Disco Camping - 1. Chapter 1

Disco Camping

“I think I got another one!” Dan exclaimed as he reeled in another fish.

Fred and Dan had been fishing in the same lake for decades but never had such good luck. Usually there were a few more friends with them, but today everyone except Fred and Dan had other plans.

“Let me get a picture,” Fred said as Dan pulled the sizable fish out of the water.

Dan posed with the fish, and Fred took the photo.

“I’ll send this to Mike and ask how his mother-in-law’s birthday party is going,” Fred said as he tapped away on his phone.

The two friends laughed as Fred composed the text. They laughed even harder when they got a message back telling them exactly where they could stick that fish.

Fred had first met Dan when they were five years old. Dan was friends with Fred’s neighbor Richie. One day, Fred had come out to see what Richie was doing and saw another boy already playing with him. They all started playing together.

A year later they attended the same school, where they met Mike, Adam, Matt, and the twins Tammy and Charlie. The group became inseparable most of the time. As they got older, their parents let them stay out longer and the friends used to spend most of their time playing in the woods and by the lake.

By third grade they all joined the same scouting troop except for Tammy, who joined the girl’s troop, and Matt, who had piano lessons every afternoon. Fred could still remember some of their adventures clearly. The highlight of being a scout was the camping trip. They spent weeks learning how to pitch tents, build campfires, and perform other skills. One of the most difficult things they had to learn was how to hang food in a tree so bears would not get to it. Fred was teamed up with Dan and Richie for that exercise. Richie threw the rope up into a tree, but instead of going over the branch it got caught in a tangle of twigs.

“Fred, go up the tree and get it,” Richie said.

“Why me? You got it stuck,” Fred objected.

“Because, you don’t want to turn into one of those kinds of boys.”

“What kind of boys?”

“Boys who kiss other boys,” Richie whispered.

“Eew! I don’t kiss boys! I don’t kiss anyone!” Fred exclaimed and went to get the rope.

He and Dan would later find out that Richie had overheard a television program his parents were watching about what was then called same-sex-attraction disorder.

In the intervening years the so-called disorder had changed names, but the stigma was still there. Fred sighed, thinking about how he had turned into one of those boys, despite being the best tree climber in town. Then he felt a tug on his fishing line.

“I got one!” he announced, breaking the awkwardly long silence that had developed between him and Dan.

After a short struggle, Fred pulled the fish out of the water and smiled just in time for Dan to take a photo.

“Who should we send this one to?” Dan asked.

“Tammy. We’ll ask her how she’s liking her boss’s baby shower!” Fred answered.

They got an answer almost as soon as the message was sent. It read, “Jerks!!!”

The two fishermen laughed. Then the laughter subsided and Fred started fidgeting with his fishing pole, wishing he could think of something to say to fill the silence. Fred blamed himself for these moments. He had liked Dan as more than just a friend since high school and did his best to hide it. Those kinds of feelings were not talked about in their small town. It had not been easy keeping the secret, and he had almost accidentally revealed it a few times. As an adult, he would often pause to carefully consider his choice of words even in casual conversations.

“It’s starting to get dark,” Dan commented, “Maybe we should head back.”

“Yeah, we should.”

They picked up their belongings, including the unexpectedly large quantity of fish, and turned toward the forest path. Fred was reminded of their first camping trip. He, Dan, and Richie were assigned to the same tent. They had managed to pitch the tent and lay out their sleeping bags quickly. Then they went to join the troop leaders and other scouts by a big fire. They ate dinner and then roasted marshmallows while the troop leaders entertained them with legends and scary stories.

After a few hours, the fire died down and they all went to their tents for the night. Fred woke up after a few hours, having to use the restroom. He took his flashlight and walked deeper into the woods. He was already on his way back when he saw some strange lights flashing among the trees. He stopped for a moment. Then he noticed that they were getting closer to him. He ran back to camp and woke up his tentmates.

They all went out to the spot where Fred had seen the lights, but the lights were gone. The three boys looked for them but did not find anything except the dark, still woods. They gave up and went back to sleep. The adventure was over for the night, but Fred’s experience captured his friends’ imaginations.

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The memory still made them smile decades later. “Remember our camping trips when we were kids?” Fred asked Dan.

“Yes,” answered Dan, “Oh, and guess who I saw today?”

“Who?”

“Mr. Green. His dog just had pups.”

Mr. Green was an older gentleman whom Fred and his friends had met the summer before their first year of high school. They had decided to do some ghost hunting in the woods one warm evening. They had walked into the woods just before sunset with no real plans. They just followed the path to the lake looking around for anything unusual. As it got dark they tried to turn on the two flashlights Mike had brought from home. Unfortunately, he had not checked the batteries and the flashlights would not turn on. Charlie and Mike started arguing about who was to blame for the dead flashlights, and it looked like the ghost hunt would soon be over. Then Richie saw something in the distance.

“Guys, look!” he exclaimed, pointing towards a dancing light.

They all forgot about the useless flashlights and started running in the direction of the light. They stumbled over roots and were slapped by small branches as they chased the ghostly glow. As they got closer, they could hear something coming towards them. It made a tremendous noise as it pushed its way through the brush. The group of teenagers stopped and looked at each other for guidance. Someone shouted “Monster!”

