Pedal-file

[john b good]

Dear Mum & Dad,

Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on

TV and are worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and two

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 okay. He can't write

because of the plaster cast.

I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never

would have found Chad in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.

Scoutmaster Don 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 gasoline on a fire, the gasoline will blow up?

The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of

our clothes. David is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Don gets the car fixed. It wasn't

his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left.

Scoutmaster Don 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 let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway

patrol man stopped and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Don is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he

is eaching 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 of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in

the lake. Scoutmaster Don 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.

Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Dave dived

into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works.

Wade and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Don 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. By the way, what is a pedal-file?

I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy some

vaseline.

Don't worry about anything. We are fine.

Love, Timot