In the tradition of great mountain men and male bonding, a few friends paid respect (and consolation) to Lawrence’s on his pending extraction from singlehood into marital abyss. The fab five trekked through the paved roads of Cambridge, Arlington - and about 1 hour later after stops at a mall, a bakery and Starbucks! - we finally made it west to Concord. Once there, we found our way to the "Old South Bridge" where we rented canoes and waved our good-byes to John - who was the sixth smart enough to make us a quintet. After paddling for about 2 hr. (and 400 yards) on the Concord river, we decided "roughing it" was getting a little old so we found our way to shore to forage. As luck would have it, we came upon some sautéed chicken, baked ham, fresh bread and salad. 

The trip was not without some frontier danger… "Cookie" Clif had a near death experience when the gourmet coffee he was preparing unexpectedly ignited - shooting flames in every direction… Harvey swears he observed sparks. When we regained our composure, "Cookie" tried drinking the burnt java but after he chipped a tooth, we decided to grill another pot. 

After wondering and pondering for hours, we reentered our canoes and put to river for the 400 yard (or so) voyage home. While following the flow of the river, some wedding readings from Chris about the importance of momentum and shackles; and from Clif about leaving mother and entering death, had Lawrence eager to get to the dock where he was the first out of the boat and ran off chanting something about Peggy and the ashram. 

Our trip back east through the wilds of Route 2 would not have been complete without paying homage to a mentor, an icon, a statue… we stopped by Walden Pond to see Henry David's house - to appreciate the tranquillity, to experience the simplicity… to feel the bronze figure. We knew we'd been in the wilderness too long when someone in the group (not to be mentioned) started getting a little too friendly with Thoreau’s statue as strains of the theme song from "Deliverance" waft through the air.