My father, who I don't know all that well and don't exactly have much of a relationship with, is a total outdoors kinda guy who likes to ski, hike, camp. His favorite dream is to be alone, far from civilization, just him, the bears, and the stars.

Saw him recently and he asked me if I'd seen the show Survivor Man. He said he caught it on a camping trip up in the NWT when he went into town for a brew. His favorite summary of most trips when you ask him about it: "godd*mned rainy days". For an outdoor guy he hates rain. Hates being wet, probably hates showers as he usually stinks like he's been out in the wildnerness for a few days.

I told him, just to take the piss out of him, that the show was rigged, that guy was not some survivalist he turned the cameras off and the crew went to rest his butt on some cushy bed in a hotel. His far flung wildernesses were some remote, exotic island. That he had a support staff.

My dad's eyes glinted hard at me when I said that. He was pissed. He didn't say anything though, just mumbled about the rain again. My dad doesn't say a whole lot. He grunts a lot though. I don't know why he had kids. My brother was much more any kind of father to me, but I still like my old man. Mom never said anything about him that was bad but come on the guy's like never around.

I always thought he'd write a book about his man vs. the elements adventures as he used to write a lot, and I think he even still keeps journals. But they're probably really boring:

Monday: slept in, made campfire, fished, ate
Tuedsday: hiked, saw a bear, built a fire, fished, ate some berries
Wednesday: scrounged for shrooms, built came (and a fire), shot a rabbit
Thursday: godd*mned rain
Friday: hiked, fished, ate berries, shat in the woods, went back to town

another trip ruined because of godd*mned rain

whatever