The Campfire
 

I've lit a campfire, and I'm asking you all to join me in tending it. At times, we all awake in the darkest hours, alone and fearful. But no more. At all hours, 'round the clock, both night and day, our campfire will be burning, with friends gathered about, embracing one another and welcoming those who wish to come into the light and toss a piece of wood into the fire and burn their fears away. I've lit the fire, and now, I place another log into it, in the hopes that all of Celeste's (Freyja) fears burn away. I'm sure that, at any given moment, there will be a fire-tender around.

Very beautiful thoughts, Bill. You can count me in as one of the tenders of that warm fire (I'll put some logs on later tonight). What a comfort to know that we can all wake up at any hour of the day or night and realize that we have a job to do, for ourselves and each other. I'll bring the marshmallows and the kindling.Bye, Bye fear..... Love, vickie

Tears of joy.
 

Bill, you got me. I just shed a tear of joy. I'm a big, big fan of campfires. I'll be stoking this one every day. Your flame is eternally burning in my heart...and that goes for everyone here.
Believe51, you are awesome. I've got my blankie too, and a banjo for those late night/early morning Bluegrass tunes. I haven't learned to play it, yet, but it's on my list.
Vickie's right, bye bye fear. How can I be afraid with people like this around?
Celeste

good night
 

I've got hot chocolate and grilled cheese at the fire tonight. One of the first songs I plan to learn on the banjo is Rainbow Connection, Kermit D. Frog style. Care to join me?
"Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and meee."

The Campfire
 

I'll bring my blanket and some every present cereal bars and join you. The campfire will keep us all warm and send the fears away.

Oooohh, hot choc. and grilled cheese sounds good. I play the harmonica, a "harmonica-savant" some have called me. Here, let me stick a piece of wood in our fire.....

I'll throw another on for sweet Celeste!

Marcia

I like to warm my front side at the fire and then give my sweety a big hug. It feels so warm.

I always bring a six string guitar to a campfire. The twelve string heats up unevenly and it won't stay in tune. I like to play mellow songs or cowboy songs.

No s'mores for me. The gooey goodness gets all over your fingers so you can't play music.

There is too much fear around, I'll go out into the woods and gather some more wood.

campfire.
 

Now I know we will all be safe in the woods. We have both Bill and Lee taking care of us and helping to allay our fears. You guys are awesome, xoxo Jeanette

I come to the campfire to just be with all you wonderful people, especially Freyja.

Amelia

I too throw a log on this fire (of Hope) to keep it going. I pray that just as the embers from the fire float up in the air and disappear, so will all the fears that are brought here.

Thanks Bill.

smiles and laughs
 

The thought of us sittin around the fire singin and eating munchies and grinnin, makes me smile, even giggle a little. I feel so not alone.
I brought a whole pile of logs for us tonight. Let's put them all on and watch the flames rise.

y'all made me cry. i think we need maybe some chocolate martinis to liven us up even more so i'll bring those.

The Campfire
 

I have an idea. I would like to invite anyone with fears to bring those fears written on a piece of paper. After the campfire gets going we can invite people to throw those pieces of papers with their fears on them into the fire to be burned. Our warmth as a group will help chase those fears further away. After we leave the campfire we will all be ready for a new beginning and the strength to keep walking fearlessly and do whatever it takes until everyone is NED.

The campfire
 

Elaine, That is a wonderful idea. I am going to write my fears down tonight, Jeanette

Lee, I'm with you on the S'mores, so I'll bring some hot dogs to roast. No buns, just the dogs. And oh yea, I'll cut some good sturdy roasting sticks. If we decide not to roast the dogs, we can roast our fears on our sturdy sticks!

Great idea, Elaine! Right now, I'm tossing a piece of wood onto our special fire and asking for a moment of silence. A close friend of a close friend of ours has been injured and needs our thoughts and prayers. Just a moment of positive thought, and prayer, as we gather around our fire, together, hand-in-hand, can work wonders.

Oh crap, I just heard something in the woods... oops, sorry I spilled your cocoa, Bill. Lee, would you be so kind to put on my infrared headset and see what I heard? Sasquatch you say? What was that Lee, I can't understand you, you sound like you're choking or something. Stop kidding around. Lee? Lee? Uh oh.

Whew, glad that was just a dream. But now that I'm awake, I'd love to join in by the fire. Me, my BB gun, my infrared headset, some cocoa, pepper spray and a turkey dog on a stick. This is nice, ya'll. Can we sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat? No. OK, but you don't have to throw rocks at me. How about Freebird? Fears? I'll go write mine down, but it might be hard with the BB gun in one hand and pepper spray in the other...

