A Letter From : PaulyB and Paul H (AKA the Twin
Towers of Paul).

OR

Meditations on the First Camping Trip. Chapter V(I)

[Forward by Tommy S
Forward:

The Twin Towers of Paul have really picked up the slack this year.  They have written extensively (by which I mean Tolkienianly extensively) on the subject of the camping trip.  This stuff is worth reading and I do agree with many of the theories behind it.  But so as not to be outdone, I have created a website and a blog as a centralized location for all the available info.  these can be seen at

https://thecampingtrip.tripod.com/

and without any further ado, I give you the Opus de Paulus]


To: In No Particular Order: Kevin, Thomas, Curtis, and Trevor

(AKA 'Kevo (whip it good!)',
the 'Local Legend,' 'The Guv'na' and 'T-Dog/Tri-Pod' Trevor, respectively. AKA The 'Dirty 1/2 Dozen' AKA the 'East
Side Chicken Chokers' AKA 'The Plague of Honor, Refinement,
Culture and Civility in an Otherwise Brand-Marketable
Future.' AKA the 'Original Camping Six')

AKA

the OCS. (AKA the O-to-the-C-to-the-Mutha-Fuckin-S)


Gentlemen. Behold!

I The Skinny -

My fellow polygamous hetero-life mates - It is time once
again to begin our annual preliminary debate leading up to
our annual camping trip. This year we are a little older,
some of us a little richer, others a just more bitter. We
are all a little more mature, wise, but probably less in
shape. All in all, however, we havent swelled so much that
we look stupid in shorts and tee-shirts like the other
adults, and so we yet again manage to find the courage to
abandon modern conveniences such as showering, electricity,
and Taco Bell and instead enter the wilderness with the
barely remembered wanderlust of our explorer ancestors and
shout to the heavens: Yes! We will dress like collage
students for another year, andYes! We will hide in the
woods and get drunk on cheap beer like teenagers, and Yes!
We will snap towels at each others asses like vindictive
school children, andYes! We will foolishly play with grown-
up tools and fire like mindless infants, andYes! Thanks to
our pre-cognitive-developmental behavior, we will be
reduced to basic instincts and bodily functions so that our
time will accomplish nothing more than eating and sleeping
like the zygotes we truly are, andYes! I cant FUCKING
WAIT!!!


However, last year, I think youll all agree, were somewhat
less than organized. In fact, it was such a clusterfuck
that some of us practically sat the whole thing out, only
confirming that they agreed at the last minute. This year,
on their behest, the Twin Towers have discussed it through,
and have come to hold opinions on this and some other
potential camping considerations. Their opinion is thus:

1. We will quite mucking about and pick one tense in which
to refer to ourselves and stick to it. If the Twin Towers
settle on the royal 3rd person, deal with it.

2. The OCS should coordinate their availability for the 04'
camping trip in a limited-run chain letter fashion; one
letter, moving to one person at a time, in no particular
order; collecting whatever pertinent information available,
to the best of each camper's immediate knowledge and
ability, with expediency as impetus, regardless of possible
future changes to those plans or any other uncertainties;
ASAP, with no whining, boo-hooing or other fuckery, so that
we can all get the ball rolling without each having to
write a million emails. Basically, write what you know
about when you can go and pass it on to one other person.
The next person will do the same and so on(details below.)

3. This letter is intended to act as a quick, clean and
fair springboard into this years discussions. We would
like it if everyone gave it a good read, filled out the
necessary info (more on that later) and refrain from
discussing more complicated matters until we can do so
together, i.e. until this letter is complete. Youll see
what we mean, but first

II The Suggestion -

Weve said we should open the floor to opinions, and well
start by throwing the first stone. (Your own stones have a
forum below.) There has been much discussion on the next
subject, and Paul and I feel that the OCS need to come to
some form of agreement AFTER we finish this chain letter:
Do we, or do we not continue to invite more and more people
along, and how do we deal with the problems that arise from
these invites?

Here's our take: We love having more people come camping
with us. All of those who have invited people have shown
great consideration for the other camper's feelings and
personalities when selecting who to invite, and thus
far we have never had a problem with any new invites. We
think we can speak for everybody when we say that all of
the joiners so far have been perfect additions to the
camping tradition and are just awesomelike Ninjas or
tricked out 70s sports cars or Gold Bond Medicated Powder
are awesome, and by that we mean in a general sort of way.

