Random
boondocking can have it’s scary moments. A scene in Nomadland struck a familiar cord with me. Fern is inside her parked camper truck somewhere just off the road at night. She is startled by a sudden knock on her door.
It is not something you expect. A violation. Rain, snow, cold, you feel safe in there, protected by your shell. At night no one should be calling on you. A knock like that makes you feel in sudden potential jeopardy. In Fern's case it was a cop telling her she had to move off, no overnight parking here. It could have been worse.
We were parked at a truck stop in Joplin one night when at 9 PM someone knocked on our door. We had the same reaction as Fern. First, no way I was opening my door. I was glad the door was locked. Wished I had a baseball bat handy, just in case. The person outside began to tell her sad story in an attempt to get money to help her.
I had to think fast because a first thought was this stranger might slash my
tires or something if I got her mad. So I suggested she go inside the truck center and ask them to call the police and they would help her. That worked. Guessing use of the word “police” was enough to scare her off.