The Adventures of Gingerbread Jim - #2 LbNA #18573

This series of letterboxes will tell you a story of a man called Gingerbread Jim. He was born February 2, 1941, growing up in a small town called Gingerbread Junction located somewhere in the states. The stories he will tell, will take you to the favorite places he always enjoyed visiting, introduce you to fasinating people he met, and make you laugh through the situations he had gone through, growing up through the years. So I hope you enjoy the series and cherish the stories that are told as only Gingerbread Jim could.

The Adventures of Gingerbread Jim - #2
-Jim and the Lucky Lizard-

The year - 1967
Age - 26
Location - Pond Parish (east entrance)

So, first let me ask you this question. Have you ever had a friend, that for some reason, had no clue why you were still friends? I mean, this friend is so annoying, that the only reason you still hang out with him or her, is because you don't want to hurt his or her feelings? Oh man, do I have a story for you. So, this friend of mine had come up with, for once in a very long time, what seemed to be a good idea. Lets go camping. Harmless enough, right? Well, not quite. So we were heading north on Route 93, when he told me to go west on Route 101. After a bit of driving, I had to ask, "Are you sure you know where we're going?" He said "Of course!" Shorty there after, we took a left hand turn on to Camp Rd. Then the sky caved in.
"Are we there yet?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" I responded.
"Are we there yet?"
"Your the one with the directions!" I yelled.
"Well, your the one who missed the turn!"
"What turn!?"
"The turn onto Baboosic Lake Road."
Well, very discussed with him, I turned the car around so fast, his face hit the passenger side car window. Served him right. So we made that turn onto Baboosic Lake Road, and about 1.7 miles down the road he didn't hesitate to tell me about the left turn onto Parish Road, and then the right turn about .4 miles into the Pond Parish parking lot.
So I had to ask, "Are we there yet?"
"Oh ya, we're here!" he quickly responded. "We're here!"
Tent, sleeping bags, and snacks in hand, we head down the trail that attaches the parking lot. Just a bit down the path we took a left at the "Y". If you look around, if you hadn't noticed, this place is loaded with large rocks and boulders. I've never seen so many stones. And just as my friend was about to apoligize about what happened in the car, he tripped on one of those rocks sticking out of the trail. I had to laugh. Then I myself, apoligized. So we were coming up to a small clearing, when we heard something. Would you believe that some Redneck Women (series #1) was doing the limbo with a tree. I thought my friend was weird. She did ask if we wanted to join her, but I had to say no. You kidding me. No way man.
But my friend on the other hand, "Sure I will." he replied.
I dope slapped him on the back of the head, apoligized to the redneck women, and we both went on our way. About sometime down the path, sorry I lost track of time, we came across the area where we were to set up camp. There was already a fire ring from others who had camped before. Blah blah blah was all I heard when he opened his mouth. So I sent him out for firewood. He had been gone for about 15 minutes, when I heard something. Someone was calling my name. It was coming from the left of camp, down a trail I don't remember ever seeing earlier.
"Jim," the voice said, "follow me."
So I started down the trail, now noticing something faint in the dark, scurrying from boulder to boulder. It was always far enough ahead to where I could never quite figured out what it was. As I continued walking, I came up to something that was out of this world. Just off the right side of the trail, there was a family of squirrels, chowing on acorns at what looked to be a stone table. They looked at me and said "follow him. And do hurry." They pointed down the trail and I went again in that direction. A short way down the trail, I came upon a stonewall. I couldn't see anything, when I happened to noticed that there was a light coming from a huge boulder at the end of the stonewall on the left.
"Come to the light, and hurry." a voice said.
Just a bit freaked out, I headed towards the light and tripped on a rock. Stupid rocks. Face first in the ground, I heard someone laugh at me. I looked up and saw a lizard. Confused, I had to ask why it had brought me here. The lizard stepped aside and explained how it had found my friend out in the woods with a broken leg after tripping on a rock himself. It had taken him back to its home. I got up off the ground and went to my friend. He opened his eyes and told me how awesome it was to see me. It was that moment, when I said, "You know, no matter how much I thought you were annoying, and no matter how much I wish you weren't my friend, you were always there. And it took me 10 years of friendship to see that." What a friend his was.
"Thank you." I said to the lizard.
The lizard then waved and scurried into a hole where the stonewall meets the huge boulder. From that point, all the way back to camp, to the car, to the hospital, I allowed him to yap his gums off until he feel asleep. I felt so lucky to have found that lizard. I feel so lucky to have such a good friend. If you get anything out of this story, take a long look at your friends, and realize how lucky "you" are.

Please remember to replace the letterbox exactly as you found it. Be as careful as possible and be mindful of the fallen trees and/or large branches, for under them you can find salamanders and other forest creatures. Check them out, but please do not destroy their home. Please email me and let me know how things went and tell me your story about your visit to the Pond Parish.

Redneck Women Series #1 is an actual letterbox. Check it out.

P.S. Gingerbread Jim is mearly a fictional character, based on no ones life. Just trying to find a way to rid of my writers block.

-Team New Hampshire
http://teamnewhampshire.blogspot.com