BUT---We have two problems. Firstly, as to the nature of
invites themselves: More people means more difficulty in
scheduling, (NOTE* Pauly B correctly pointed out that most
(if not all) of the scheduling problems of last year were
between members of the OCS itself. While this is only a
reflection on us and our groups decision-making tactics,
it also proves that we need to limit our potential for
future problems.) While last year was a photo finish with
the end of summer, what if the problems are worse this
year? Also, so far weve been smart, but also lucky in the
fact that everyone gets along really well. But, what if
everyone invited even 1 person? It is important to not
loose site of the possibility that as we invite more
people, we have a tendency to invite people less well-tuned
to the group. Despite how much we all know and trust each
other, eventually we risk a situation in which people form
cliques to one degree or another, and then its only a
matter of time before the perfect serenity quotient that
our trip creates is destroyed until the next year.If that
sounds overly cynical, anti-social or otherwise
unreasonable to you, consider our second, and more
important problem. Each of us is--quite naturally and for
our benefit, or courseare now, and ever increasingly so,
more and more involved in our own plans in our own lives in
our own different locations.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: Thats why the REAL reason for having a
camping trip needs to be reasserted and put back into the
spotlight: The OCS are high school buddies and great
friends. Its true and we should admit it: Were lucky to
have each other as friends, especially since its been more
than a decade since we all met. We got something rare, and
we should think of this camping trip as a way to make sure
we don't drift apart.

SOwe want to come out and put this up for discussion: 'How-
bout'' We keep an open invite for all those invited in the
past, and, agree to invite no additional people.
ALSO(and this is a very important point on which both
Pauls agree) to minimize the growing potential for
scheduling problems, the camping trip should be coordinated
based on the availability of the OCS alone. This means that
all additional invites are subject to our timetable, and if
they cant make it, then theres always next year.

HOWEVERNot to be total dictators over newer invites (some
of whom have come for several years) we will take their
timetable into considerationbut leave the final decision
to the OCS. Basically if the OCS determines it can go on
one of two weekend, and one of the newer invites cant go
on one of them, we should pick the free weekend. If we are
going to be dictators, We should be benevolent dictators.

FINALLYwe should use the letter to create an email list,
so we can easily send everything to everyone at the click
of the button. (I, for one, being the younger Paul, have no
idea how to do this, perhaps Elder Paul or somebody with
more technological knowledge (Im assuming like me this
will also not include Curtis) can whip this up in some
fashion.) (Sorry to have preached outside and above his
experience, the elder Paul begrudgingly admits that he also
is unaware as to how to do thiscan anyone help?)

But lets wait until we get our own shit straightened out.
If everyone agrees to the above idea, we should focus on
just getting the reservations made quickly and with the
least amount of fuss. (I, Paul Bactually, for sake of
me not sounding self-absorbed, you should assume that all
random parentheticals are voiced by mejust got the sign up
form for reservations by the river at my parents house).
After that we work out the rest. If, however, you disagree
with the above suggestion, make note of it in your addition
to the letter, but lets hold off emailing each other until
we establish a mailing list. After everyones info is
collected, then we can start talking turkey.

III The Facts -

Here's what to do:

STEP 1.) Add your information below, which should include:

A.) Your current contact information; email(s), phone number
(s) and home address(ses-se-seses (We want everyone to be
able to talk to everyone with no problems. Also, once we
have a site and a date we need to know where everyone is so
we can get everyone to the party.)
B.) Your availability (to the best of your knowledge, of
course. A general time is okay),
C.) Any financial information you feel comfortable enough
to share, including, at least, how much you would be
willing to spend. (This will be important when deciding
where to go and what to do. Do we want to go white-water
rafting this year? Can we swing a trip to Colorado? These
may be pipe dreams but we wont know until we talk about
it. (On the flipside, having all of us there is more
important than quibbling over who pays what. No reason we
can't help each other out, right?))
D.) You transportation status, if any. KevOwe want
planes, trains or automobiles. If you can supply a truck,
please let us know.
E.) Your ideas for where we should go, what we should do,
and why.
F.) How long you think we should go. One night? 34 Nights?
G.) Whether or not you agree to limiting the scheduling
criteria to the OCSs concerns, why or why not, and if not,
then your own opinion.
H.) Everyone you've invited in the past (regardless of if
they came) and anyone who you plan to or already have
invited for this year. Please do this regardless of whether
or not you agree with our ideas above. This is the only way
we can know who were talking about when we're talking
about additional invites.
I.) That persons contact info, so whoever gets the fun job
of coordinating everything will have all the necessary
info. (And if you dont know for surefind out! Lets get
this done right the first time.)
J.) Any other camping-related beefs or problems that you
remember or can foresee. Make sure these are discussed non-
specifically, as right now our main goal is to have
everyone on the same page, and not to instigate a
discussion.

STEP 2a.) Send it to just ONE member of the OCS, keeping
the original letter intact, so that we all have the same
copy.

OR

STEP 2b.) If you are the last person to receive this,
delete everything but the info we need and forward it to
everyone in the OCS

IV The Fat Lady -

We know it looks like homework, kids, but this is really
the best way to get organized. From this letter, we can
pick our place and time with a quickness unparalleled.
After that's finalized, well have a list of all of
our concerns and can begin discussing whatever topics we
have, like gear, food, beer, lions, tigers and bears (oh
my!)

Anyway, love and stuff,
And thanks for your time.

-The Twin Towers.

