There are designations used to denote time to help keep historical events in perspective. There is B.C., B.C.E., and A.D. In the beginning of attempting to label events in historical time perspectives, people counted years by such things as Greek festivals or Roman emperors. Old Testament scripture alludes to this practice (e.g., “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD . . .: Isaiah 6:1 KJV). As people converted to Christianity in the New Testament era, they wanted to count their years by Christian events. “A.D.” stands for Anno Domini, which is Latin for “year of our Lord,” and it means the number of years since the birth of Jesus Christ. Some people use “C.E.” instead of “A.D.” “C.E.” stands for Common Era, and people use it in order to avoid Christian references. (Source: https://quatr.us/science/what-does-a-d-mean.htm, Retrieved June 22, 2020) Ironically, I first learned about “C.E.” while teaching Sunday School!

Personally, I have another time for the demarcation of time which I reference as “B.M.”—Before Marriage. In those days a college friend of mine and I would get together at least once a month and do something. Usually it was nothing more than going to the now obsolete East Towne Mall and walking through all the shops before eating at some restaurant. There was one time, however, that we decided to go camping.

My friend and I took my old Buick Skylark with its digital speedometer, peeling black paint and red interior and loaded some firewood in the trunk. We didn’t even really know where we would wind up, but that turned out to be a campground between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We were close to other campers, but not so close as to hear their conversations or for intrusion. There was a comfort knowing that we were isolated by darkness though not by distance.

We took simple canned food that we could heat over an actual campfire. To round out the essentials, we took a few pots and utensils. After we ate our humble but filling, satisfying meal, we silently read by firelight our respective choice material. I took Stephen King, and it’s an interesting experience to read the Master of Horror by firelight. No way would I have done that had I been totally alone. We slept in the tent my friend provided. My friend must have “roughed it” a few times before, but this was my first campout. While my friend brought a sleeping bag, I had brought some old quilts that were practically country rags. I don’t remember whether or not I had a pillow, but I think I slept as well as Stephen King would let me as he trampled through my mind throughout the night. Though the experience was pleasant, my friend and I never camped together again. And to this day I have never “roughed it” again. Perhaps someday . . .

When I began dating my wife, she and each of her siblings had campers at a local campground. Tagging along was a learning experience for me. One of her brothers practically lived at the campground year round in an Airstream. I had never heard of an Airstream, and Airstream campers are the Cadillacs of camping. Even to my camping ignorance, Airstreams are impressive and classy. My wife went through a period in which she bought at least three older models within one year. That was the first time I worried about her.
My wife’s older brother, younger sister and their spouses had more modern campers. They tended to visit the campground on weekends and during the weeks the men were on vacation from their jobs. My wife’s brother in particular seemed to love building decks for other campers who wished to park their campers permanently at the campground.
My wife had a fifth wheel camper. “Fifth wheel” was a term with which I was not familiar until I made her and the campground’s acquaintance. I was more familiar with the term “third wheel” as in reference to “two’s company, three’s a crowd.”

Several things about my wife and her family’s view of camping amazed me. My idea of camping was “roughing it,” much like Gilligan’s Island (“no phones, no lights, no motor cars . . .”). I was intrigued that people spent money to leave comfortable homes to go to equally comfortable campers, both home and camper with practically the same conveniences!

I asked my wife what interested her about camping. One of the things she mentioned was visiting with the other campers. For her personality, that was an appeal—for me, I could visit with all the characters I wished in any one of the thousands of books in my home library without having to leave my easy chair. If some of the characters with which I interacted through the printed word were tiresome, boring (as I’m sure I was to many campers I met), obnoxious, rude, drunk—however undesirable, all I had to do was shut the book. When such people are literally “in your face”, it’s much harder to ignore. There were several good people at the campground. I even met toward the end of my wife’s camping period Lee Janeway, a gentleman whose mother had been my Uncle Tom Mincey’s first wife! It is indeed a small world.

The appeal of camping for those in the campground my wife frequented wasn’t lack of modern conveniences. Every camper seemed to have electricity, coffee makers, televisions, radios, grills—all the modern conveniences. How can a person “get away from it all” when replicas of everything at home are at the campground? Even campfires weren’t for cooking food and getting closer to nature—they seemed to turn into nothing more than places to get mosquito bit with an audience.

Modern camping just seems so far removed from the type our ancestors would have enjoyed. A definition of camping in an email I received prompted this article:

CAMPING: WHERE YOU SPEND A SMALL FORTUNE TO LIVE LIKE A HOMELESS PERSON.

Don’t get me wrong—I have nothing against camping for those that enjoy it, no matter the method. Camping can be a wonderful bonding experience for families and friends who enjoy this particular method of relaxation. And goodness knows, there are many worse ways to spend money. After all, not one of us had one penny when we came into this world, and we’ll not carry one penny out with us.

Campers—I salute you! May your pleasures be many, your mosquito bites be few!