Oh, Canada

Our trip to Canada in 1974 was full of stories but none tops the one I will share now. In fact, very few family stories from my entire lifetime top this tale.

We had stopped at at wayside for one of the many pit stops we took on any trip.

It was a large rest area and I wandered off somewhere, exploring. Pat and Mom used the facilities, while Dad walked the dog. I came out of the woods where I had been roaming, and decided I best use the outhouse while I had the chance.

When I came out of the little girls’ room, the camper was no longer parked where I thought it had been. I looked around and saw it driving off.

My parents were about to leave me in the middle of nowhere, in a foreign country – ok it was only Canada, which, at the time, you could get into without any ID. But it was still a long way from home.

I began my sprint. And I don’t run very fast, I never could, and usually when I ran as fast I could I would end up tripping and falling flat on my face. Luckily that didn’t happen this time.

About the time I had been finishing up in the bathroom, my parents had decided it was time to leave. They saw Pat go in the camper, and since we were practically inseparable, they figured I was already in. Pat, at first, figured that I was in the cab of the truck, but it didn’t take her long to realize that I was not. She looked through the camper window and the truck window, saw Mom, Dad, and the dog, and not me. She started beating on the window, but, with the truck window in between, Mom and Dad were oblivious to her panicked attempts to get their attention.

At that moment, Pat made a crucial decision, possibly a life-altering decision in my regards. Risking her very life, she flung the back door of the camper open just as Dad was breaking for the stop sign before turning onto the road. I had gotten to within five or six feet of the truck by then, so easily leapt into the camper before Dad started to accelerate.

Before I could catch my breath, Pat started laughing hysterically. Within a minute I was laughing right along with her.

At the next break in the trip, when we told Mom and Dad what had happened, Dad rolled his eyes and Mom just looked surprised. Dad did, however, install an intercom system between the truck and the camper as soon as we got home.