By Jon Walker, F268778
National Senior Vice President
June 2017
FMCA national president Charlie Adcock has invited me to share thoughts in this column several times during our time in office, and he’s asked me to do so again this month. In a short time, I will finish my four years of serving you as your national senior vice president. It has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience for me. During this journey, my wife, Sondra, and I have met thousands of FMCA members; have traveled back and forth all over North America; and have participated in many, many FMCA events. What we have found to be true is that FMCA is all about people, good people.
For the past four years, we have been traveling from one area rally and convention to the next, with very little time between. This year we had a break between the Southeast Area Rally (SEA) in Lakeland, Florida, and the international convention in Chandler, Arizona. FMCA national president Charlie Adcock and his wife, Gloria, are longtime members of the Cruisin’ Cajuns chapter, and they have been telling Sondra and me that we really need to attend one of their rallies. It just so happened that they were having a rally in Rayne, Louisiana, in February, and we could stop there on the way to Chandler.
Sondra and I drove from our home in Elkhart, Indiana, to Searcy, Arkansas, to meet up with Charlie and Gloria. We left for Rayne on February 15th. We were not really expecting a rally to be as this one was. In fact, we were somewhat overwhelmed by what we experienced. The Cruisin’ Cajuns president, Charles Sullivan, and his lovely wife, Ella, invited us out. The purpose of the dinner was to teach us how to eat crawfish.
I will have to admit that I had decided on the way to the rally that I was NOT going to eat crawfish. The reason for this goes back many, many years when I was building our first house. I was so proud that I was able to put in the lawn for the house. I spent several days driving a John Deere tractor pulling a disk, then a drag implement, to get the yard all smooth and even. The day that I finished and sowed the grass seed, we had a big rain. The next morning I went outside to find that there were hundreds of crawdad holes in my yard. For some reason, I thought that the Southern crawfish were the same thing as crawdads! I just knew that there simply was no way I would eat those ugly things that destroyed my yard.
When we got to the restaurant, I was torn between being polite to our hosts and trying to figure out how I was going to avoid eating these crawdads without upsetting Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. As it turned out, I just shared with them my problem. They told me that crawfish are NOT crawdads at all. So, we all ordered a mess of these creatures and the fun began. Sondra was taught how you grab the head and the tail and then pull and twist at the same time to get the meat out. She had no problem with this; they even taught her how to suck the extra “stuff” out of the head. I let Sondra fix mine for me, and I did not touch the heads. We now know what it means to “eat the tails and suck the heads.”
As the week unfolded, I was somewhat surprised as to how much fun we were having, especially Sondra. I had never seen her dance as much as she did. She also became very involved as a participant in the costume contest. She dressed up as a giant flamingo. Then there was the Mardi Gras parade with all those beads! Wow! We really did have fun.
After leaving that rally, we headed to San Antonio, Texas, to see the River Walk and the Alamo. The best part of the whole trip was getting to have a VIP tour of the Air Force’s C5-M Super Galaxy transport jet. Being an old pilot, I love airplanes. I asked Charlie whether he thought he could get us a tour of one of the C5 airplanes. After all, I reminded him, he is a retired Air Force loadmaster.
Always up for a challenge, we drove over to the base, requested directions to the C5 operations center, walked into their offices, and asked whether they would give us a tour. As it turned out, Charlie was able to convince the colonel in charge that it would be a public relations benefit for the Air Force and for FMCA to give us a tour. Things somehow worked out in our favor. All of the stars must have been aligned correctly, because we ended up having the best airplane experience one could ever have.
I was amazed at the size of the aircraft. Up on the front part of the second level, directly behind where the crew sits, was a conference room, bathroom, and small bedroom. In the rear of the plane on the second level was a full-featured seating area for passengers. This area also had a conference seating area, a couple of bathrooms, and a kitchen. I am not sure how many seats were there, but I would guess you could seat almost a hundred people in that section. The cargo area was huge. You could actually carry eight 45-foot motorhomes in the cargo part of the plane!
As a side note, Charlie decided that since we were staying at the campground on Lackland Air Force Base, he wanted to check into buying a new full-dress uniform. I asked him why he would want to do that. He told me that he wants to be buried in his full-dress uniform. So, off we went, looking for a new Air Force uniform. We found the uniform shop, and Charlie was able to be fitted for a new uniform. When we got up to the fitting table, I noticed that Charlie was being fitted for dress pants to go with the dress jacket. I asked him why he was spending the extra money for the pants. The seamstress told me that you had to have matching slacks for the jacket. I made the mistake of blurting out the question as to why he would buy the slacks if he was going to be in a coffin; nobody would see anything below the waist. You should have seen the look on the seamstress’s face. I guess she thought Charlie was nearing death or something! We quickly assured her that he was also going to wear the uniform on other occasions.
As I write this, I also am reminded of what great service and sacrifice our soldiers are making for us and our country. While at Lackland Air Force Base, I took time to stop and talk with several of the airmen (men and women) who were there. Everyone was so polite and friendly. My overall impression was that we are in good hands trusting these people with protecting our country.
Join us for “Crossroads To Fun.” We look forward to seeing many of you in our home state of Indiana next month for FMCA’s 96th International Convention and RV Expo, set to take place in Indianapolis, July 12 through 15. The registration form appears online at FMCA.com and also on page 67 of this magazine. Come join the fun!
And for those of you looking to get a jump-start on the good times while increasing your knowledge about RVing, consider signing up for RV Basics. Led by RV experts, this two-day workshop takes place at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds and Event Center — site of the convention — just before the start of the convention itself and will be jam-packed with information for newer RVers and those looking to brush up on their knowledge. Find additional information at FMCA.com/academy.
Again, Sondra and I truly thank you for allowing us to serve you for the past four years. It has been wonderful!