just updated "Confessions of an Obsession" SK FF... the one where Billy likes Sammy but Casey andSammylike each other yada yada yada.
So if youre reading this review anyone.. GOGOGOGO.

-Lola

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

I love you guys! I write about smashing a camping pot and you give me passionate comments about Cammy. I can't write back now, other than to say I can't write back now, (because there are birthdays and stuff going on around here. But I will soon! Promise. And I really am going to have to take some time and check out the fanfiction site. Maybe over Christmas break. Back soon, promise!

Anonymous said...

:) I'm going to update a couple stories this week. It seems like I'm the only one updating at the moment,haha. Everyone else is just reading. :C Ohh well.. :) I'm NeWgIrLiNtOwN204 btw.

Anonymous said...

I read the Grams/Hudson ff. It's kind of weird...
And the C/S ff's make Casey either seem like a stalker or OOC! No offense!

Oh, and I got a new budgie. The old one is torturing him, I guess as a way of greeting him :)

Anonymous said...

A stalker!? :C I actually *try* to make mine sound good you know.. I *hope* my Casey's dont sound like stalkers. Argh! Did you read any of mine? (my username: NeWgIrLiNtOwN204)
WVD- I would love it if you read at least one of my stories. :) My favorite one of my own SK ff's is one called Sweetrubbish b/c its like Sammy's regular point of view, not anyone elses. :D If you have time sometime please check it out for all us SK fanfictioneers and tell us how you like them here! :D I would appreciate that a lot (and be really happy) and so would a lot of other people I like.

*Happy birthday to all your birthday people!*

-Lola

Anonymous said...

Oh, don't be worried. Fanfiction is writing. Writing is art. With art the point is being creative.
You can make Casey a stalker if you want.
I'll write reviews if I can (the thing is, I can't remember if I have an account or not!)