“Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt this news bulletin to bring you a program…”
I spent the night at yet another Chateau Walmart, or specifically a gravel lot next to it, since overnight parking is allowed here but not there. A little while after I arrived, the owner of a Chrysler minivan I’d seen on my way in came over. He asked if I had a small propane bottle he could borrow to cook his dinner. I did, in fact, have what he was looking for. It was approaching empty, but I’m using my butane stove almost exclusively now that it’s just me, so I gave him the propane bottle. He said he was waiting for some money to come in, and when it did he’d give me a new one. I wasn’t worried about it.
A little while later, he stopped by again, bringing me a freshly cooked sausage sandwich and green beans with ham and lots of butter. I never expected this, since he’d only mentioned making dinner for himself, but now I didn’t have to think about what to feed myself. It was most kind of him. He also said his money had just come through, so he was going shopping at Walmart. As it was getting dark, he came back and gave me a brand new propane bottle, true to his word.
Yet another little while after that, he came back, and asked me for a jump start. He was charging his phone, and drained his van battery. I don’t normally like moving my van after dark, but in this case I drove over without hesitation and parked nose-to-nose with his van. Both of us searched for our rarely used jumper cables. He found his first. It took a little time and some engine RPMs to pump enough juice into his battery, but in a few minutes it cranked and started the engine. Then it was a race to put the jumper cables away and move, since he was nearly out of gas and needed to refuel before he ran out.
The kindness and generosity of my fellow travelers never ceases to amaze me. My act of kindness of giving this guy my well-used propane bottle returned to me many times over with a hot meal and a refill of propane. Then, I repaid his kindness by jump starting his van when asked. I say this not to pat myself on the back, but to demonstrate the cycle of good karma being generated here. It’s wonderful, and I’m happy to play my part in it.
I was scrolling through Facebook tonight, and stumbled across a post in the Homes On Wheels Alliance group by Trisha’s boyfriend, talking all about their rig and their adventures together. I brought her into that group. While she’d been a nomad before me, I brought her into van life in particular. There are reasons why I unaffectionately refer to her current boyfriend as “my replacement.”
I have other thoughts on this subject, but they are not fit for public consumption. His post is public, so I feel fine commenting on it. Again, that karma thing. What goes around, comes around. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Smokey Da Van 