03/05/2022
I got up at our usual time after a good night’s rest realizing that we had gone through the night without any heating as the weather is slowly warming up. Won’t be long before I will be complaining of the “bloody heat.” You just cannot satisfy some people. We did our usual walk covering a half mile. It seemed that everyone else was doing the same thing as we changed direction several times to avoid doggy encounters before returning for breakfast. Even the dogs ate their food this morning which is unusual as they often turn their noses up to the canned food that I put in front of them. Usually, they eventually eat it when they figure there is nothing else in the offing.
With the slots in front of me filled up, I was able to watch the comings and goings as my neighbors busied themselves with their daily routines. One of them, the one with the two dogs described earlier, was covering his two sets of steps with non-slip step material. He is a big man and older like me but still spritely enough to get down on his knees to work on the steps. I cringed when he did this in anticipation as it hurts me too much to kneel without using knee pads. If it bothered him, he did not show it, but he did have on long pants. Several campers were doing laundry and there was a steady stream of comings and goings as they waited an hour between the different wash phases.
One thing I have noticed about my fellow campers is that many of them are overweight, especially more noticeable in the women. I assume that childbearing in their younger years may have a lot to do with it, but it is also too much barbequing and grilling and too much food in general. Not picking on the women as the men, some of whom are very tall and big and must have been very imposing in their younger years, now tend to have big stomachs and are generally larger whereas the women because of their different natural shape seem to get noticeably fat all over. Difference in physical make ups has a lot to do with it.
We have nothing planned for today, no store trips, no mail runs. Not even a visit to Starbucks. I sat and watched the world in front of me through the exceptionally large windshield of Mr. George. One RV had visitors that drove up and they warmly greeted each other and after a while, all piled into one truck and took off to an unknown destination. My immediate neighbor in front of me, the one that did not wear the knee pads, was busily preparing the grill and then proceeded to cook their evening meal. He and his wife and their two dogs described previously, sat, and talked as they waited for their food to cook. I envied their obvious enjoyment of each other’s company and wondered how long they have been married. There are times when being single is a heavy weight to bear and then I remember back to my three wives, the good times and the bad and how the marriages all ended with me being the single man. All three of them remarried and after my third attempt, I did not have the guts or inclination to ever try it again.
As I watched for the couple of hours that I sat there, I lost count of the campers walking their dogs. Some I knew through previous contact and others were strangers to me, probably new visitors. Each time, the dogs would pass, you could hear the sound of other dogs barking at them as they went by, many from within their RV’s, others outside with their owners. Where would we be without our pets, man’s best friend.
Written 01/05/2022. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com