Escapees September-October 2022

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Tuesday, May 24, 2022, dawned promising a glorious day ahead. After several days of triple-digit weather, the heat fi nally relented. Hubby Claude and I had postponed several chores in town, waiting for more pleasant weather conditions. Finally, today would be the day. So, with list in hand, we went in to Hondo, Texas, 10 miles east of our home at the Lone Star Corral Escapees Co-Op RV park. We were driving on Texas Hwy. 90, when we were struck with the variety and number of emer gency vehicles speeding west. At our fi rst stop, we were told there was a shooting in Uvalde. We were shocked, and then we learned it was in a school, and we felt devastated. Completing our chores, we hurried home and turned on the TV, waiting for news we knew would not be good. As I write this, 24 hours after the incident, the grim number of victims continues to grow. The The Autumn Years When a person retires, regardless of age, and commits to the full-time RV lifestyle, most often, they don’t think much about what’s at the other end of the rainbow. We had a home in a Sun City community in Texas and had been RVing for two years before I retired in Novem ber of 2004. Shortly before retiring we considered keeping our home and going on the road for part of the year. Then we decided that by leaving Texas to avoid the summer heat and the spring storms and allergies, we’d only be in the home for about four months out of the year. It sounded like RVing full-time was the way to go. We sold the home, sold and/or gave away most of its contents, and started our 18 years of RVing full time. Early on, we tried to experience too many things in too short a time. When you’re working and only have two weeks to squeeze in a months worth of sights and attractions, you tend to go at a frenetic pace. It takes a while to realize that, barring some unforeseen circumstances, it’s okay to go at a slower pace. Still, with a whole country, and even neighboring countries to explore, time is still fi nite. Over the years we had a basic route: Texas for doctor appointments in early winter, Arizona until the snow melted up north, various ramblings through the north

family and friends are suffering unimaginable grief. Life for them and the fi rst responders has changed forever. Through different programs throughout the year, the members of the Lone Star Corral support and interact with the children in the local school of this South Central Texas town of D’Hanis, located a short 30 miles east of Uvalde. Unfortunately, two days before the end of the current school year, even these children must be dealing with the brutal reality of those events. There will be hard times ahead for them but, fortunately, counselors are available to help. Please remember our friends and neighbors in this sleepy farming area in the heartland of the great state of Texas. Bless our fellow Americans. They will never be fully restored to life as it was prior to May 24, but we will endeavor to persevere. Diana Stone #74876 west, Michigan and Virginia to visit family, then back to Texas. Although I feel that we are among the few RVers who did not take their rig to Alaska, we did get to tour Canada, and travel through all the lower 48 states. We got to attend the Albuquerque balloon festival, Calgary Stampede, numerous festivals and national parks and serendipitous attractions we happened to come across. Another lasting effect of the RV lifestyle are the people you get to meet along the way. We have estab lished several close relationships and many casual relationships that we maintain to this day. Now, due to health problems, it is dif fi cult for my wife to travel. We are extremely grateful we have been able to experience what we did. We, of course, are going to miss the touring and wandering but, oh, what fabulous memories, and what a blessing that we were healthy and vital enough to do what we did when we did it. So, now we spend fall and winter in southern Arizona and the spring and summer a couple of hours north of Phoenix where it’s a little cooler. Our wanderings have now been reduced to two 100+ mile trips. At the same time, the purpose of one’s existence comes into question, so the best you can do is entertain yourself through hobbies, pets and practicing a healthy lifestyle. Who knows what the winter years will bring. By Jerry Friedman #83844

Remember Our Friends and Neighbors in Uvalde, Texas

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ESCAPEES Magazine September/October 2022