Before TV, ipods, etc there were quiet moments by the fire. Time for reflection and prayer. Time to see life in full view. Years ago on backpacking trips in Wyoming in the Snowy Range, I had some of those priceless moments. I think I'll just sit by the fire for a while longer.....ma

The Campfire
 

Put your fears about things lurking in the woods aside. Bill is going to protect us and there is safety in numbers.
As long as we are together nice and warm with our snacks praying for each other and putting our fears into the fire we are going to be okay.
Please pray for the unnamed woman I met in the docs office who suddenly told me her lymphoma returned after only 4 months. I could sense the fear in her face and voice. I tried to encourge her to stay positive. Please pray for my friend who is ill again with an unknown illness. He is an elderly man who is very shy about sharing.

Elaine, we have your friends by the fire with us...they are part of the circle.
Mary Anne, I too, remember the reflection by that warm fire when I was in Yosemite last. It is one of the most peaceful times I have ever felt...surrounded by huge redwoods that had been on this earth for generations before me. And I thought to myself "How many others have been at this campfire, at this place of spirituality, at this amazing piece of God's work?"
I will come and sit with all of you tonight, in love and hope. As for fear, it has to find it's own path..far away. Love, Vickie

The Campfire
 

Thanks for keeping my friends safe by the campfire. Bill the campfire is such a great idea. Let's keep it going forever.

I too would like to throw a log on the fire and join in. Maybe we could sing some Dylan songs or Joan Baez.

I will be bringing my Caracas that Eddie bought me in Puerto Rico. I have always wanted a set and never picked them up when I was in Mexico a few years back. They are very special to me and I love the sound, I really think this will make a nice contribution to our 'band'! This way I can shake, shake, shake my groove thing AND still be able to eat my S'mores...haha!

I am bringing some fleece blankies that my Mom made for those who want to travel light. Please let me sleep tonight, I have been praying so hard that I am tired this morning. Call me when the S'mores are finished. Love to have a hotdog but I am a vegetarian. Beans okay?? Desert will follow with Bean-o if needed, LOL.

See 'ya all when I wake up....Snore!>>Believe51

Excuse me!
 

Believe51, your smores are ready! I got one perfectly toasted just for you. Golden brown on the outside and ooey gooey on the inside...chocolate melting slowly into it.
Hope you don't mind, I'm tossing a sprig of sage in the fire to send those burning fears packing...and cover up the aftermath of our beans. I brought the tofu dogs for us, too.

Here's another log onto the fire. I, too, want to keep this fire going forever. It's ours to keep. It's a cool, clear night here, and peacefully quiet. It's good to see your smiling faces gathered around. Keep the smores coming.

Terri B
 

I've got fuel for the fire for Terri B. Burn, baby burn.

Sorry I am late today but last night Mighty Oak and I went to visit his Mom who lives in the deepest of woods here in Rhode Island. So grab a S'more or a dog, gather around the fire and before we start add another log. Someone please make me a Chocolate Martini or latte because this story will get me parched!

Storytime by Believe51

Last night the night smelled sweet from the purity of the snowfalls here. The moon was perched brilliantly and safely in the sky with all its splendor. All constellations were visible and as I named them I took every one of our fears and placed them on a star. The sky was clearer than I have seen in some time, a perfect night one could say. You could even see the reflection of the moon on the opposite side of the universe.

I was mesmerized by its beauty as tears raced down my cheeks. This was after all, the same moon we were all sharing. Although in different parts of the world, we share one moon, one set of constellations, one gorgeous sky. Most importantly we share one heart, one dream, one hope.....not just for ourselves but for all of our family inflicted! We are one union, standing together as a whole, staring down the barrel of Brenda's BB gun....CUT!!

...........We are one union standing together staring in the face of fear. Together we have power that is not just left in the hands of one. United we stand in the fight for our lives and most certainly cannot conquer alone. We can combat the darkest of nights but only together.

As we drove home late I watched a cloud move in front of our moon. I envisioned this cloud as the poison that tries to call itself 'cancer'. The air was crisp and my normally closed car windows were down to appreciate the cleansing feelings rising about my soul. To my surprise, yet my expectation, the cloud named 'cancer' evaporated into the vast atmosphere. The stars that I had deemed 'fear' slowly faded into the night.

