Opie's Gear - from Bindle Stiff Jim

“I decided ta other day to head on over to the mountain where some a them had planned a trip for that group from TT. It was comin’ ta dark time when I rolled inta camp and said my hello’s to the group. I was happy to see a kettle of ginger stew a brewin’ over the fire. The temperatures had dropped an it was just the thing ta warm ya up. “Who fixed the stew?” I asked. “Kleetn did that one thar” replied Artex. “He used a bit of that “homemade” Gojo brung with him. He got it just about perfect the way I taste it”. Well I started to getting’ me a cup so I could sit down an enjoy the chatter. Lookin’ around, I seen that most those expected was here. Phaedrus was jawin’ away at Bacpac bout some liberal type politic subject and Bacpac just weren’t buyin it. “Is Opie around?” I asked Bacpac, tryin’ to break up the discussion they was a havin afore it got ta blows. “I don’t reckon he is” said Bacpac. “I’m not thinking he’s gonna make this one”. I looked around and ole Radagast and RichB was just a chuckling. “Well, you gonna let me hear this one?” I asked, knowin they was jest dying to let it out. “ Sure enough” said Bacpac, “now that ya asked. Ya see, for the last while now, ole Opie has been feelin mighty big whenever he gets to imbibin’. Seems he can’t go out without getting in some sort of a scrap with someone. Well, Miss Opie is getting pretty tired of him showin up to home all tore up and stinkin of corn whiskey ever time he gets with the guys. She reached her limit and let him know there’d be no more of it or she just wasn’t gonna carry all the load for him no more when they go packin. Now you know Opie can’t go nowhere unless he’s got her there to carry it all and that kind of led to him stayin at home this weekend. Ya see, he went to Hooter’s the other day to meet up with a few of them that’s been makin it a regular trip and sure enough, he got to partakin. Wasn’t long till you could see them beer muscles start ta show and him thinking he was just what them waitress girls was a looking for. After a couple a warnin’s for bein too friendly, that waitress brought over the big fella they keep there for crowd control. Opie, figurin he was as tough as they come, tried to tear into this fella without to much success. He took another whoopin and headed on home when he remembered what Miss Opie had told him. It was kind of late when he got in an it bein his lucky day an all she was already gone ta bed. He snuck into the bathroom an used the mirror to clean an bandage his face a bit afore he climbed in the bed an went ta sleep. Well, the next morning he went out to the breakfast table an Miss Opie up an told him ‘I warned you on getting drunk an fightin’. Now your just gonna have ta carry yer own gear this weekend iffin’ you wanna go.’ Opie just couldn’t figure it out. ‘ Whatever do ya mean?’ he asked her ‘even if I was drunk an scrapin last night you would never a knowed it. You was fast asleep when I come in the house and I know you never stirred.’ ‘I didn’t need to’ she replied to him ‘you still got dried blood on your face and there a pile a bandaids stuck to that mirror in the bathroom.’”

“Ol' Opie better watch out or he's gonna find himself sleeping on the sofa with Josh.”

“*wink*”

“they's all still arount here.”

“LOL”