Here Lies the Tent of Matthew, RIP

Saturday, July 31, 2010

At approximately 4:00 this morning I awoke with rain falling on my face. I didn't care for it much, lol. I grabbed my glasses and felt the corners of my sleeping bag near the sides of the tent - damp. I felt my pillow - damp. I felt the walls of the tent - damp. I felt the seams of the door - LEAKING. I looked under my cot - PUDDLE! GRRR. I put on my shoes and gathered my things into my car, and slept there for the rest of the night/morning.

When I woke up and opened the tent...I witnessed a massacre had occurred. I cradled her in my arms and started the long walk as the precious memories together rolled through my head. The Great River Folk Festival, Rice Lake State Park, Superior Hiking Trail...

She was more than a five dollar tent to me. She was a shelter from the storm, well, not in the literal sense as it turns out, but we had bonded. As I felt her leaving my arms and descending into the dumpster, a tear almost sort of welled up in my eye, and I imagined my life without her. Munising Michigan may have your shell, but I have your spirit, oh cheap, but served-its-purpose-for-a-good-run tent.

Thank you for your ventilated ceiling, your bug-proof walls, but most of all - for the good times.

You'll be missed.
RIP