Dan, Bill and Otis go Camping

Three friends from the Baltimore area decided to go camping and do all kinds of outdoor stuff. They headed out to South Dakota at first, then deciding whether to go to Colorado or "one of them white states up there in the North."

To minimize interactions with a lot of folks, they took a camper and spent one day a week stocking up on all the supplies, at some Wal Mart if there is nothing else.

They ended up at a state park in Western South Dakota, where they met Bob. Bob came up to the RV just mumbling at first. "I was just making sure the RV was not stolen. They seemed to have two sets of keys to it."

Bob always carries a concealed weapon, even when relaxing at the camp site. " We have them drunken motorcyclists here a few times a year."

Bob did introduce himself and said he "once saw a black family here before. It was parents and kids and a dog. I wasn't too concerned with them. In fact I helped them change a propane cylinder."

Dan, Bill and Otis all have jobs that seem to require them to work a few days a week, even in these corona times. Dan is a chemist and does analytical work on a health care product. "I traded a few days with my partner, we have to have a guy on site to release a lot of product every two days." Otis seems to be part time in retail shop, but makes a little more income as a regional stand up comic. Bill is in sales, but the whole business seems to be almost bankrupt, so he is looking for a new job.

Bob didn't say what line of work he was in before he retired. "I think he was army," Otis thought. Bill and Dan seemed to want to move on with their camping the next day.  "We'll go the Colorado," they announced. They knew there were more black folks there.

All three were happy that Bob didn't have to send the park ranger to investigate them, as it seemed to be an odd thing to be camping while black, at least so far into the middle of our great country.

Politics did not enter into the discussion. The boys knew not to put any election bumper stickers on the RV. They in fact did not own it, it was borrowed from Dan's uncle who is not driving it anymore, and does not have kids to pass it on to.