Grumpy

Took Thing One camping at the local state park.  Found a nice spot.

A group of twentysomethings pulled into the site across the road and put up three tents and started drinking and talking until 4 AM.  Needless to say, a nylon tent does not provide any sound insulation, so I was up with them, despite yelling at them to be quiet. 

At several times, I considered getting dressed and confronting them directly.  But my kid was asleep in the tent beside me.  And "drunks in state parks" sounds like the opening of a the tragic story of a suburban soccer dad who was shot in front of his 10 year old son.

The NRA once had a bumper sticker saying that "An armed society is a polite society." 

Um, no.  An armed society is a fearful one.  As I lay there - pissed - I thought of things I could do in revenge to the people who stole my sleep.  Peeing in their cooking gear.  Cutting their tent lines.  Peeing in their cooking gear.  Making a lot of noise at 8AM when we got up.  Peeing in their... I really had to take a leak by the end of the evening.

Ultimately, I didn't do this because I needed to set an example for my son.  That every conflict is not a fight and there is value in being "the bigger man".  Not because I wondered if the yahoos had a gun.

Which is not to say I didn't leave a note for the ranger about the illegal beer all over their campsite.  Maybe if he writes them a ticket, the state can afford to staff the ranger station overnight.