Sunday morning, 2 am

Somebody said they saw me, swinging the world by the tail
Bouncing over a white cloud, killing the blues

Wait? What’s that? Someone is spraying me with water.

“What the hell!?!?!”

I think I just woke up Tina. She asks me what’s going on.

“The wind blew the fly off the tent.”

Get up and get dressed. Wait, what was that? Is that someone outside? I better get fully dressed then. Where’s my shirt? Where’s my flashlight. Shit. I think it’s just a shadow. Shorts are good enough. It’s raining hard and all the bedding is getting wet fast.

Unzip the door and go outside. Zip it back up to keep the rain and wind out. Where’s the fly?

Looks like it slipped to the back of the tent. It’s still connected to three corners. OK. Slide it back over to the front and go connect it.

Find the hooks. Oh, this is corner where one of the hooks tore off. That may explain why it came loose. Find the loop and connect the hook. Where is the loop? Fuck! I can’t get the loop. Stop. Think.

Loop the hook line under the stake and attach the hook to the line. OK. How about the support lines for the fly? Where are the stakes? Fuck it. Let’s just wrap it around this cooler and get back inside.

There. Fly is all fixed. Let’s get inside and get back in bed.

Shit! What happened to the zipper on the door? Jesus, it broke again and now the two sides are off by like 4 inches. WTF?!?!? OK, let’s deal with this from inside.

OK, this is better. Nice and dry now. Just slide the zipper back and forth a few times and tug on the uneven side. There, it’s fixed for now. We need a big “X” on this door so we know to use the other door instead.

Can’t slide into the sleeping bag because I’m too wet. Unzip and roll in. Can’t reach the bottom to zip up. Fuck it. I’ll hold it together for the rest of the night.

Now I’ll just lay here for awhile and watch the tent. It’s surprisingly bright from the street light across the way. That wind is unbelievable. The tent is totally rocking. The gusts feel like they’ll lift the whole tent into the sky. Still, I think I can drift off again when my heart stops racing…

Leaves were falling, just like embers,
In colors red and gold, they set us on fire
Burning just like moonbeams in our eyes.

Shit! What was that? Damn. Wind whipped up again. Is the fly still attached? Looks like it. OK. Calm down. Close your eyes. Relax.

And then you’ve ask me… just to leave you
To set out on my own
And get what I needed.
You want me to find what I’ve already had.

“Dad. If you want pancakes, you have to get up now.”