HAVE TENT, WILL TRAVEL
By Kim Leady


My husband, Steve, and I have decided to take our family on a canoe/camping trip in Minnesota at Voyageurs National Park. Although we are hesitant about our teenage sons, Tim and Steve, sleeping alone in their own tents, they have worked hard saving their money to purchase their first real tents - ones designed for more adventure than their backyard offers.

It's not that we don't want them to grow up and spread their wings - well most of the time it's not, it's just they want to sleep in their own tents- in black bear country.

Now we're not talking about the two of them sharing a tent…no, no, no, there are too many male hormones raging in their growing bodies to share a tent. They are young men and need their own space - their own tents, or so we were informed.

With that said, I must confess we finally caved in after several weeks of lobbying from them, and gave them our blessing to make their purchases.
It was obvious by the priceless shock on our sons' faces "Wow, Dad and Mom are really going to let us do this, I can't believe it!" that they had already resolved that on this trip they were going to be sharing the same shelter.

Looking into my sons' eyes, I could see that Daniel Boone had better watch out for the Leady boys were coming to make a name for themselves.

What they didn't know nor did my husband was the only reason I agreed to them having their own tents was that I had a plan. I would just sleep in the canoe during the day - while my husband did all the paddling, and stay awake through the night to guard against any unwelcomed four legged hairy visitors.

Now what I thought I would do if one actually came into our camp, I don't know, but I figured I could be just as mean and uptight as the next mama bear protecting her cubs and family.

Makes for an interesting picture doesn't it?

A wild woman running around in sock feet, screaming and throwing everything she can get her hands on at some innocent bear that just wants to share our food.

The dreaded day had come. It was time to suck it up and trudge into the camping store to let the boys spend their money. As I was making my way into the store, I noticed that the sky was a beautiful color of blue. A good sign? One can only hope.

However, forty-five minutes later after much deliberation over the many different styles and sizes the boys had to choose from - and stay in their budget, the deed was done.

Our oldest, Steve, chose a tent that maybe some of you have seen on TV. You just throw it up into the air, and poof, it's set up. Very techno! Our youngest, Tim, chose a very lightweight, three seasons, freestanding tent. A very space and weight conscientious decision. After all, he's the one who has chosen to travel by kayak.

We walked out of the store right into a downpour with two young men sporting huge smiles carrying two very different tents. That's right, a downpour! We go in and the sun is shinning, we come out and it's as if we are standing under Niagara Falls.

But really, this shouldn't have surprised us. After all, we just purchased not one tent, but two. And for this, we have a monsoon.

You see, I think it's a family curse or something. If my family just talks about pitching a tent, the clouds become dark. If we actually set one up, you can bet it's going to rain - at least sprinkle.

By the time we got home, the rain had stopped and the boys asked if they could call Travis, their life long friend, and camp out in the backyard to test out their new stuff.

Steve and I looked into our sons' excited eyes. It was just like Christmas. They had new toys and they wanted to go play. How could we say no?

Twenty-five minutes later, we had three tents adoring our lawn. Each boy standing proudly by their tent. And as you may have guessed, the wind began to howl, the sky turned an ugly mean black, and little pellets of hail rained down on the newly erected nylon structures.

The following morning the boys happily reported their tents had withstood the storm and therefore proven to be trip worthy.

As I stood there shaking my head surveying the little ponds around our yard that had not been there the day before, the boys planted a sign in our front yard which read.

Have tent, will travel! Guarantee rain will follow!



I guess our tents rubbed off on Steve A.K.A. Rainmaker Hope you enjoyed the story.

Kim