Campfire

An example circle

A made-up circle of friends who grew up out in the country, looking back. Yours starts empty — and fills up just like this, in everyone’s own words, voices, and photos. Start your own →

The Holler Kids

6 around the fire

Tammylast month

Where we are now

Drove back through town last month. The school’s closed now, the Marathon’s boarded up, Casey’s is a Dollar General. But the bonfire spot out back of Crystal’s papaw’s field is still there. Sat on the tailgate a while in the dark. Felt sixteen again.

All of us, that field, every summer until we left.

A bonfire burning low in the dark country field where the circle grew up, an old pickup parked alongside it.
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  • Crystal Papaw would want you out there. Bring the rest of ’em next time and I’ll dig the old fire pit back out.
  • Dale Save me a spot on the tailgate.

“Alright, confess — what’s the dumbest thing we ever did out there?”

how 3 of them remember it — Dale asked

Dale

Built a ramp out of a sheet of plywood and two cinderblocks and tried to jump the crick on a bicycle. Spent that night in the ER getting my arm set. Worth every minute.

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Bobby

Rode in the bed of Junior’s truck down the highway at night holding a mattress up like a sail. ‘Truck surfing.’ We were absolute morons. God really does look after fools and country kids.

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Wayne

Lit a whole brick of Black Cats off inside a coffee can to see what’d happen. I know what’d happen now. Still can’t hear right out of my left ear.

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Wayneopening day, around 2004

Adventures & misadventures

First buck. Opening day, fourteen years old, freezing in that stand my papaw built out of pallets and bailing wire. I was shaking so bad I about fell out of the tree before I ever pulled the trigger. Papaw cried harder than I did.

Me and Papaw. That stand’s still up there, half rotted — I won’t let anybody take it down.

Wayne told this one out loud

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  • Dale Your papaw was the best man in that whole county and that’s just a fact.
  • Bobby I bet that buck’s still on your mamaw’s fridge.
Dalesummer, around 2003

Adventures & misadventures

Remember riding the four-wheelers down through Miller’s bottom after a hard rain, and Bobby sunk his Honda up to the seat in that mud hole by the crick? Took all four of us, a logging chain, and Wayne’s dad’s truck to drag it out. We were caked head to toe. Bobby’s mom made him strip down and hose off in the yard before she’d let him on the porch.

All of us. The mud hole that swallowed Bobby’s four-wheeler whole.

Bobby’s mud-caked red Honda four-wheeler down by the creek after the rain.
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  • Bobby That Honda fired right back up. Mud and all. They don’t build ’em like that no more.
  • Wayne Dad is STILL mad about that chain.
  • Crystal I have never laughed harder than watching your mom chase you with the hose.
CrystalFriday nights, all of it

The early days

Half my childhood was a tailgate in the Dollar General parking lot, because there was genuinely nowhere else to go. We’d scrape change together for a two-liter of Mountain Dew and a bag of hot fries and call it a Friday night. People feel sorry for that and I don’t know why. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Two pickups parked tailgate to tailgate outside the Dollar General at dusk, a two-liter and a bag of chips set out on the tailgate.
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  • Tammy The DG lot was our entire social life and I’m not the least bit ashamed.

Our story so far

4 of 5 chapters started · 11 memories
How we met✓
2 told
The early days✓
3 told
Adventures & misadventures✓
4 told
Inside jokes & legends
2 to tell
Where we are now✓
2 told

That’s the whole idea — a few people, the years you actually shared, kept together. Start your own circle →