Saturday

Lost and Found


While writing the last blog it brought back special memories of a trip taken long ago.
We camped a lot in western Massachusetts, There were never any other African Americans. We never understood that. There was natural beauty and friendly people everywhere. And we still find that to be true when camping today.

Many years ago while camping, we had a most profound experience that we wanted to share with you.
It was the summer that our only child married and moved out of state. 
That was the beginning of our lives as empty nesters. Camping has always been a big part of our lives as a family. Making the transition without her was a new stage for us. 
We remember the trip well. First because of the group that came with us, four siblings, three sister in laws and their children. It was august, the days were warm enough to swim, the nightfall came early and the air cooled quickly. I'll never forget walking the trails that were filled with wild blackberries, which were so delicious.

The evenings by the campfire hold memories of detailed conversations of childhood antics. Boy, did we all learn a lot about our husbands! It was truly a time of bonding for all of us.



The weekend came to it's end and we packed up to head home.  
We were just about to pull off in our caravan of cars, when the sound of a mom frantically calling out for her son stopped us.
Apparently the very young boy had wondered off their site and was missing, We immediately joined the search. Dusk was upon us, and the campground was surrounded by woods. Everyone fanned out to search. All of a sudden, it was as if something came over me...

I began walking into the dense foliage, not knowing where it was heading, the fate of this young boy was driving me.

Walking through scratchy brambles and low hanging branches, a glimpse of movement off in the distance caught my eye. There, in what appeared to be a shallow animal hollow, was the little boy!!!

It was a bit chilly and he was cold and scared. I picked him up and turned to realize that I wasn't absolutely sure of my whereabouts. I began calling out to the group, who's voices helped guide us out the the forest area. The father grabbed his son and held him tightly without saying a word. The mother thanked us.

We returned to our cars to head home. All were still shocked and shaken. No one can explain the events of that day. One can only believe it was divine intervention.
But the most important thing to note is that campers are a family and always stick together.
We have never experienced anything like that day, and hope we never will... We have always felt safe and secure in the environment of campers. Remember Life is precious
and family is priceless. So get out, enjoy nature and go camping in color.

The Camping Consultants



4 comments:

  1. Awesome Blog Barry and Cindy! I loved this story. Real feel good moment!

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  2. Anonymous9:25 PM

    Wow. Thanks for sharing. Also, thanks for sharing that pic. I miss him still. :(

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  3. Anonymous11:02 PM

    you have a unique way of taking us right to the edge of the camp site. for those of us who have been camping, that's a really cool place. I'll be back

    Rick

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  4. Great post! I like those old school pictures. It would be great it you could lighten up one of those pictures to see who that handsome guy is in the background. Keep up the good work. Camping can truly be a moment to just chill out, away from the rat race...

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