Amateur RV Captain Clark: On our family vacation, sometimes I feel like Clark Griswold, and other times I feel like I’m Cousin Eddie. It all depends on what I’m doing and how I messed up! I think I’m a little of both in this story!
As I mentioned last weekend, our family traveled to a cottage near Kalkaska. It’s a spectacular place, and I enjoy going there each year. To help make the journey and our many day excursions a bit more convenient and fun, we rent an RV. This year, my dad and I went all out and rented a 30 foot Class A RV from General RV in Mount Clemens (the place along I-94 – a definite 5 out of 5-star experience with them). As a sidebar, when I shared our experience with the 30 foot RV with my Aunt Rose at a funeral luncheon this week, she tapped me on the arm and said with a smile, “You mean your toy of the week.” Yes, it was definitely the 2019 vacation toy! It’s amazing how people have me pegged!
About midweek of our vacation, it was time to do some “freshening” up of the RV. Okay, I had to dump the gray and black water! The gray water is the used sink and shower water. The black water is, well, the other stuff. As I’ve written in the past, I’ve had some interesting amateur moments while dumping an RV. I’m getting better at it, but I’m still no pro. As such, this is one of those experiences where I’d prefer doing it alone than have the whole world look on. When I announced to my captive audience at the cottage that I was going for a ride not only to stop at my favorite hardware store in Kalkaska (it has the look and feel of our local Gilbert’s … just minus the infamous Blair) and to dump the RV; my dad piped up that he wanted to come along for the ride. I gulped at first because I never know what will happen, and I didn’t want him to see me fumble around. So my dad and I hopped into the “Big Baby” and went for a ride. I Googled the RV Park I wanted to stop at so I knew exactly where to go. I made sure they had a dump station before we made the 25-minute hike out there. After pulling into the quaint RV Park, I found the office, paid my $12 fee and rode around hoping I would find the dump station with ease and that it was out of sight of the real pros who were now all watching me pull in the mammoth “Big Baby.” I was sweating. It was bad enough my dad would be watching me, but now I had people from the RV Park intrigued and watching. Thankfully, I pulled the unit far enough to line up with the dump hole and water supply. At least the first impression was that I knew what I was doing.
As I was getting out of the RV, my dad said to me, “So how much did you have to pay?” “Twelve bucks,” I said. “Is that standard,” he asked. Sounding like a pro, I responded, “Yeah, it’s pretty standard.” Well, at least standard for the three or four times I’ve had to do this. Then my dad said, “You mean you had to pay twelve bucks, and you still have to do this yourself?” “Yessirree Bob!” As I descended the steps of the “Big Baby,” I remembered from the RV rental tour that I had to dump one of the tanks before the other. Logically, I knew the proper order but I did a quick check with YouTube to make sure it was black water first and then the gray water so you could flush the hoses. Pretending to be a pro and with my dad at my side, I went and unlocked the lid which shielded all the RV’s tank disposal connections. It was now Showtime! I pulled on the rubber gloves like I was getting ready for surgery. “I can do this,” I thought to myself with great confidence. I then knelt down and attempted to connect the needed hose to the outlet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the cap off. This was embarrassing. I struggled for a bit but then thought that if I approached this from a different angle, it might work better. So, I leaned in all the way and was literally nose to nose with the tank connection. “Don’t crap out on me now,” I thought to myself (okay I couldn’t resist that line). “I wish I had my hazmat suit with me. This could get messy.” I finally got the cap off but only after a multi-minute struggle and tearing my gloves. I’m sure all the pros in the RV Park who were sitting in lawn chairs were having a field day watching amateur Clark here provide them with entertainment. I then connected the hose, placed the other end in the dump hole, and opened the valves. The sound was music to my ears. I was ecstatic because it actually worked! I was then able to wash down the hoses, put everything away, and lock up the lid. “Clark, you’re getting better at this,” I said to myself. I may be a quasi-pro now, but my dad, who has heard and read of my RV dump mishaps in the past, was very smart and stood about 10 feet away from me and the RV! I don’t blame him. After all, whether you’re dealing with Clark Griswold or Cousin Eddie, you have to take every precautionary measure you can!
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – A Holy Day of Obligation: On Thursday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a Holy Day of Obligation. Our mass schedule for the solemnity will include a vigil mass on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. On Thursday we will have our usual 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. followed by a 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. mass.
In his Angelus message last year on this Solemnity, Pope Francis had a beautiful reflection on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “The Assumption into Heaven, in soul and body, is a divine privilege accorded to the Holy Mother of God because of her particular union with Jesus…. Our Lady’s existence unfolded as that of any woman of her time: she prayed, managed the family and the home, went to the Synagogue … However, she did every daily action in total union with Jesus. And this union reached its apex on Calvary in love, in compassion and in the suffering of the heart. Therefore, God gave her full participation in Jesus’ Resurrection. The Holy Mother’s body, as that of the Son, was preserved from corruption.”
May we, following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, learn to do every one of our daily actions in TOTAL union with Jesus … in total love and sometimes that means even with a suffering heart.