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Hey Dad,

In RV-ing, as in life, God often causes a little tingle to creep up the back of the neck that should NOT be ignored, informing you that what you're about to attempt is NOT a good idea—especially when you're behind the wheel of an RV.

I experienced the tingle from God a couple of days ago as I looked at the steep incline into the Denny's parking lot. The tingle definitely said, "I wouldn't try that if I were you—yep, looks like a mighty steep angle—your hitch is going to drag big time."

I heard every word, but we were hungry and Denny's was looking good, so I went for it!

A few seconds later, I was stuck solid and my wheels spun like I was on ice. I tried backing up—no good. Rocking—nope.

Quickly, I jumped from my seat, pushed open the RV door, and ran to the rear of the RV to see the foot of the trailer buried four inches in the asphalt.

Oh, man, I should have listened to the tingle, I thought.

Just then a police officer walked up to me and said in a very perturbed tone, "You just had to pick the busiest time of day and the busiest street in Pittsburgh to get stuck."

I looked up and saw three lanes of traffic both ways—and I was blocking at least three of them. All the faces I could see had the look of—what an idiot!

Already a couple of Pittsburghians had squeezed by and shouted out a welcome to their fine city—but I can't repeat their kind words.

The policeman wanted to call a tow truck, but I was already hacking at the asphalt with a hammer and screwdriver. Hey, if I could get a mama raccoon and her babies out of my ceiling—I could get this trailer unburied.

It took about 20 minutes, but (by God's mercy) we got the trailer separated from the RV, the pin pulled from the hitch (which was also below grade), and the RV up the ramp and free from the asphalt's evil grip.

That was close. It could have been bad—and expensive.

As it turned out, nothing was damaged, and I learned a valuable lesson: listen to the tingle.

I also feel it when I'm about to lose my cool and say something to my wife or children that I shouldn't, look at things that men shouldn't look at, or go certain places that men shouldn't go.

The tingle is a gift from God to stupid dads to save them a heap of hurt.

So take it from this RV-ing dad—listen to the tingle.

You 'da Dad,

© 2007 Todd Wilson. Used by permission.

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