"Between waking and sleep lies a place you were never meant to wander. A
borderland where time bends, shapes twist, and whispers follow you. It’s
the layer of night where dreams blur into nightmares—where every culture
tells the same stories of shadows, watchers, and figures that shouldn’t
exist. Step too far into this in-between, and you’ll discover why
some doors are better left unopened."
Friday evening, Ms. B. and I drove the dark, winding backroads up to my
first college alma mater,
Ferrum College, up in the boonies of neighboring Franklin County. Last year, the newly
opened Ferrum Park
put on its first haunted trail attraction, the theme of which was to find some
missing hikers—without going missing yourself. This year, the event was called
The Void Project, described in the passage above. Like last year, the trail setup was not all
that extravagant, but it was absolutely a hootin' good time. There were a few
roving creatures, some pitch-black corridors, optical illusions, and creepy alien
sounds. I hope there will be another haunted trail there next year, and I
might consider helping out with the setup, especially if I can be roving
monster. Ha-HA!
Brugger and I survived the trail experience, and afterward, since it was on the way home,
we stopped at Scuffle Hill Brewing in Collinsville, where friends Scott & Jamie joined us for a few
brews and some raucous karaoke. Ms. B. and I both hollered a bit, but nobody
ran screaming, so we shall have to try harder next time.
Friday was friend and fellow writer Richard Dansky's birthday, and each year,
to celebrate, he holds a pretty large gathering at his place in Durham. He
calls it "I Am Old, Drink My Scotch," and he puts out innumerable bottles
of scotch along with a huge spread of Meats and Cheeses™, not to mention veggies, sweets, and other culinary
goodies. This year's event was yesterday, and Ms. B. and I both planned to go.
I had reserved a room for us at a hotel near Richard's place, but our cat
Moose has developed what we fear is diabetes, and he was not doing well, so
she stayed home to be with him. I set out yesterday morning, drove to Durham, and proceeded to
hunt a good many geocaches, some of which involved some fairly serious hiking
(although nothing as extreme as a couple of last week's outings at
Wintergreen). There was also a cache at a very old graveyard hidden in the
woods ("Leigh Farm Park Cemetery," GC95G2C), which was apt for the season, and probably my favorite of the day.
I settled in at the hotel about 3:30 p.m., showered and got presentable (as
much as possible, anyway), and as the event's 7:00 p.m. starting time
approached, I ventured out to the grim and morbid environs of East Durham,
grabbed a handful more geocacches, and finally arrived at the grim and morbid
Chez Dansky, which was properly decorated for both Halloween and a celebration
for turning older than dirt.
Indeed, there was scotch. Lots and lots of scotch. And so many Meats and
Cheeses™. Silly me, I was so preoccupied most of the time that I hardly took
any photos at all. The ones I did take are below. Since Brugger didn't make it
and Richard was largely occupied with hosting duties, I was pretty much a
stranger in a sea of faces I didn't know. I tend to feel a bit awkward in such
circumstances, but I did get into interesting conversations with several
folks, all of whom were very nice and sociable. It helped that many were
writers or involved in various creative businesses. So, I'm hoping that there
will be many more Richard Dansky events, birthdays and otherwise, and that in
the future, Ms. B. can accompany me.
Thanks, Richard, for being such a perfect host.
Thanks, Richard, for being such a perfect host.
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| A most appropriate card for the aged Mr. Dansky |
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| Chez Dansky, lit up for the season |
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| The tiniest sampling of the cheezes available at the massive spread |
