MLK, The Land of B I G and Campers

MLKjr

Arnebya at What Now and Why had another great post on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  She began her post asking what you were doing when you heard of the assassination of Dr. King.  Unlike when someone asks me about President Kennedy or his brother, Robert, my location did not immediately pop into my mind.  After having to think about where I was when I heard the report was during the evening news.  It bothered me that Dr. King's death had not impacted me more.  I used the computer, did some research and realized that was when it was announced, during the evening news.  Dr. King was shot at 6:01 PM and pronounced dead at 7:05 PM at a nearby hospital in Memphis, TN.  I was sitting in the living room at Lazy Acres Apartments in Dallas, Texas.  But I had to think about it.

I do not remember where I was when I heard about the attempt on Gerald Ford or Ronald Reagan. The attempt on George Wallace that left him crippled is nothing I can recall in relation to my location.  I do remember where I was when told of the Oklahoma bombing and the 9/11 attacks.  My take on all this is pretty simple, if you feel a connection to something there is more impact when a tragedy happens.  It is a shame on me that I was not more in tune with Dr. Kings message.  It is people like me, the folks in the middle that are probably the greatest hurdle that keeps The Dream from being The Reality.

In The Land of B I G

Husband and I find ourselves surrounded by many extended cab, dual rear tires, all decked out to the nines pickups these days.  Surely in the Austin area there are plenty of energy conscious vehicles as well as guzzler suv's like our Jeep Wrangler.  We see more 10 gallon cowboy hats than we are accustomed to seeing.  Cowboy boots are common as bluebonnets in spring.  In short we are living in the heart of Texas Longhorn country.   This is ranching country.  This is big farm country.  It is Ford F150 and Dodge Ram country.  The saying is, "Everything is B I G in Texas."

I was struck by one passenger in one of the farm pickup trucks recently.  Cowboy hat, a plug of chew in his mouth with a little trickling out of the corner was next to us at a traffic light.  Cowboy became agitated and  reached into the floorboard.  In a state where guns are little gods, one can become concerned when an agitated person is reaching into the floorboard.  I sat for a split second in slight fear.  The the huge hatted cowboy/rancher in the well used ranch truck pulled a tiny chihuahua up and gingerly placed in the back seat of the extended cab.

Laughter spilled from me at this sight.  Really, think about this.  In the land of B I G, a chihuahua in an extended cab, dual rears with extended wheel base pickup truck with a big cowboy.  Pretty funny.

Campers

Almost half of my life I thought that camping as staying at a really cheap hotel.  Somewhere along the way I changed.  Maybe it was how affordable vacations become without hotel or motel costs.  Maybe it was our son becoming a Scout.  I cannot explain it but I grew to enjoy camping, tent camping.  Multiple vacations have been taken with about half the nights being spent in tents.  Cold weather, skunks, steaming hot weather, raccoons, good campsites, rain, leaking tents, high winds, crummy campsites, mesquitoes, noisy campers and closed campgrounds have been some of the experiences.  No matter, we both have enjoyed many of our adventures.

2008 Lake Jenny campsite

If we win the lottery.

Our last camping was done in 2008 in a too small tent.  Husband said no more tent camping in such a small tent.  We looked at really big tents and located some we thought would work.  Life brought changes not to mention that we are 6 years older now.   For the last couple of years we have been doing on line researching of small campers that the Jeep could pull easily.  One camper trailer has us intrigued.  It is the Alto Safari Condo and is manufactured in Canada.  It is, also, most likely out of our price range/budget.

But one can dream, one must dream.  And one must remember.