Camping Memories With My Father
It’s almost Father’s Day, a time to make the trek home to visit Dad. I wanted to share a story about camping with my Good ‘Ol Pops. We got a good laugh out of this one, and I hope you will too…
A few years back, the family decided to do a group camping trip with twenty other members of an association that we are afiiliated with. Of course, my brothers and my mother were excited, as we talked about what a great time we were going to have. My father on the other hand, knew he would have a good time, but still felt an uneasiness about having to leave behind the comforts of home. We kept telling him “Dad, this is going to be great. We are all going to have fun!”
We took the 3 hour trek up the mountain and set the campsite up. Afterwards, the group decided they wanted to take a 2-mile hike. In the middle of the hike was a basketball court with some basketballs. While playing a game of 2-on-2, my father sprains his ankle and is unable to walk. He had to be driven 2 miles back to the campsite, a bit embarrassed but otherwise in high spirits. After this minor mis-hap, there was not a complaint from my father.
As the night closed in, everyone was gathered around a main campsite several hundred yards away laughing and sharing stories, apparently having a great time. Unable to walk, my father lay in the tent, as we took constant watch to make sure he was ok He couldn’t do anything but stare up at the tent ceiling and think about his injury. Still, he lay quiet, with not a complaint from my father.
It was around midnight and it started to rain a downpour. Water was everywhere and with an old tent, there was no water repellent and it started to become a swimming pool. To make things worse, the air mattress that my parents lay on lost all air and became flat! Here we lay in the middle of the woods in a soggy tent that was more like a swimming pool, with sore backs from laying on the hard ground because the air mattress had gone flat, and my father unable to move. Still, there was not a complaint from my father.
Around 5am, the tent top had accumulated so much water that a puddle lay above our heads. Drip…drip…drip… The water was dripping everywhere! Let me remind you again, here we lay in the middle of the woods in a soggy tent that was more like a swimming pool, with sore backs from laying on the hard ground because the air mattress had gone flat, and my father unable to move. And remember, there was not a complaint from my father! With so much water on the top of the tent, my parents ask me to gently poke the top to allow the water to drip to the side and flow off of the tent.
So what do I do? I take strong punch at the tent….then…suddenly the waterlogged tent collapses and lays atop of us. So, here we lay in the middle of the woods in a soggy tent that just collapsed atop of us in a pool of water with sore backs from laying on the hard ground because the air mattress had gone flat. The next words I hear? Right from my dad’s mouth in the most sarcastic tone: “Gee, I think I am having fun now!”
We told you so, dad…. We told you so….