Fire-hopping
Fire-hopping at night. It’s traditional for me now. I have no flashlight (“hippy mace”) so I just follow the fires. Sit down for a while and talk, move on to the next fire beckoning thru the darkness.
“Hi, where am I?”
“You’re at Jesus Kitchen.”
I sit down next to some clean young women and listen to them talk. The conversation is nothing personal, so I join in. They both give me dirty looks and cold shoulders. Clearly they think, “Why are YOU talking to US?”
I get up and move on. The next fire is small, with only four people huddled on one side. Three women, one on the lap of a man.
“Hi, Where am I?”
“You’re at the Ewok Village.”
“Cool! It’s Dumb Joke Night. Wanna hear a dumb joke?”
“Sure!”
“How many Lesbians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”
“I don’t know. How many Lesbians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”
“That’s not funny.”
They laugh.
I tell them a story. I am angry and energetic. “So these women gave me the cold shoulder when I tried to join their conversation and I thought, ‘Women are Bitches! That’s why I hang out with men so much, that’s why I have too much testosterone in my social diet, that’s why I’m so frustrated and have no female friends! I HATE WOMEN!’”
One of the women across the fire from me cheers as soon as I finish. “You go, girl! That’s the best rant I’ve heard in a long time! Hey, what’s your name? Anybody who knows a good lesbian joke is alright by me!”
And we become friends. The trouble is, I do not remember their names, and when I go to find their camp and exchange email addresses on the fourth, they’ve already packed up and left camp.
“Hi, where am I?”
“You’re at Jesus Kitchen.”
I sit down next to some clean young women and listen to them talk. The conversation is nothing personal, so I join in. They both give me dirty looks and cold shoulders. Clearly they think, “Why are YOU talking to US?”
I get up and move on. The next fire is small, with only four people huddled on one side. Three women, one on the lap of a man.
“Hi, Where am I?”
“You’re at the Ewok Village.”
“Cool! It’s Dumb Joke Night. Wanna hear a dumb joke?”
“Sure!”
“How many Lesbians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”
“I don’t know. How many Lesbians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”
“That’s not funny.”
They laugh.
I tell them a story. I am angry and energetic. “So these women gave me the cold shoulder when I tried to join their conversation and I thought, ‘Women are Bitches! That’s why I hang out with men so much, that’s why I have too much testosterone in my social diet, that’s why I’m so frustrated and have no female friends! I HATE WOMEN!’”
One of the women across the fire from me cheers as soon as I finish. “You go, girl! That’s the best rant I’ve heard in a long time! Hey, what’s your name? Anybody who knows a good lesbian joke is alright by me!”
And we become friends. The trouble is, I do not remember their names, and when I go to find their camp and exchange email addresses on the fourth, they’ve already packed up and left camp.