One of our readers, Janet Jackson, handwrote this poem and mailed it to us from Lincoln, Illinois. We’ve typed it up for you to read.
The RV Life, by Janet Jackson
Summer had come, the kids were out of hand
So they took a trip to see this beautiful land.
Checked the want ads and bought a tent.
Packed the car and away they went.
They swam in clear lakes and fished in streams.
It was the trip of which they had always dreamed.
They came back brown and tan,
Cameras filled with pictures of the land.
They were fit and trim, svelte and buff.
Decided to go again but not so rough.
Back to the paper to find a trailer.
Looked high and low, then talked to a jailer.
The perfect trailer and on sale –
The lady needed cash for her hubby’s bail.
They found their rig then bought a truck.
The very first day they got it stuck.
Four became five, then six, then seven.
Add two dogs, Gram and Gramps made it eleven.
Tables fold down, bunks hold two but no more…
Mopped floors and told some jokes,
Got tired, cranky and fought…
Spent the night in Walmart’s parking lot!
Dipped their toes in the ocean blue,
Then back to the desert they flew.
Winters in Quartzsite, summer by the lake,
A better life one couldn’t make.
When their time is done,
And they drive down Heaven’s highway number one,
Dad says for the Lord he has a deal…
Keep those mansions, just give me a home with wheels.
Do you have a poem about RVing or camping that you’d like to share? Submit it here!
Nice poem, Janet! True story? I like seeing the handwritten version.
Janet used to camp the old-fashioned way (via car & tent) before she got to prison 30 years ago, but she keeps up with RV news and dreams of RVing.
Different person wrote page 2.
Yeah, Janet wrote page 2. The signature on page 1 is her handwriting. She must have asked someone with better handwriting to copy the poem on page 1 but they ran out of time, and Janet finished it up herself.
Looks the same to me. Maybe written a different day.
You’re right. Janet said that her arthritis makes her hand cramp up. She wrote the whole thing herself.
I would also say the same handwriting. Very unique “T”s and “D”s
I am good friends with Janet. She’s in prison, and I send her copies of RV Travel so she can dream of living free. These dreams keep her spirits up, and she shares her enthusiasm with others. RVing isn’t just a physical thing; it’s an emotional thing, and it does a lot of good, whether you get on the road or not.
Janet actually wrote a much longer poem. The part on the back side of the first page was omitted. i told her she should write “over” when she writes on the back, but she always writes on the back because paper is a bit hard for her to come by.