Today was Bail’s Birthday (yesterday their 1st Anniversary!) and she’d told me that they’d been camping—with a bent-tine Fork. It had been bent for a while, a veritable cripple, but could not be relegated to the trashcan yet—Kitchen Utensils are a valuable commodity in a land where prices range to the extreme.
Now we are not talking priceless silver—just an old mismatched Fork that had a few brothers at one time, but some have disappeared--ran away, probably to spear themselves through the foot of a rambling, unsuspicious bear that will desperately need a friendly mouse for prong removal.
I think triplet Forks (one maimed) are all that remain…
What’s so important about Spoons and Forks, you may ask? Why do they rank Capitalization? Bail said Nate had rigged up a shower somewhere in their cabin; they have electricity but no running water. Apparently this is typical of small Alaskan towns. Having been used to the availability of such a simple luxury as water, warm water, ocean water, dish and fish water, lengthy relaxing showers that used gallons upon gallons of water, they have discovered that they can actually heat up a 5 gal bucket of H2O on the stove and Viola!: FINALLY take a warm, but super quick shower! It’s amazing how a small thing like a bucket of water can be appreciated and revered.
They are ‘making do’ with the least amount of items—like perpetual campers. She tells me of the spoon she always carried in her back pocket in Hawaii (not worthy of a capital S)—to dig up ferns and plants, since they had no garden trowel then. (I do this too. But I have a garden trowel. Somewhere.)
Nate had asked where her Spoon was on their wilderness adventure—but Spoon has been deemed too precious an item and must stay in its drawer—Spoon can not run the risk of loss.
Spoon is rare.
Spoon is treasured.
It is an only child.
Why do I find this so endearing and funny?
Sigh...Because my daughter told me that when they eat cereal in the mornings, her and her husband must EACH TAKE TURNS!
Happy Birthday, Honey!
