Summer 2010

Dear Mom and Dad,

Camp Moneybucks is very fun this year.  I’m so glad you bit the bullet and paid the extra $900 so I could do the adventure hikes, which included bungee jumping off Teddy Roosevelt’s nose on Mount Rushmore and water skiing down the Snake River rapids on footwear we made out of redwoods we cut down in our logging class.  (By the way, I don’t care what any lawyer says, that thing with the buzz saw was not my fault, but don’t worry, the doctor said I should regain up to 75% use of my finger once the bone has fused and the stitches come out. For now we may want to rethink that piano recital in August.) 

This has been the best summer vacation.  I’ve met a lot of interesting friends here at camp.  My favorite is a kid named Elmer.  He’s an awesome athlete and all the kids pick him first for their teams -- probably because he’s so big for his age.  I think this has something to do with the fact that he repeated the fourth grade three times.  

The camp counselors here are very nice too.  Since they all have goofy camp names like Camel Toe and Rabies Boy, you’d think they’d be funnier people.  One night we decided to play a trick on a horticulture counselor name Tammy Swinette and she got so upset, she left camp for good, crying.  I mean, come on, what’s the big deal about seeing your underwear run up a flagpole?  The fact that she was still wearing her underwear when we did it made it even more hilarious.  Some people just don’t know how to have fun.

Yesterday we had a real live Cherokee guest speaker named Walks With Jackals come and tell us about Native American history.  He even brought some old jewelry that his ancestors made.  He told us it was very fragile, but obviously he didn’t know what he was talking about because when he wasn’t looking we tied the beaded necklaces together to make a rope swing that held together just fine.  But then when Walks With Jackals saw what we did, he panicked and grabbed the swing, which was a big mistake.  It broke and little beads rolled everywhere, mostly into the lake.  Walks With Jackals got really mad and yelled at Mr. Swanson, the camp administrator.  Can you believe anyone would get so freaked out over a bunch of old junk?

My favorite thing to do at camp is crafts class.  Last week we learned how to macramé a fishing net.  A kid from Crusty Creek, Idaho, named Lamont showed us how you can also use the net to create a bear trap, but since there weren’t any bears around, we thought it’d be funny to set the trap right outside the camp administration building.  Mr. Swanson’s leg will be fine once the cast comes off, but it doesn’t matter anyway, because he can’t get up until his neck heals.  Then he can have his back surgery and start to learn to walk again.  So it’s all good. 

Thanks for sending me to such a great place.  Even though I didn’t originally want to be here, I have to say this camp taught me things I may have never known how to do had I not come.  I can’t wait to try out some of this stuff at home.  See you in a few days.

Love,

Quinn, a.k.a. Runs with Hunting Knives (That's the name the camp counselors gave me.  It was either that or Addicted to Fire)

P.S.  Did you know a regular fish tank holds the same amount of liquid as a Coke machine, including the fish?  Honest!