Hello? I thought I heard a knock.

So, if I were to construct a Yelp-type review of Xscapers Bash 2022 comparing it to my prior experience…these are some highlights –

No getting tangled up in silly IV lines!

Administered medicines this year were limited to Indica Hybrid, Tanqueray and Patron.

Arrived without ambulance sirens and left in my own drivers seat.

Thankfully no hospital lima beans nor yellow jello.

Was not asked to decide between a ventilator tube and catheter first being removed.

Forty-eight less hours of all-consuming hallucinations. Although I do miss watching art masterpieces being drawn before my eyes. (The image at top was a weird photo of Lynn in the kitchen but reminded me of a hallucination.)

Speaking of hallucinations, during the past week, Lynn read them to me as she wrote them down at the time. This blog title was one of them and other classics were: “I was not selling. I was buying”, “I heard a political acceptance speech at 12:50AM”, “Acrobatic planes over NYC”, “Is that real? No, you are real”, “There are fleas crawling all over a green wall”, “I hear Tony Bennett. Now Taylor Swift. I can sing along”. And then my personal favorite, “97. No, not 97. I’ve got to shut up. People think I am crazy”.

Some of this year’s event highlights were enjoying Chuck and Michelle, aka The Status Crowes, play their wonderful music, serving JagerBombs at the lot crawl event, pouring draft beers behind the bar, partaking in the dankfully-delightful Chill Space, watching Xscapers Got Talent (my vote went to the jumping dog), Neon Night and successfully extricating myself from the ferris wheel / torture device.

One day while Lynn was busy (very) with her hair cutting side hustle, I took a drive down memory lane as I suspected that I would be compelled to do. For the past few months, my mind has been overly focused on the illness of two years ago and the approaching return to this place. So, I drove to the Havasu Regional Medical Center in order to see the place I called home for eight days. Surprisingly, seeing the door that they wheeled me out did not give any sort of emotional effect. I then visited the Urgent Care center where my temperature spiked to 106.7. Pulling into the same parking spot where we were two years ago affected me in a much more profound way than I expected. Anyway, it was something that I knew that needed to be done.

Surprisingly, it was the little things that hit me the hardest. Seeing the Starbucks that Lynn visited every morning on her way to the hospital….the Jersey Mike’s that she’d hit on her way home….seeing the bridge that someone else drove our motorhome over….and finally driving out of the Rodeo Grounds…Those were the memories that I take away from Lake Havasu City.

It was Day Three when Covid arrived at Bash, though thankfully not with Lynn nor I. While the event organizers did not name the sick, through scuttlebutt and deductive reasoning, we managed to figure out who was sick. At that point, I stopped pouring beers and really focused on staying as safe as possible. Masks became more prevalent and indoor activities were moved outside. We found four Covid home test kits and although we still feel fine, will test ourselves in a few days to be sure. While the photos might suggest otherwise, this event was somewhat Covid-subdued. We love our Xscapers community and while it may be many months until our paths cross with friends, our paths will cross.

More blogs are coming…I can tell that I’m not back to where I want to be putting words to blog…but I am getting there. Probably my best road warrior story is 1/3 written….so stay tuned.

Lynn’s Two Cents

Every time we get together with our Xscapers community it is a blast. Bash 2022 was no exception. Although there were less people than expected and accommodations were made due to Covid, fun was had by all. Having a “road family” means everything to us. Can’t wait until next time!