A Memorable Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend 2019 is , indeed memorable. 

Last year I did a good deed for someone and it came back to bite me this weekend. "They" say that no good deed goes unpunished. I don't want any accolades for what I did, I was just trying to help someone get on their feet. There were children involved and I am a sucker for young children. They were crammed into a very small camper and an opportunity arose with another camper leaving and wanting to sell their camper. It was such a good deal, but they couldn't afford it, so I bought it for them and let them pay me back as they could. No interest, no monthly plan. I just wanted the children to have room and for them to get on their feet.

The man did pay me back. HeWho is also a sucker for children and just likes to help people, got the guy a good paying job. I don't know what happened, I can speculate, but I won't. That is their business. The guy stopped working and decided to leave the park. That is fine. I don't hold people hostage here. But, he owed rent and I will hold property hostage to get what is owed me.

To be clear, I never even threatened to hold his camper here for my money. It is just common knowledge that campgrounds will do so, just like any other landlord. They did not even state an intention to leave until after they called the sheriff's office for a civil assist to get their belongings out of their camper ......... ON A BUSY HOLIDAY WEEKEND. That was fun. They paid their rent today and pulled their camper out. Little did we know that he also yanked the guts of the electrical box out, rendering that site useless until we fix it.

Last night, the tent campers that I found to be of questionable character when checking in .... I said, "You two look like trouble and I am not sure I want you here", proved my instinct st be right. I know, pretty blunt, but I just had this feeling. I warned them about shenanigans and last night at closing time they decided to have a free for all fight. They were camping with what was presented as a family, man woman and two children. The nasty language started at the pool and went on to the tent site, where witnesses say some slapping around of the woman took place. 

The child looked to be about 6 that the father, boyfriend of the mother, whatever he was, slapped. I kicked them out. The instigator was definitely drunk and his pupils were pin point. I think he considered slapping me for just a second, but I didn't back down. HeWho came up behind me with his calm voice and told them they had 20 minutes to get out. The woman/child slapper said it would take longer than that to take the tent down. I told him he needed to put it in high gear, he was wasting time. I think he probably wanted to slap me again. I told him to hurry, because I cared not if he left in handcuffs. Those tents went down quickly.

I overslept this morning. Got up at 6:30 and decided to sleep just one more hour and woke at 9:30. That was unfortunate because we are supposed to open at 9. All weekend long I have been juggling who is staying one night, two nights, or three nights. So folks are coming and going and not everyone is parking where I tell them to. It happens and you just have to rearrange and do the best you can. All the while I am selling ice and making snow cones and selling candy and sodas and pool toys and answering phone calls from travelers who forgot to make reservations.

The view out my window is the parking lot. I can't see the back of the park. I took one of those quick power naps after eating a sandwich for lunch and HeWho manned the store. It wasn't a real busy time of day, but he did check in a tenter and a camper. The camper pulled into a vacant site that happened to be a seasonal site. The seasonal camper was not in the site. The site was empty and I am sure it just looked like a vacant site to the camper. I was still foggy headed when the phone rang.

Although soft spoken, the caller had a accusing tone. The site holder was upset because someone was in her site. I didn't tell her that the phone startled me to wakefulness and I was trying to figure out what might have happened. I asked her to let me find HeWho was out in the park and see what I could do. I did know that the night before a red van pulled in after hours and apparently parked on their site to sleep before traveling on. They paid in the morning and the site was checked to make sure nothing was disturbed. I thought that perhaps they were here and trying to access the site, but she said they weren't and went on to say that she did not appreciate us LETTING someone park on their site. I tried to explain that we never intentionally put anyone on any site that "belonged" to a seasonal camper. I knew that she was not happy when she hung up, but I also knew that nothing I could say would make her happy.

I went on with business and sold some candy and lots of ice and then things slowed down. I normally close early on Sunday and it was 8:00. I decided to lock up and go outside for a bit. A little weed therapy would clear all the cobwebs in my head and the strawberries had not been picked for a day. I dead headed the pots on the porch and was headed to my strawberry patch when a truck pulled in. 

I am not a vehicle connoisseur. If asked what make and model a vehicle is, I couldn't say. I could tell you the color and whether it is a car or a big truck or a little truck. I just don't really care about vehicles. I drive the car I am given. As long as it is in good working order and has fuel and does not smell bad, I am content. The truck was the seasonal camper who called. I didn't recognize her until I got closer, having abandoned my glasses inside. She seemed insulted that I didn't recognize their truck, it is apparently one of a kind.

The whole issue of the camper on their site began again and I told her that we were happy to relinquish the fee we collected from the invader. She asked how much it was and when I told her, she said it was not enough. It was $30.53. Based on her thinking that was not enough, perhaps I should raise my rates? According to her, I should be outside walking the grounds and know where every camper is. 

It was about then that I got a call to be on the watch for an ambulance coming to get Kamper Kevin. He was in pain and not really able to get up and walk. Yes, I was upset. This put the problem of the seasonal camper in perspective, so I told her I would buy her out of her contract. I opened the store and calculated what was owed to her and even included this month in it. I wanted to have her on her way so that I could see about my friend. I over paid her, based my calculations on a 50 amp site instead of a 30 amp site and included a month that would be due into the next year. The entire time she is complaining and telling me that I am not managing my campground correctly. I just wanted the woman to shut up. I admit that I did raise my voice and tell her that I could not be in two places at once. She went to the door to get her husband. Why? I have no idea. The man never said a word.

After the ambulance pulled out and things got relatively quiet, I sat and waited for a camper headed my way. I had warned them not to engage a GPS to locate me. I give good directions and the lady on the phone wrote them down. The man driving did not follow my directions and the had to double back, adding 18 miles to their trip. They pulled in at 10:30. And this is when we discovered the broken electrical box on the recently vacated site. Good times.

It was after midnight before we settled down and then I could not sleep.