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famous in our house for doing things that made no sense to the rest of us.
     
    Dad said, “Kirk, you come with me. Everyone else, stay in the car. If anyone comes close, lock the doors and talk to them through a crack in the window, ok?”
     
    A ragged chorus of agreement from the rest of us, except for Tommy, who was awake, but he still looked bleary-eyed and confused.
     
    “Beth, try the radio and see if you can learn anything. We’re going to go see what the deal is, and we’ll be back as quick as we can.”
     
    It was late in the day, the sun had just set, and we were beginning to wonder about the things kids do. Where’s dinner? Where do we sleep? Where can we get some TV or video games around here? Stuff like that…
     
    We listened to the radio, hearing news that we didn’t understand about the Chinese, the North Koreans, Iran, Israel, the Middle East. Mom was taking notes on a little yellow pad, preparing for the details my Dad would surely want to know. People were out and walking around, but no one came close to us in the back corner. Thinking back, I imagine that what my dad saw as the best place to park, they saw as the darkest and scariest corner, the wild outback of the schoolyard, and maybe most importantly, the farthest from the restrooms and the unconscious feeling of security that indoor facilities provide. It was peaceful sitting as a family, windows down, an evening breeze stirring the few insects that had emerged early in the season, listening to the crispy murmur of the radio. We did not know it was the last peaceful evening we would have for years.
     
    Dad and Kirk came back to the car. Mom pushed the lock switch and the electric locks chunked heavily. Dad waited until Kirk had burrowed into the backseat, watching the roaming people in the field before he got in himself. He first looked at my mother and held her eyes for a beat longer than normal, shook his head just a bit, and then he turned to all of us and made another big announcement, “Well gang. Looks like we’re going to camp out here tonight.” He smiled like it was another good time family adventure, but we already knew better.
     
    As twilight settled in, Dad pulled a bundle out from under the tarp on the roof and starting assembling a big green and yellow tent. There was a fair amount of fumbling, grumbling and what my mom called ‘no-words’ being said, but Mom held the flashlight patiently and pretty soon, the tent was up. That’s when we understood that no matter how much we had heard our father complaining about people who could not park straight, he was always thinking about the next step. The tent fit between the side of the car and the back fence with about 3 feet to spare. Dad leaned in on Kirk and Lucy and pulled out some rolled up bundles. He tossed them into the tent, one by one until we counted eight bundles. Then he came around to the back, where Tommy and I were, and pulled our normal gym-bag luggage out from under our feet, and threw them on the grass. We thought the whole deal was weird. We had been camping before, but we thought of camping as a gravel patch in a state park with a picnic table, fire ring, water tap, and an electric outlet for each campsite.
     
    When he was done, he had Kirk go in and roll out all the pads and sleeping bags. Dad tossed in our duffle bags and directed Kirk to line them up at the head end of the sleeping bags. We understood from previous camping that those were our pillows. Dad dug out a little LED lantern and had Kirk hang it from a loop in the top of the tent. We were itching to get in the new tent and rummage around, but Dad had other ideas. He took us up to the school building in two groups and had us use the restroom. He said it might get really crowed later on. Cars were still trickling into the schoolyard as the evening progressed. When he had us all back at the car, he gathered us around.
     
    “Ok, kids. First thing…” He handed each of us a little Maglite