tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post3302067631785121622..comments2024-03-28T01:32:46.604-04:00Comments on 66 Square Feet (Plus): Camp TerrorMariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-69699246293445011522009-11-09T18:30:42.478-05:002009-11-09T18:30:42.478-05:00i love your honesty and bravery marie. i truly tru...i love your honesty and bravery marie. i truly truly do. and i love looking at your pictures from this trip. to the idea of camping vs. the idea of fright for your life and night terrors on an otherwise wonderful holiday i'd counter: maybe no camping this time? maybe a niiiiiiice hotel room...?!Bonbon Oiseauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00217372750598243358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-11918619733278365142009-11-09T16:40:28.670-05:002009-11-09T16:40:28.670-05:00I shouldn't have read your post... I'm tak...I shouldn't have read your post... I'm taking a trip back home to SA in a week... and I have those kind of night terrors, too.I lie awake in Boston at night, sometimes, imagining things... but even though my imagination runs wild I always remember that although we should not become hard and guarded, we should never become soft and too cosy in our environments either. Reality is that we are usually safe (you know, depending on where you live, etc) but bad things happen and could happen. But there is no point worrying about something that hasn't happened (and probably won't happen), is there?<br /><br />Hope you think of a great trip where you can get a good night's sleep!kbdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07229271119432146593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-69273518989522585372009-11-09T08:19:36.496-05:002009-11-09T08:19:36.496-05:00Great post. The problem with South Africa is that ...Great post. The problem with South Africa is that it's not a fear of the boogeyman - it's a fear of very real people, not mythical escaped serial killers, just plain old criminals who have no respect for your property or life. And unlke other countries where you may awake to find your car stolen or your stuff outside your tent messed about with, if criminals do decide to go for you, you are likely to suffer extensive physical and psychological harm. I used to love still, lonely places, but now in SA they just scare me. There is a lovely passage in cry, The Beloved Country that addresses the same thing - no matter how lovely your country, you can't enjoy it if you are constantly having to live in fear.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12325204219395014329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-33716309294310942442009-11-08T23:31:08.198-05:002009-11-08T23:31:08.198-05:00Its funny, I used to deal with this problem every ...Its funny, I used to deal with this problem every summer working in the woods of Maine. 65 cultured, educated, intelligent people would show up. A good percentage of them would have a great deal of fear of the darkness, the woods. They were sure there were men in the woods, waiting for them, waiting to take them, kill them, hurt them, whatever they concoct.<br /><br />One night I spent two hours searching our property for two running men who had not said hello to three women they passed on our single road. I went everywhere, spoke with everyone. As it turned out, when I returned to my cabin, a young man with the same clothing description was in the cabin speaking with his mother. He was wearing flip flops. I asked him if three ladies had said hello to him. He said yes, but didn't respond because he was rushing to see his mother. Two men? the flip flops could sound like two. They were scared out of their wits and didn't feel much better that I 'solved' the case.<br /><br />I never used a flash light there at night. For a couple of reasons- one my senses were better tuned without, two I didn't want to be spotted (fear). But the dark and unfamiliar terrain is a<br />potent stimulator. We like groups and feel safe <br />in them. When I have camped alone I often built branch barriers so that I would hear something coming my way.<br /><br />Anyway, whats my point? Knowledge and experience can go a long way to conquering that fear. My father in law likes to tell a story about his boy scout troop. Two boys would stay up on shift to man a large fire because it would keep the grizzlies away in Glacier National Park. Whereas the tourists would sleep in the cabins that the bears could easily break into, the boy scouts slept out doors near the fire.<br /><br />Good luck!Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02554893883207752597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-21689965949809201522009-11-08T19:15:57.000-05:002009-11-08T19:15:57.000-05:00Oh and one more thing. To Bumblevee: Cities ARE s...Oh and one more thing. To Bumblevee: Cities ARE safer than most places, statistically speaking. Well, I guess it depends on what city and what part of the city you're talking about and the time of day. But I contend that when my husband and I used to take our kids to NYC for long weekends (the kids were in the 8 to 14 age range then) we were all so much safer than in our all-American suburban Montgomery County, MD, neighborhood. And current events tell us daily that safety in this world is hard to predict. All those people living and working at Fort Hood, TX, last Thursday probably thought they were in one of the safest places on earth. I'm just saying.Pam J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03397439327477925210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-135023651530925542009-11-08T12:08:20.368-05:002009-11-08T12:08:20.368-05:00Ha, Melanie, funny...I insisted on a tent we could...Ha, Melanie, funny...I insisted on a tent we could stand up in. And sheets!!! The thought of being casually flattened by an elephant (who would know better, I'm sure - also we were nowhere near elephants) did not appeal to me. I wanted the the tent make an impression :-)<br /><br />Pam J I love the lawn hypothesis! <br /><br />Apart from the night of terror (the first night's camping was also very nervous), there were the others, and these are the memories I will carry forever, whose enjoyment-value is almost more appreciated than the time itself was. But now that I know my wuss-parameters, I need to be clever about where we decide to camp, or I will make myself and the trusty protector miserable.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-5156708445138473922009-11-08T11:59:42.954-05:002009-11-08T11:59:42.954-05:00Interesting post. Here's my two cents on your...Interesting post. Here's my two cents on your camping fears: all living creatures (except those with serious and severe mental problems) have fears of predators. It's in the hard-wiring and is why we still exist. You just happen to be on one extreme of the fear continuum. I once read that lawns surrounding houses are what humans do, almost unconsciously, in order to make it easier to see predators.Pam J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03397439327477925210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-52215110603031826542009-11-08T09:28:07.004-05:002009-11-08T09:28:07.004-05:00A tent is a raincoat with an ego problem. I have n...A tent is a raincoat with an ego problem. I have never understood the fascination with flirting with the red-fanged and sharp-clawed creatures of the day or the night, in the wild or in the city. But too many people in my life have been subjected to lethal and near-lethal violence. There's no shame in wanting to be safe -- and taking steps to ensure it. <br /><br />Surely there must be some kind of compromise you can strike between the extreme vulnerability of sleeping on the ground in a plastic bag in country populated by the fanged, venomous, potentially venal, and hungry, and the extreme insularity of 4-star civility.my crofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13484071987163894248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-91139227562206145632009-11-07T19:23:19.842-05:002009-11-07T19:23:19.842-05:00it's not only in Africa I'm afraid....
a ...it's not only in Africa I'm afraid....<br /><br />a friend and her husband and their two daughters 13 and 11 (who were also raped)... were murdered in Wells Grey Park in B.C. several years ago... 28 years I think now.... along with the grandparents who were with them... and then they were burned beyond recognition... ...... Vince may remember it if he was on the west coast then ... Bob and Jackie Johnson... .... nobody could believe it...but it happened. <br /><br />I think it's best to at least use as much common sense and logic as possible... although, I know it's impossible to predict disaster...<br /><br />we don't camp out here in Alberta because Greg has a great fear of bears ...and there have been plenty of attacks and deaths from those recently too.... sigh...maybe the city is safer.... hahahha.... <br /><br />Perhaps it would be a good idea to camp out in the ranger's yard this time ... not well hidden ....BumbleVeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13272892605379537233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-30118060966452767462009-11-07T17:32:16.498-05:002009-11-07T17:32:16.498-05:00My dear Mama has the same camping night terrors. W...My dear Mama has the same camping night terrors. We'd finally planned a single night away, just she and me... in a very civilized small Ontario government-run campground. The plan was to do some serious star gazing. Then, one Saturday night, late, she called me at home. She whispered down the phone in her charming Italian accent: "I'm sorry, I just saw Deliverance. I can't go camping with you."Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03436539725605367511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-14427669502943429462009-11-07T17:15:14.103-05:002009-11-07T17:15:14.103-05:00I'd be scared too. Isn't that the place we...I'd be scared too. Isn't that the place were people go missing? I guess people go missing all over now that I think about it. Sure is pretty though. Love the hurricane lamps..and I gotta love the red wine...<br /><br />More later,<br />karyMy Farmhouse Kitchenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00594238190107766755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-6224883812662600262009-11-07T15:53:53.296-05:002009-11-07T15:53:53.296-05:00I'm 100% with you on this one, the difference ...I'm 100% with you on this one, the difference being that if I felt as scared as you, I wouldn't go camping AT ALL, nohow, nowhere, never....rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00474723200653576051noreply@blogger.com