(To be fair, much of this was penned by Hathaway, I merely
added interjections and what-nots. I just liked the idea of
a letter being written collectively, which after this
exercise it kind of half assedly was.)

(Bissa is too humble. Whats here is here because we share
these opinions, Im just the one who had the time and the
requisite caffeine buzz.)

ALL THE INFOS REQUESTED ABOVE:


------------------------------------------------------------

Paul H

semester create
But the school hasnt yet released the course schedule, so
I dont know if Ill be taking which classes when, meaning
that this is a worse case scenario in which I have classes
both semesters that begin on the first day and end on the
last day. Thatd be a first.
Moo-lah: Unless god grants me a pimp-suit, Im looking at a
possible $200 Max.
Trans migratory tendencies: But, I do have a new car and am
willing to drive long distances. (No CD Player tho.)
Local: I want to go back to the river where we used to go.
It rocked, the town rocked, the drive didnt suck.
Length and Breadth: I think bare min 3 day fri-sun. In a
perfect world, we would all make the sacrifice (real
martyrs, we are) of taking a couple days off extra and
extending the thing to 5 days and 4 nights. Is that
possible for anyone else other than myself?
Limit Invites? You know I agree. Im the reason this took
you half an hour to read..
Beefs? Camping not long enough. Can we manage a long
weekend this year, preferably off-season? More poker,
please.

____________________________________________

Paul B 

Cashflow: As long as we keep it relatively the same as the
last few years, Im cool.
Trans: Pinky is down. I repeat Pinky is down. No more pink
station wagon. As of now Carrie and I are down to one car.
So that sucks,
Locale: I liked the easiness of the cabin, but you cant
drink there in the summer. The river certainly has a
nostalgic mystique to it. Im game for anything.
Time: I think either three nights or expanded two night
standard is the way to go. Like, ala year one, we crash at
someones house on Thursday, then ALL leave early Friday,
come back on Sunday. (More time for collective hugging,
circlejerking and what not.)I dont like this whole
everybody arriving piecemeal thing thats been happening.
This last year, we didnt have most of the group together
until late Friday and we all werent together until late
Saturday.
Limit Invites: I am the other twin tower. I concur.
Beefs, Qualms, Etc: More vomiting. Only Curt vomited last
year. We need more yacking. More upchuck. More oral bowel
movements (oh shit, gross.).
_________________________________________________________

Tommy S


Flow:  as per usual but I will clarify that at a later time but 300 plus ok

Trans:  Company Car and Corporate Gascard

Locale: Preferably extensive water access.  The river is always a pleasure

Time: At least three nights.  I think that at Two full days are necessary to make it a retreat/vacation.  Any shorter in my opinion, makes it too hectic.  It also eases the burden of simultanious arrival although I favor a caravan, I am willing to let that go in favor of more time camping proper

Limit Invites: I agree that we have nearly reached capacity
Beefs, Qualms, Etc: More frisbee and lake or river and significantly less "The List."  I mean for Fuck sake is this the Manly Man Camping Trip or Bitches of the world unite.  We have enough to argue about naturally.  Fuck that shit.  thats just my opinion but any pussy that disagrees with me is gonna get the hose. Compiling top fives is always pleasant but the Barbara Walters Shit is intolerable.
Lots of Love.

___________________________________________

Kevin M

Availability:  I wouldn't even begin to know.  I'll start getting things in order over the next month or so, but for right now EVERYTHING is in the air.  I always seem to work around things though...

Cashflow: Depends on the no-work-no-mon-nay situation, but I think we've been pretty good so far.

Trans: Well, I've got my Alero ("Its not your father's Oldsmobile") and depending on whether it's fixed or not I might be able to commandeer the family van (Montana).  This is all predicated on me making it home and not going straight to camping from DC.

Locale: I have to admit, my laziness DOES dig all up on the cabin.  HOWEVER, that being said, I don't think its the ONLY cabin in Michigan available to rent, so if there is another one, the drinking can still happen AND most importantly there will hopefully be greater water access.  The River is always fine too.  I've just been pushing for years to think outside the box though.  Anywhere is good, as long as its us.

Time: I like as much time as possible.  I don't think a four-day weekend is undoable.  And I concur with one paul or another, that the more we get together there all at once, the better.  That is, unless it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to come later than the group we should all leave/come together.  So to speak.

Limit Invites: I like the idea of the OCS being the core, and all subsequent invites can be made AFTER the OCS comes to a conclusion.  So the camping can always be OCS, with very special guest [blank] or Guest starring [blank]

Beefs, Qualms, Etc: I do want to say we need to retire The List.  Top Fives are always welcomed.  However, the list is gay-tarded and I made my feelings totally known last year.  I still have them.  Poker is good, but we should play with real chips not potato chips.  Is is possible for all of us to grow beards before camping?  (trevor is excused)  If we can't find a suitable cabin, can we camp on an isthmus?  Where was the guitar last year?