CADILLAC MICHIGAN
cadillacmichigan.comessay | up in michigan
plastic bags and drinkers. Ask and ye
shall receive.
Behold the call of “Chocolate milk!”
or “Pills, more pills!” We shall deliver.
Never mind that they ask for these
things at 3 a.m. when there is not a
store in sight, or, if there is, a closed
one. This brings the kinship of a group
of feeders to light. Because the parking
area at each feed spot is a bartering
arena, Jell-O and Tylenol passing hands
in an urgency matched only by the
Olympics. For if there’s one thing that
every feeder wants as much as seeing
their team make it to the finish, it’s for
their friends to do the same.
Well, our boys placed 13th that year
out of 72 boats, 15 of which did not
make it. But the best story of all that
will become lore for years to come was
this: The paddler who said he didn't
want any food.
No food? But his feeder didn’t hesitate,
she simply plucked the food from his
boat and sent him on his way. Only
to watch him turn, pause, and holler,
“Where is my @#$%ing food????”
We feeders secretly take these stories
back to shore with us and revel in the
glory of our men losing their minds,
right before us, by their own doing.
“They're maniacs,” we say. “Fools,”
we agree. “Nuts,” we conclude. In the
end, we pride ourselves on being the
sane ones as we trudge down a dirt
road in the middle of the night in soggy
underwear.
Kandace Chapple is a freelance writer and
co-publisher of Grand Traverse Woman magazine.
You can find her at kandacechapple.com // Jeff
Caverly is a nature, wedding, event and editorial
photographer from Essexville, Michigan.
jeffcaverly.com
Early in the night,
we are in the river
plenty early, worried
we’ll miss our team.
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