Campside Thoughts
By
Chuck Shepard
My wife, Tish, and I were celebrating our 36th anniversary the other day by having dinner at a nice restaurant along the Willamette River. We were outside on a deck along a walking path that she and I often take for a nice 4 mile walk in the evening. While normally it is the two of us who look up to the deck to see who is there, this evening it was we who were watching the river and the people go by. About 20 feet away from us were two business looking groups of about 8 men and next to them a group of about 8 women all who seemed to be having a pleasant dinner as well. As we were sitting there about 4 young men who looked rather disheveled road their bikes past and yelled "F___ You yuppie businessmen." My wife commented that it is ironic that in Eugene much is made about being tolerant of diversity in the schools. But that often translates into being tolerant of those who are from a minority, while often prejudice is shown to the more conservative section of the community. I once donated money for a computer lab to one of the local high schools. This was at a time when only Macs were used in the school and since I knew that it was mostly IBM clones that were used in the real world at that time I asked that all the newly donated computers be PCs so that the kids would receive practical experience. My children were in a group called International High School which is thought of as a little more advanced and free thinking section (i.e.. more tolerant of diversity). The teachers of that section refused to use the PCs since they represented to them business propaganda. In my earlier years I was once refused service at a restaurant because of my appearance (I had long hair and a beard before that look was acceptable). My hair is no longer long, in fact it is mostly gone, but I guess I still have my liberal outlook. I join in agreeing that tolerance should be our nature. Only I have finally become wise enough to realize that we need to be tolerant of everyone, not just the ones that are like us or popular to embrace.
Sometimes a tolerant attitude is needed in the campgrounds as well. Camping often brings out a diverse cross section of people. Life in the woods is so much more fun when we are friendly to everyone. Like in my above story, I often find that tent campers show a disdain for RV "campers". But my advice to you would be to be careful of who you make fun of, because those people may be you someday. I was one of those tent people in my younger years, and yes, I am probably guilty of making a joke or two about people going into the forest with their traveling homes. You will rarely see me in a tent any more. However, I have found that just because you have a bed to sleep in and a soft chair to sit on doesn't make your love of the woods any less. In the campgrounds that Hoodoo manages everyone is welcome. Speak any language. You don't have to shave. You can use your laptop computer. You can be anyone, we just ask that you be respectful of the environment and each other.
See you around the campfire,
Charles N Shepard ,
President of Hoodoo Recreation
(Click on my name to email me directly)
062208