“What do we do?” asked Matt in a panic.

“Run!” shouted Richie.

“We can’t run that fast. It’s going to catch us!” screamed Tammy.

“Climb the trees!” shouted Dan.

They scrambled up the nearest trees just in time to get out of the way of whatever was coming. Fred was sitting on the branch next to Dan. He could hear another of their friends shifting around just below them.

“Can monsters climb trees?” asked a worried Charlie as something big swirled and turned below them.

No one answered the question. They sat quietly as the light they had seen before got closer.

“What is that thing?” Dan whispered.

Before Fred could say anything, the creature under them let out a loud bark. The moving beam of light settled on a big, fluffy, white dog. Then it followed the dog’s gaze into the trees. A friendly voice then addressed them, “You don’t have to be afraid of him. Snow just wants to play.”

Fred and his friends came down from their perches to the delight of Snow who wagged his bushy tail and sniffed them. The owner introduced himself as Sam Green. He explained that because of his dog’s heavy coat, they usually took walks late in the day. They all walked back into town together.

While the ghost-hunt was a complete failure, they were all happy to have met Mr. Green. They would often visit him over the years and play with Snow and his many descendants. As adults, Fred and Dan still enjoyed visiting Mr. Green.

“Those pups must be Snow’s grandchildren,” Fred said.

“Yeah, one of them looks just like Snow too.”

“I’ll have to stop by his place one of these days.”

“Hey what’s that?” Dan asked, pointing in the direction of a tall tree.

“What is what?”

“There was a light in the trees. It didn’t look like a flashlight.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve been on enough campouts and ghost-hunts to know a flashlight beam when I see one,” Dan answered.

“I didn’t see anything,” Fred said.

Dan shrugged his shoulders and they continued their walk in the fading light. Then there was another flash of light. Both of them saw it this time. It was nothing like a flashlight. There were many little spots of light that suddenly appeared. They shone across the trees like a flock of scared birds and then disappeared. Then they appeared and disappeared one more time. Then there was a flash of light more like a single beam.

Fred and Dan looked at each other and then began to quietly walk in the direction of the lights. After walking for a while, they saw a more familiar light. It was the flickering glow of a campfire. As they came closer they could hear music. After a few more minutes of walking, they could see a campsite in a clearing. They stopped and observed the scene from a distance.

There were two ATVs parked next to a tent and a big fire a safe distance away. There was something hanging over the tent that looked out of place. They were too far away to tell what it was. There was a single person sitting on a log in front of the fire. He got up to put more wood on the fire. The light revealed his face and both Fred and Dan recognized him as the high school football team’s quarterback.

“That’s Johnny Smith, isn’t it?” whispered Dan.

Fred nodded his head.

A few moments later they saw the mysterious light pattern that they had seen before. Then they recognized another football player walking out of the woods with a high-powered flashlight. He was aiming it at the object hanging above the tent. Fred instantly recognized the object as a disco ball.

“Disco camping?” he said. “Is that what they do for fun now?”

“Times have changed since we were kids,” Dan answered.

Johnny, who had been sitting by the fire, told his companion to stop playing with the flashlight.

“I’m just enjoying the music,” the other boy said as he danced in front of the tent with the flashlight still aimed at the disco ball.

“You’re being a jackass, Steve. Who takes a disco ball camping anyway?” Johnny asked as he got up and walked toward Steve.

“I do, and you know you like it,” Steve answered.

At first it looked like the boys were going to fight over the flashlight, but then Johnny put his arms around Steve and kissed him on the lips. Fred’s mouth dropped open in shock as the two boys took off each other’s shirts and continued to kiss each other. Johnny unbuckled Steve’s belt and pulled his pants down just enough to show the tops of two perfectly toned butt cheeks.

Fred had a good idea of what would come next. He turned around and began walking away quietly. Dan followed close behind. Neither man knew what to say, so they walked quietly until they reached Dan’s pickup. As he put the tackle box in the truck bed, Fred finally found his voice.

“Can you believe those kids? If someone had done something like that when we were kids they would have been sent off to the funny farm.”

Dan arranged things in the truck bed and answered without looking up. “They probably would have.”

Then he unlocked the doors to the cab and both of them climbed in. As they reached for their seatbelts Dan added, “But, like I said before, times have changed.”

Fred turned to look for his seatbelt buckle and, to his complete shock, Dan leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

As Dan pulled himself away, Fred stared at him wide-eyed. A worried look washed over Dan’s face. “I always thought you liked me. I hope I’m not wrong about that.”

“No, no you’re not. I did like you. I do like you,” Fred answered, still in shock.

Dan smiled, but neither of them said anything for a few seconds.

“So, what happens now?” Fred asked.

Dan hesitated for a moment and then answered, “We have fish to clean. Are you still alright with going to my place?”

“Yeah. That’s fine.”

“Great, we can clean the fish and fry some for dinner,” Dan said.

“That sounds great,” Fred said and after a moment’s thought added, “I’m not sure how this will go in the long run.”

“I guess we’ll just take things one day at a time and find out,” Dan said. Then after a short pause he continued, “Who knows? Maybe someday we can go disco camping together.”

Fred smiled in agreement as Dan turned the key in the ignition and they started on their way home.