Living on Land - Why Did I Leave the Water Again??

[ssullivan]

Last night my wife and I were sleeping in my custom RV (the land boat) when I awoke to some odd sound. We were parked in a "park and ride", which is a place in New England where you can leave vehicles overnight and unattended for many days at a time.

The sound was like a scraping sound - and a couple of little clanks.

I asked my wife, "was that you?" It wasn't her.

I'm more than half asleep here, and not thinking correctly, so I assumed that someone was trying to cut off and steal my genset (it's bolted to the frame, exposed, but covered outside the vehicle).

To deter the thief, I started up the engine.

The engine starts, but... nothing. No person comes out from where the genset is.

About 5 seconds later, I see a kid (in his early 20's) running as fast as he can from the rear of the vehicle toward (and past) the driver's seat where I was sitting in only a pair of underwear in 5 deg F weather wondering what the HELL was going on.

He runs by and runs up the paved hill (maybe 500 to 1000 feet) toward the upper area of the park and ride.

I was still more than half asleep, so I figured I'd follow him and try to catch him. In my underwear!! ha ha

So I floor it and nearly run the kid down. He jumps into the snowbank and half runs half crawls for his life up the bank, through another 100 feet of woods up to a Saturn dealership. He falls every few feet because of the snow. I'm sure he was cut up pretty bad because of the snow we have - about 1.5 feet with a thick ice crust on top. You know the kind... where you almost can stand on it, but you fall through and it cuts up your shin?

So he runs up there faster than I've ever seen anyone run. He get up to the Saturn dealership and of course, I'm in my underwear and didn't give chase through the woods like that.

So, I drove around the various streets it takes to get to the dealership and tried to find him.

All of a sudden, I woke up from my sleep and remembered that I'm chasing some stranger who could be armed, and had my wife with me. So I gave up and moved to another spot to survey the damage.

Upon surveying the damage, I found that he was trying to hacksaw through a padlock that locks an entrance to the "land boat." Also, some extra damage I sustained was a broken exhaust system from trying to run the guy down. (evil grin)

If that guy got through the padlock and opened the door without me waking, I would have been lying in bed staring right at him and been completely helpless with my wife in danger.

Reminds me why I chose to be armed on a boat and why I have the same shotgun I used to carry in the boat on my custom RV with me. Wasn't any use in this case, since he wasn't dangerous. I think he was a lot more scared of me than I was of him... a lunatic living in a custom RV... ha ha

But the real moral of this story is:

WHY DID I LEAVE THE WATER TO LIVE ON LAND AGAIN???

I'm starting to forget...

This stuff rarely happens on the water (except maybe to us).

[Auspicious]

And the moral is ...

... wear pajamas.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

And the moral is ...

... wear pajamas.

Ha ha ha!! That is the true moral.

It is a testamennt to the power of the Little Cod heater though. 5 deg F outside, wind chills 11 below zero.

Inside? 80 degree underwear weather!

[sluissa]

You said the boat was too expensive, if I remember correctly. Have a few more encounters like this, possibly with less favorable results, and you might change your mind. That is, if you haven't already.

P.S. That guy was an idiot to try to steal from a van with smoke coming out the top. :P

[Lostmt]

We to are landlocked and live in our custom built RV (custom built by me) I don't worry about someone trying to get in (don't even have a lock on the front or back door). I couldn't even find my pistol even if I needed it which I don't think I would. See we have a Rottie and she would greet you with a big smile as you came in. Surprise Surprise

I just realized why we don't live in Montana anymore. 5 degrees and 18 below wind chill. Love the Texas coast.

Take care

[clausont]

Far more "Land Pirates" than there are on the water. I would have loved to sat back and watched that one....

[Charlie]

Sulli:

If he was going to attack you on your boat he would have had to swim out and get you. Then all you would have had to do was pluck that ice cube out of the water and mix up a huge Martini to put him in while waiting for the authorities to pick him up.

Lost Mt: MT is a great state but that waiting till it got up to -5 degrees before getting out of bed was something.

[Pura Vida]

In ye olden days when fresh out of highschool and before my first bout of college I spent a summer as a long haul truck driver. I never made it to New England but from coast to coast along I10 and I20 there are overnight parking lots, truck stops, rest area and park and rides that manage to attract some of the weirdest and most perverted people in the world. Prostitute and drug dealers that do commerce with truckers and other professional travelers were common. Theives who prayed on transient victims were a problem too. It may have changed since then but I kind of doubt it. It may not have changed since the middle ages. We generally just kept on moving.

[David M]

Now...although not foolproof, doesn't water make the greatest moat? ..and I don't mean solid water.

[Alan Wheeler]

If he is in that sort of cold in only underwear, I guess he was trying to find shelter. In fact, I reckon he didn't have a hack saw. He woudl have been trying to knaw through the chain with his chattering teeth.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

If he is in that sort of cold in only underwear, I guess he was trying to find shelter. In fact, I reckon he didn't have a hack saw. He woudl have been trying to knaw through the chain with his chattering teeth.

You read too quickly, Wheels. *I* was the guy in the underwear! ha ha

Thought this would make an interesting post and a reminder to people that boat life is far more safe than land life ever will be.

[44'cruisingcat]

Is there any way of moving that padlock to the INSIDE of the van? (at least when you are on board) I would be worried, especially with a combustion heater going all night, that in the event of a fire, that might be the only accessible way out, and it's padlocked from the outside.

[seafox]

He probably ran for it when he saw your underwear

[shadow]

Glad to see that it all worked out for the best.

Padlock = $5
Exhaust repair = $150
Idiot being chased by a custom RV with a man in his underwear = PRICELESS!!

Wish I was there to see him hobby horsing over the snow! HA HA HA!!

[yachtrodney]

I think you're right Seafox.

There's a lot of questions need answering here:

(and past) the driver's seat where I was sitting in only a pair of underwear in 5 deg F weather

But I'm afraid to ask.

I'm starting to think the poor fellow was just trying to escape the crazy half naked man chasing him.