Grugger’s Way

Someone commented that my post on Labor Day camping made me sound like a grumpy old man. Yup.

I am, in many ways, old-fashioned, with habits and dislikes fairly common to people in their sixties, particularly men, I think. We seem less tolerant of other people’s quirks and habits than do women.

Women seem more compassionate, compromising and cooperative.

Men seem more confrontational, combative, and other “C” words, like crass and crabby.

There was a pause….I had to think….what the hell? I know what year I was born–1947, that never changes. But my age in years is something I can hardly keep up with.

Is it because my memory is going…going…? Or do the years just speed by so fast that I can’t keep track any longer. Or don’t I really care?

Ah, maybe that’s it! Who does it matter to anyway? Not me. Not my spouse (who HATES to be reminded of MY age because that…ah yes…reminds her of her own).

My kids are now ages 24 through 40. Five of them. They have various ideas of how old I am, ranging from 45 or so…to over 70! Oh, to have such perspective!

I wonder if my Mother has to think for a moment to recall her exact age. It is 82. I remember her age as well as my own….but again, it is because I remember her YEAR of birth….and that has never changed…not since she reached age 39. (Oh, she loved Jack Benny!)

A couple of years ago, the IRS would not accept my federal tax return because my DATE of birth, (the day, not the month or year) that the IRS had on file did not agree with the Social Security Administration. One had the 7th, the other had the 9th. Social Security had it WRONG! I had to make a trip down there with my original birth certificate to get it corrected. THEN I could file my taxes.

I suppose this was good. I wouldn’t want to get into a big brouha with Social Security when the day comes that I want to Draw it. I will have no problem remembering my age THEN, you can be damn sure.

Forward about 43 years. My wife and I decided to purchase a used motor home to see if we would enjoy the “RV lifestyle.” Crawling around inside a tent had become just a bit too confining for a 60-year-old with back and knee problems. We got a pretty good deal on a 1991 Fleetwood Flair 25Y.

The 17-year-old motor home proved to be pretty cramped and confining. Why would we not expect that? Two people can barely move past each other. There are all sorts of overhangs and sharp corners to bump my head. I hope I have found them all.

Cooking in the motor home makes the entire place smell like food. For hours. And it heats up the entire place too. Summer camping in 95 degree temperatures is unbearable without air conditioning. We ended up cooking outside on a campstove half the time. And we set up a tent so we could sit outside in the shade without BUGS! So here we are, a tent and a campstove, sitting alongside a big ol’ motorhome.

We tried dry camping, which means there is no electrical service, water service, sewer service, or cable tv hookups. What an eye-opener! Unless we run the generator we have no air conditioning. Batteries can run down and leave you stranded. When the vehicle is 17 years old, refrigerators don’t always work well, nor do generators. Holding tanks fill up WAY too fast, too.

I now understand why MOST motor homes and 5th wheel RV’s seem to be crowded into RV Parks WITH all the services. I don’t much care for that. Too confining, too crowded, too noisy, too many people. What’s the point of “getting away” if all you manage is to sit around in an air conditioned coach, watching tv and eating junk food and drinking beer? I can do that at home, with a whole lot more privacy.

So, the jury is still out on the “joys” of RV camping, but I DO know that cross-country traveling and/or being an RV “full-timer” will NOT come to pass. Ever.