I find I must respond to Evelyn Spence’s somewhat
arrogant and self-serving essay on RV owners
(HCN, 10/15/07). There are as many reasons why
people choose to camp with RVs as there are people who own them.
What you don’t understand is that many of us are not camping all of
the time. Sometimes we are traveling to a destination or touring.
We much prefer the beauty and serenity of our national forests and
state parks to a cheap motel.
If I were to sleep on the
ground, I hope you are nearby to help my aching, creaking joints up
in the morning. I’m sorry my ambient light disturbs you, but I’m
afraid these old eyes need a little help in negotiating the dark
paths. I’m sure you would not want to be responsible for my
twisting an ankle or worse, a broken limb in the dark.
I
cannot believe you heard so many generators in a campground that
probably has electricity. Even if it did not have hook-ups, most of
us prefer not to use the gasoline to power a generator unless we
are in a remote area for several days, and then we try to be
considerate about the times we actually run it.
TV? Many
of us remove the television from its space in favor of more
important things like books or games and puzzles for the
grandchildren when they travel with us.
Does this mean
that because of arthritic joints, fading eyesight and recalcitrant
ears, we must give up a lifetime of enjoying the outdoors and all
that nature has to offer us? I think not.
I would like to
see you put away your essay for 35 or 40 years, then take it out
and reread it. That is, if you can remember where you put it!
Cynthia Monck
Rye,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Happy campers.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
