that_guy_zach and the illustrious Nikki. Mixed business with pleasure. Zach is to be the guest speaker for our church's stewardship program. And between us, we recruited Nikki -- who spent the whole summer on backcountry program staff at Philmont -- to assist us with next year's Scout Retreat.Ah, but it was good to talk over wilderness adventures with these two old campaigners. At one point, as Nikki was talking about dealing with all the crews of Scouts and Venturers she did program with, I said to her, referring to all those crews of differing abilities, maturity, leadership, etc., "We [that is, our old Venture Crew] were pretty functional, weren't we?" Oh, yeah! was her response.
I am reminded of Taliessin dismissing his household in The Prayers of the Pope:
. . . We declare the Company still
fixed in the will of all who serve the Company
Ah, me. I have "restore[d]/again to God the once-permitted lieutenancy," and I am now both bereaved and fulfilled. Still and all, Zach and Nikki are two of my very favorite people, youth grown into adult friends, veterans together of many miles and many smiles.
Actually, though, the original reason I went over yonder was to clean up the cabin. It took two hours, but it was worth it. It's lookin' pretty snazzy. Here's a pic to give you a sense of how the paneling's been going.
 |
September, 2007 Lookin' pretty snazzy! |