Looking back, it was quite funny...

This past weekend Ella and I loaded up the car and headed to my friend Gerin's lake house for the weekend. Gerin and her husband, Rick have two kids, Abby 6 and Max 2 and two dogs, Denali and Marley. We were joined by our friend, Shelley and her two girls, Kaelin 6 and Ashlyn 3. I've known Gerin since high school and Shelley and I go way back to 3rd grade and recreational cheerleading.

We all arrived around mid-day on Saturday. We were off to a fantastic start. We had nice weather, the kids were all getting along nicely and we were getting to spend some quality time together, at last.

Saturday evening we threw everyone in the bath or shower, downed some burgers and dogs and loaded up the pontoon for an evening of watching the fireworks on the lake!!

We carried a bunch of juice boxes, snacks and sleeping bags. We convinced ourselves it might get cool enough on the water, in June, in Georgia to need sleeping bags. We had everything...or so we thought.

Once we reached a good spot on the lake, not too close to the dam where the fireworks would launch, but close enough to see the display we dropped anchor. And in my memory it seemed almost instantaneous...the boat lost power. I mean everything was dead. No radio, no engine, no LIGHTS!! And...only one cell phone. My poor excuse for a means of mobile communication was all we had. It's at least two years old and has been chewed on by Ella and dropped so many times by both of us it looks like it's been in the caves of Afghanistan. Plus, since Ella chewed on it so much as a baby, you have to use an ear bud or speaker phone, both of which make hearing and speaking difficult when you're on a boat in the middle of the water with five screaming kids.

Anyway...poor Rick takes my sad device and begins trying to call for help. No luck. Finally the rangers on boat patrol pull up and tell us we need to have our lights on for safety. We explained we would if we could and their faces dropped. They explained they weren't supposed to tow us but as we sat we would be "sitting ducks" once the show was over. Other boats would come whizzing by or at us unable to see us because we had no lights. That's enough to make you want to swim to shore. But the nice gentlemen that they were, they towed us to a nearby shore area that just happened to be part of a park. By now it's getting dark and the fireworks are exploding in colorful glory...but no one's watching.

Finally the rangers take off and we are officially stranded. Gerin jumps off the boat and asks an older couple, on the shore watching the fireworks, if they can give Rick a ride back to their cabin in order to pick up the mini-van and retrieve our helpless selves.

They of course oblige.

So Rick takes off. Meantime, it's dark and we have no flashlights. Ahead on the horizon my friends and I see lightning, and it's coming our way. We quickly and quietly work to devise a plan without frightening the children. We agree we need to get off the boat and away from the water. We further agree the nearby wooded area is probably also a bad idea. But we decide we must voyage to the parking lot which we were told is not too far. But no one is around. Finally we see movement in the darkness. I call out, "are you walking to the parking lot?" Hoping it's not a serial killer who's been stalking us since Rick left. "Yes" responded nice young sounding voices. Suddenly, out of the darkness came a swarm of lcd displays as the bright young people began opening their cell phones and illuminating their way towards us. They helped us off-load bags, children and more bags and held their cell phones out so we could traverse the rocky path avoiding muddied or bloodied toes. O.k. my white flip-flops are a definite casualty of Georgia red clay.

After what seemed like miles we reached a parking lot, which for some reason had no lights. Then we crossed a road, busied by motorists trying to get out of the park and get home before the 11 o'clock news, it's now about 10 or 10:30.

Shelley finally spots a restroom area aglow with fabulous state park yellow lamps. We haul the kids up and drop everything. We make everyone go potty in order to buy more time; Rick is not answering his cell phone and he should have made it back to the cabin by now.

At this point my girlfriends and I agree we were becoming the plot of a Jason Vorheese slasher flick.

Gerin takes my crappy little cell phone down to the road and keeps calling Rick while watching to flag him down should he come whizzing past in a desperate attempt to rescue us from the boat, where we no longer are, but he doesn't know that.

About this time Max, the youngest, starts to lose it. It's waaaay past his bedtime. So we did all we could do...we sang "If You're Happy and You Know It...." That calmed nerves for a little while longer. Then we posed for some "this stinks" photos. Then...another Ranger stopped by to check on us. About that time Rick called. The Ranger was able to tell Rick where we were waiting because we did not know where we were. Then...we were alone again, waiting. What seemed like 15-20 minutes pass and suddenly Rick comes blazing past. We all begin to jump up and down and yell and flail trying to get his attention. He does a u-turn and we are rescued.

We laughed the whole way home. Ella began spontaneously kissing everyone...perhaps signs of a scar that could be with her for life.

At some point during the ordeal Abby, Gerin's oldest, exclaimed, "This is the worst night EVER!" Well I doubt that...but I am sure it's one that even Alzheimer's won't allow us to relinquish...we'll remember that night, and with the removal of time, laugh about it FOREVER.

Note: the boat is now safely back at dock awaiting repairs.