Escapees March-April 2019 Vol 40 Issue 5

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“The fact that Escapees and Xscapers members treat each other like family and live up to our caring-and-sharing philosophy is what makes the organization stand above the rest.”

At the Oregon convergence in August of 2018, Sondi Cuddy (lifetime member) broke her ankle, and she was immediately rushed to the ER by her fellow Xscapers. In the month following, she had a continuous support system of people caring for her and checking on her well-being. Fellow member Koren Boyd even drove her RV from the convergence safely to her next destination. In December, Shane Evans (lifetime member) was with a group of Xscapers riding scooters when he was in a terrible accident that required a 911 emergency call. His friends stayed by his side to care for him and, when word got out about what happened, several other members traveled to stay close by and lend a helping hand. Again, they offered to help drive his RV to his next destination while he was in recovery.    These are only a few examples of what makes this group so special. Camaraderie can make a huge difference in the lives of RVers on the road, and many people express to us how lonely they were before finding their tribe. When you live in a stick-and-brick home, or work in an office, most people don’t realize how easy it is to create community. You typically travel to the same places and

see the same faces, not fully appreciating the sense of security that surrounds you. When you make the decision to full-time RV, you’re opting for a mobile life where you find yourself in different surroundings constantly. Finding friends doesn’t come easy, and when you do strike up a conversation with someone in the local area, you know you’ll leave soon and may never see them again. When you go to an Xscapers event (or any Escapees rally), you are immediately surrounded by like-minded peers, people you know you will see again down the road and who have made the conscious decision to be free.    The fact that Escapees and Xscapers members treat each other like family and live up to our caring-and-shar- ing philosophy is what makes the organization stand above the rest. It is not something that is easily repli- cable, and we have Joe and Kay Peterson to thank for founding the club with those principles, and Bud and Cathie Carr to thank for making sure they were carried through along the way. We continue to keep our promise that in everything we do, we will uphold the values of all who paved the way before us and carry forward the caring-and-sharing mentality.

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