73. Close Up the Tent
Camping in the bush in Africa years ago. It was a big, semi-permanent campsite with big, rectangular tents you could stand up in, and we were only there for the weekend. My sister and I were in a tent set a little away from the others, down a short pathway. It was a stunning night, full moon, clear sky, and my sister wanted to leave the tent flaps open.
No way. Nope. I insisted on closing them. I was woken up several times during the night by lions roaring—it’s a sound you only want to hear with something sturdy between you and it. The next morning, a couple of the other campers walked up to our little path. They were following lion footprints. It had wandered through the main site, up our path, right up to our firmly closed tent “door,” walked all around the tent, then walked off into the bush.
No arguments about closing up the tent that night!