Texas’s Loss, Oregon’s Gain

Over the weekend, I attended an Event in Austin that drew people from San Antonio, Waco, and even Dallas. It’s been a while since I went to one that drew so many cachers from all over the state. Though it was a chance to see some faces that hadn’t gathered in a while, it was for a sad reason. Two friends are going away.

Tygress and Waterweasel, friends who have appeared in these pages on numerous occasions in image and by name, left for Oregon yesterday. I can’t say for sure what makes certain individuals central to a caching community. All I know is they most certainly occupy that centrality. I’ve been going to Events in this area just long enough to have seen a few new people come and (unfortunately) go, but this is the first time that cachers I’ve known for a long time are leaving the local scene.

Memes exist about how the real finds or treasures are the friends we’ve made along the way. Well, that’s not entirely wrong. Many is the time I’ve gotten to roll with Tygress and Waterweasel on county highways and dusty roads, discussing stories of California, theater, geology, the Army, and a hundred other things from across the spectra of our lives. I’m a pretty blasé person about a great many things, but I find myself saddened to know they’re gone. I’m not completely without friends by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel a hole now that they’re gone. Of course, this now means there’s another place I can stay when I return to Oregon. The fact that they truly understand what I’m doing makes it even better.

They won’t be forgotten anytime soon. They traditionally held quarterly Events, two for the equinoxes and two for the solstices. I’m taking over hosting duties for the solstices in the future. It’s the least I can do. As long as I can hold Events, I’m happy to keep their legacy alive. Not that it’ll be an issue. They’re leaving a plethora of memories behind them.