That was it, the fear and the cancer had been absorbed, only this time it was not into one of us. We were free from it all as we danced into NED. My friends all carried Honeysuckle and Jasmine as they know that is what I think NED smells like. They actually placed some gently in my hair (Aw, how cute) Fear-free, Care-free, and Cancer-clean, that is what we now were. We danced and skipped softly as sleep blessed us once more. One more day we have to love and protect each other. One more day we get share life and a mighty life it is.

THE END


I will again be late since I am packing up Nitewind(Susan) and grabbing her fears and pain. We will need to help her rid herself of these thoughts tonight. I will be sending her ahead of me since her load is much too heavy for her to carry alone. Please make a comfortable spot for her to bed down tonight.

When I finally get there I shall try not to stir up Hucklebuck from her sleep, as you can see that BB gun has me scared!! LOL

If you are really impatient, you get the marshmallow too close to the fire and it catches fire. You frantically blow on the marshmallow to put out the fire. Once its out, there are two schools of thought. One is to throw it out and get a new marshmallow or you can just eat the marshmallow 'cajun' style. Me? I'm a cajun style guy. I like the charred outside and the gooey inside.

that is the only way to eat a marshmallow as far as i'm concerned. watch waving the forks around though bad things can happen.

The Campfire
 

How about bringing the scrabble game we all have been playing to the campfire? Just bring your concerns to the campfire and share in the warmth and friendship of everyone present. The campfire (and this website) is where everyone will understand you just the way you are.

Wow, Marie, you are an awesome story-teller. I love my marshmallows "cajun-style" too, only I didn't know they were called that until just now, but maybe I always did know that, because it seems like Lee and I share a brain, at least sometimes. (Pssst- what's a guy in Oregon know about Cajuns, anyhow?) Do they have crickets chirping around campfires up there? Hucklebuck! Put that thing away! It's all fun and games 'til somebody losses an eye.

Bill:

Normally, I don't like talking about myself, and by normally, what I really mean is almost never. Since we are sitting around a campfire, I suppose I could say something about myself, you know, like a get to know you story.

I was a teacher in Kansas for ten years and I eventually became a department head. I had to travel a bit in my duties and one place I always volunteered to go was Mobile, Alabama. I love trying new and exotic foods and if you enjoy eating great food for not too much money, then Mobile was the place to be. They had the perfect confluence of Cajun food and French cooking.

If you left town and headed into the swamps and bayous, they had the best restaurants in the world. They looked like ramshackled old barns stuck along a roadside in the middle of nowhere, but in the evenings they were always packed. Most of these places had a boat dock at the back of the restaurants which they got their fresh seafood which was swimming in the Gulf just hours before.

And one thing they also had was cajun zydeco music on Friday nights. One Friday I was in one of these restaurants and the guitar player dropped an amp on his hand so they announced, "Unless there is a guitar player in the house, the music is going to be canceled." So I thought, what the heck, if someone tells me the chords to the songs while they are playing, I can pass as a reasonably good zydeco player. Oh, and it helps if you yell 'Etoue' (If that's how it's spelled) every now and again.

Anyways, I didn't play real good but the cajuns in the band appreciated the effort and they invited me to spend the weekend with them in their cabins in the swamp. It was a real honor because the Cajuns are pretty reclusive. So we went hunting, teasing alligators, and generally engaging in debauchery.

So the Cajuns liked to make jokes about themselves, even though they don't tolerate jokes from outsiders. One of the jokes they told was about burning the toast for breakfast. They said it was 'cajun toast' because it was blackened and hot. So anyways, that is the origin of cajun style marshmallows, and anything else that gets a bit charred.

Lee, you are truly the Man! I envy you on that one. What an awesome weekend that had to have been. Thanks for sharing.

Campfire stories - keep it up!
 

CAJUN HAIR

Having been a CAMPFIRE GIRL, I have at least one that is worth telling. Was at camp here in the mountains of Washington State and naturally there was a bonfire every night. And naturally the counselors took turns telling the stories.

During the day we "played" pretty hard at that camp. I became an archery ace, but was not the best on horses. Was bucked off a big horse one day when he got spooked on the trail ride. I landed on my wrist. Had to get back on or else walk all the way back.

Anyway, was quite pooped out that night and wrist was hurting. I was sitting on an upright short log and lost my balance falling backwards into the fire! Was VERY quick to get up so only had singed hair, which was longer than shoulders and really smelled!

I moved so fast that I don't think my clothes even got damaged. The counselor took some nail scissors to trim off the singed up ends of my hair.

Lesson learned not to sit so close to a fire! Also, NO upright log sitting, please.