Sherri

You won't be "on your own," rmncwrtr. There's gonna be dozens of dirty, half-baked climbers dancing naked around a bonfire, beating their sweaty chests as they attempt to outspray each other between beer-chugging and newbie-roping contests. Tell mr. rmncwrtr you'll be in good hands.

Did it fall off of the "hold"?

I think strong women are hot. So is wholeheartedly supporting your spouse in something that is meaningful and important to her. I bet you are HER hero, too.

I can pitch in. Got some big ol' gnarly hunks of maple too mean to be split into respectable-type firewood for the woodstove...sounds like just the thing to lob onto the cc.com bonfire.

IM IN UR CLICHE THREADZ SPRAYIN TEH WORDZ U WANTZ 2 HEAR.

Better not tell them about the picture DeChristo just posted....

Speaking of trolls..... A google search for troll images turns up a VERY familiar face, BillCoe! Coincidence?

If weather's good, I may be heading up on Thursday(11th)-- could I register for the site at that time without actually staying in it(ie--do they need it to be "occupied", or just paid for in person?) Which site are we after(same one as last year?)

Another happy ending.

You should give the modelling a try. (THEN we can discuss what medium would be appropriate... ) It's an enlightening experience--NOT moving is more strenuous than one would expect. I'm generally not one to enjoy sitting still for very long, if at all, but I found it to be a rewarding challenge, both physically and mentally. Plus, it was for a good cause: art.

I smell a best-seller!

Cool. My mom isn't quite so hip on the art scene. While I was doing some modelling for extra cash, I told her that an art class would be painting me--her reply was, "Paint you with what? "

You bring the water balloons!

When I first started lurking around here, I, too, thought this site had more than a fair share of messed-up people on it. But now that I've met several of them, I'm sure of it. That's why I stayed.

sounds like somebuddy had a case of post envy

Cheater. (sounds purdy though )

I know.

I'd have rather had the drugs and sex. Bruce didn't do much for me.

I missed out on the drugs and the sex, but we did have Bruce Springsteen. Class of 1985's theme song: "Born in the USA"

At our high school, dance lessons were part of our gym curriculum . I wish we'd had a shooting range. "Dance" as an activity may sound they were being soft on us, but I can assure you that polka-ing with an equally unwilling pre-pubescent partner was way more painful than being pummelled by a dodgeball, or a bullet. I still have scars.

Any camp counselor worthy of her tie-dyed t-shirt knows parachute games are IT on today's politically-correct playground.

I loved getting ready for back-to-school! I remember shopping for pairs of painters' pants and chukka boots at the department store and watching the clerk carefully tuck them into the big box at the layaway counter. (We usually didn't have enough $$ to pick them up but the shopping was fun .) And there was something magical about new school supplies. They seemed to hold such promise. Pencils with perfect points and tall erasers, bright purple Trapper Keeper binder(yeah!) that would eventually become a canvas for between-class doodling, and stacks of plain paper grocery bags ready to be transformed by a few folds and pieces Scotch tape into sturdy book covers. I'm sure the shopping list is quite different these days with little Ashley and Ayden packing laptops, ipods, cell phones, and Blackberries to preschool. I think the fanciest thing we had was a digital watch about the size of a dinner plate. And mood rings, of course. Old-school rules!

O'Douls

You've captured it all, dude: the photographer's vision, the dreamer's fire, and the climber's spirit. Beautiful stuff, Erik.

I love happy endings.