We know this awesome lake, with a sandy beach peninsula secluded in the woods off of 527. But the thing is, a lot of the people I go with have work during the day, and as a result when we have these bonfires at the lake they usually start around 12:30AM. At 16, I'm the youngest there. Shari, Vic, and Megan just graduated high school this year. Tasha, who lives a block from the lake, is gonna be a senior next year. Max and Oliver are already in college. Basically, what this translates to is that I'm the only one without a license. And as a soon to be junior with semi-strict Asian parents I usually have to be home by 12. So what do I do? I sneak out.
My father likes to stay up at night. He sits at his downstairs computer, directly below my room, and watches Asian news. The location of the computer pretty much makes any type of escape downstairs impossible, because the only flight of stairs in the house is completely exposed in plain view, and as long as Mr. Chong is at his computer, all the doors and windows downstairs might as well be at the end of rainbows. The only way out is out through a second floor window. And thats exactly where I get out.
You can see my surfboard hanging from my room ceiling!
Using the corner bricks of my house, I shimmy down back to earth, and scurry off to the waiting car around the corner. I've done this a number of times and I have to say, it is hands down the most exhilarating escape method I have ever used to sneak out of the house. Jibbles always tries to jump out of the open window, and I have to put him on top of my closet to slow him down enough so that I can close it while I'm outside. All in all its probably pretty crazy, but it works and by now I'm pretty good at it. Don't try it ever please.
So back to the bonfires. They're pretty awesome. The lake, the shoreline, and the woods and sand are all illuminated brightly by the full moon thats usually out. Its beautiful. The Peninsula is perfect for fires, rising 5 or 6 feet above the water line, all sand and a few small trees at some parts of the edges, and tapering softly at the sides to the waters edge. The frogs croak loudly, and a conniving little skunk lives in the woods nearby. The fires look especially awesome from out on the water. Once in awhile we'll strap my 12ft aluminum boat to Vic's Cherokee and go fishing, or on boat rides at night. When the fire is exceptionally big it shimmers on the water, and the light that pours out from the firey inferno illuminates the surrounding woods which are all duplicated in reflection on the surface of the lake. Its pretty hard to put into words how awesome it all looks.
Its funny. The whole affair reeks of this potent feeling of summer that just overrides every care you ever had before. And taking everything in, you can truely relax and feel at peace amidst the serene water, moonlit landscape, and star filled sky. Maybe I'm romanticizing a bit here but I'm just being honest. Theres this feeling that I cant seem to find a word for. That summer feeling. When you get out there and do things spring, fall, or winter you wouldnt. Its what I wait for every year. And this summers gonna be filled to the brim with it.
Well, its 4:40 AM and im going fishing on the Miss Belmar Princess with Dan Khomenko in 2 hours. Hope you enjoyed this post. Check back tomorrow for pictures of all the gigantic fish we catch. Happy Madagascar Independence day.
-Chris
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