Been there, done that!

Yay! It is lightning, thundering, raining...we're having a real "electrical storm" as my mom used to call them.

Friends, Pat and Phil are retired. They ride a motorcycle and sometimes have ridden it to visit their
son in Colorado and daughter in Michigan. He's a musician with his own band and she's an accomplished artist. They've added a dog to their empty nest, so now they're hankering for a small camper for when they travel. I know that yearning. Our two campers served us for many years. Now, although I enjoy being out in nature, I prefer a motel at night.

We tented when the kids were small. One night a terrible thunderstorm with tornadic winds kicked up at the campground bending and twisting trees, lifting the tent, scaring me something awful. The lightning was frightening, and I insisted we go into town for dinner. What I really wanted was four solid walls. We huddled in an overcrowded fast food restaurant. I waited at the counter for our order, rootbeers in frosty mugs, salty fries and cheeseburgers. Every thunder boomer sacred the gee whiz out of me. I tried to stay calm for the kids' sake. As I waited in line, I sipped from the frosty mug on the tray. I sampled a french fry. I looked at the black clouds. I nibbled another fry. I sipped again when the lightning sizzled and sliced the darkness. The man standing next to me asked if I was nervous. "Yes!" I admitted.

"I thought so," he said and smiled politely. "That's my order you're eating and drinking."

Oh, if only we'd had a solid-sided camper back then for me to crawl into. I'd probably never have left the campground. Maybe.