Well, hello again. Dad and Nick took a trip this month. They went to Nebraska. What for? To pick up their truck. Yep, a 1952 Chevy pickup truck. It has a seven foot bed and is a little rusty. It is charcoal gray and a little dinged up, but Dad doesn't care. You see, his plan is to restore it. Take everything off, clean it, and put it back on. When the truck id finally restored it will look brand new. It is amazing, seeing things like that. It will also be worth some money, too.
Dad's birthday was this month. I think he got what he wanted (I think). Anyway, Dad needed a broom for the shop, so that is what Nick and I got him. Mom and Jenny went and got a Terry Redlin plate (Terry Redlin is Dad's favorite painter. The plate has a small portion of his paintings on it). Dad also need a big clock in the shop, so that's what my aunt and uncle got him. Dad also got other odds and ends from other family members. I think he enjoyed his birthday.
For scouts Nick and I went on a klondike. A klondike is a competition with other patrols. Each troop has so many patrols, depending on the number of boys the troop has and how they want to be divided. We had two patrols. Making up the Bears was the older boys. Making up the Tigers was the younger ones. I'm a middle aged scout so I was picked to lead the younger ones. There were four of us. Anyway, we got to Woodland Trails (the place we stayed at) on Friday night. We had to set up tents in the dark. When that was done, a few other older boys and I played poker using candy as our betting material. Each piece of candy was worth so much. Our lowest valued amount was a Cheese-Its at five dollars. We all ate at least two hundred dollars in Cheese-Its before we were done. After that we went to bed.
The next morning we got up, ate breakfast, and left for a meeting with all the patrols. After the rules were stated and everything was taken care of, we began the competition. There was knot tying, first aid, a compass course, where you find directions and are scored on how well you do, lashings, or, in other words, really fancy knot tying, and a rescue thing where you had someone on a sled thirty feet away and you had to properly toss them a rope and haul them back (fastest time wins). After the events we goofed off the rest of the afternoon. We were able to entertain ourselves by swinging on a vine. We also played football. Then came the evening meeting. Once there each patrol had to do either a skit or a song to entertain the group. Then came what we were all waiting for. The awards! In every event the Tigers (my group) came in second. The Bears got first in two and third in the rest. Then, overall, the Bears got third while the Tiger's got first. Yea ha! Then the night was over.
In the morning we ate breakfast and went to a little church service (that day was Sunday). After that we packed up and headed home.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this month's newsletter. See ya!
Mark