>
> Letter from Camp
>    
> Dear Mom and Dad,
>
> Our scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case
>  you saw the flood on TV and are worried.
>
> We are OK.  Only one of our tents and
> 2 sleeping bags got washed away.
>
> Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all
> up on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened.
>
>           Oh, yes, please call Chad's mother and tell her he is OK.
> He can't write because of the cast.
>  I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps.
>
> It was neat.  We never would have found him
> in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.
>
> Scoutmaster Walt got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone
>  without telling anyone.  Chad said he did tell him, but
> it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him.
> Did you know that if you put gas on a fire,
> the gas can will blow up?
>
> The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did.
> Also, some of our clothes.  David is going to look funny
> until his hair grows back.
>
> We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Walt gets the
> car fixed.  It wasn't his fault about the wreck.
> The brakes worked OK when we left.
> Scoutmaster Walt said that with a car that old
> you have to expect something to break down;
> that's probably why he can't get insurance.
> We think it's a neat car.  He doesn't care if we
> get it dirty and if it's hot, sometimes he lets
> us ride on the fenders.
>
> It gets pretty hot with 10 people in a car.
> He lets us take turns riding in the trailer until
> the highway patrolman stopped and talked to us.
> Scoutmaster Walt is a neat guy.  Don't worry,
> he is a good driver.  In fact, he is teaching Terry
> how to drive on the mountain roads where there
> isn't any traffic.  All we ever see up there are logging trucks.
> This morning all the guys were diving off the rocks and
> swimming out in the lake.  Scoutmaster Walt wouldn't let me
>  because I can't swim and Chad was afraid he would sink
>  because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake.
> It was great.  You can still see some of the trees
> under the water from the flood.
> Scoutmaster Walt isn't crabby like some scoutmasters.
>   He didn't even get mad about the life jackets.
> 
> He has to spend a lot of time working on the car so we are
> trying not to cause him any trouble.
> Guess what?  We have all passed our first aid merit badges.
> When David dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see
>  how a tourniquet works.
> Wade and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Walt said it probably
> was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken.  He said they
> got sick that way with food they ate in prison.  I'm so glad
> he got out and became our scoutmaster.  He said he sure
> figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time.
> I have to go now.  We are going to town to mail our
> letters.  Don't worry about anything.
>
> We're fine.
> Love,
> Cole