The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Thursday, May 19, 2011

It was so in tents


As I was reading the news the other day, I came across an article about the semi-anarchy that is Egypt today. In it, there was mention of Bedouin tribes...

"...and the abduction of another officer by Bedouin tribes in the Sinai."
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/world/middleeast/13egypt.html]

"That's interesting," thought I. You see, in this most modern world in which we live, there are still people functioning much like they did in the Stone Age. Or at least, the Iron Age. As alluring as living in a tent in the desert must be, I find it odd. I suppose I should. After all, I grew up living in houses. Solid roofs, doors, walls of at least 8" thickness... indoor plumbing. Tents were temporary... something that usually indicated camping. Or a natural disaster.

I imagine that living in a tent would be fine in a benign enough environment. I live in a benign environment. But I wouldn't live here in a tent. I spent a couple of weeks living in a tent when I was 10. My mother, thinking she was doing me a favor, sent me off to a summer camp near Ocala, FL. Looking back, it was more likely she was doing herself a favor. The tents were large constructions of canvas and wood. A large wood foundation, like a deck, with two poles holding up a large canvas tarp as the roof. The "walls" were also canvas tarp and mostly rolled up. They could be rolled down and secured at the bottom in the event of a rainstorm. They looked a bit like this:

Only they were olive drab and likely to be Army Surplus. (not my tent --->)

And we slept on cots which were covered with mosquito netting. The netting barely slowed them down. It's hard to see that netting as useful when there were large holes in it. You fell asleep communing with nature. The staccato sounds of crickets, the buzzing of the mosquitoes, the rattle of certain snake tails, the grunts of alligators, and all the little rude noises the bodies of young boys produce. There was no air conditioning, you had only the breeze off the lake to cool you off. There was no heat either but you don't miss that when the low temp of the night is 80 F.

We never did roll the walls down. It didn't matter. There were no strong rainstorms in that two weeks. It did rain and that's when we found the roof leaked a bit. Solution? Move the bunks.

I would have not survived long in the Stone Age.

4 comments:

pearlvz said...

Shoot, I would barely want to live in a log cabin, let alone a tent...

Pearl

p.s.  Your comment today ("the dog is off the leash" -- repeat: "the dog is off the leash") was hilarious.  :-)  Still smiling about that one. 

Douglas4517 said...

My day is made. I once wanted to cross the country on motorcycle with just a
sleeping bag and whatever I could carry. I was much younger then and not all
that bright, I suppose.

Kevin Shea said...

Oddly enough, I find myself wanting to sleep in a tent, in my backyard.  Don't know why, I just do.

Douglas4517 said...

I have never had that urge. I have slept in tents but I never liked it.


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