Part 2

Chapter 6

The third week, the Fourth of July week, my scout troop was going to scout camp. On Saturday night I helped my brother Andy get packed. Even though he was twelve and in his second year of scouts, this was his first year at scout camp. Last summer Andy had a chance to visit our cousin's farm in central Pennsylvania and went there instead of going to camp.

This was my fourth year at camp. I was experienced. I planned to take Canoeing and Environmental Science Merit Badges. I also signed up to start Climbing Merit Badge. I knew I couldn't finish it at camp, but I could do about 80% of the required work. I helped Andy pick out his merit badges. I had him take Swimming and Basketry.

Mom and Dad drove us up to camp. We stopped for ice cream on the way, just before we got to camp. We met our troop in the parking lot. It was mass chaos. Eighteen troops and nearly four hundred scouts all arrive at the same time. Andy and I found the tree where Mr. Clark, our scoutmaster, was gathering our troop. I checked in with Eddie, my patrol leader. I sent Andy to see Hal Long, his patrol leader. When all thirty-two scouts in our troop showed up, everyone loaded their packs, duffel bags and trunks in the camp truck. We marched off to our campsite while the truck delivered our gear.

Jason Sauder, the senior patrol leader (SPL), assigned patrols to their tents. I helped Eddie get our patrol, the Eagle Patrol, situated. Eddie was the patrol leader. I was his assistant. Eddie and I took the first tent and assigned the other five members to the other tents. They were large canvas wall tents with wooden floor. It was quite roomy for two people. Eddie and I each had an army cot to sleep on. Jason came around to remind us to get changed into our swimsuits. It was time for the tour of camp and swim tests.

When we got to the pool, Rob, the aquatics director, met us at the gate to the pool. He made us listen to the boring safety lecture. After four summers, I could probably recite it from memory too. We showered and went in for our swim tests. I spotted Will at the other end of the pool, watching scouts floating on their backs. I waved. He didn't see me. I took a look at Andy. His eyes were big. I could see that all of this was a little overwhelming.

I patted Andy on the shoulder, "You'll have fun, Andy, don't worry. Did you see Will down there?" I pointed our brother out from the group of lifeguards at the far end of the pool.

"Yeah, I see him," Andy answered. He seemed too quiet. I stuck with him. I wanted to make sure that he wasn't afraid of the swim test. When our turn came, Andy and I stepped up to the edge of the deep end of the pool and waited for the word to go.

The lifeguard, I think his name is Jim Hardy, reviewed to us, "Jump in feet first. Swim with a strong stroke to the other end of the pool and turn. Come half way back with the strong stroke. Roll over on your back and do the elementary backstroke to the end of the pool. Any questions?"

Andy and I nodded no. Jim said, "Jump in, guys." I hesitated a moment to let Andy go first. I wanted to see how he did. Andy came to the surface OK and started doing the crawl.

Jim prodded, "Let's go. What are you waiting for?"

I answered, "I'm just keeping an eye on my little brother." I jumped in, surfaced and started off. I'm a good swimmer. I expected to catch up to Andy quickly. Instead I fell further behind him. When Andy passed me on the way back when I was only 2/3 of the way to the far end, I concentrated on what I was doing. Obviously I didn't need to worry about Andy in the pool.

I was almost to the end when Will yelled at me. Will said, "Get your stomach up, Kyle. I want to see a decent backstroke!" I arched my back a little more and tried to do my kick better. Will tapped on the edge of the pool with his reach pole when I got close to the end. He said, "Float on your back for a minute."

I was resting on my back in the water when I heard two taps on the side of the pool. Will yelled, "Andy get out."

I heard Andy say, "Did I do OK, Will? Did I pass?"

Will answered, "You did great, squirt. Real good. I'm proud of you." Will tapped me on the stomach with his reach pole. "Get your stomach up, little brother." I shivered when the cold metal pole touched me. I arched my back a little more. Finally Will tapped the side of the pole and said, "You're done, little brother." I climbed out. Will turned to the CIT beside him and said, "This one is a beginner."

I bristled, "What the heck, Will? I passed the test!"

Will said to the CIT, "No, actually he's a swimmer. I was just yanking your chain little brother." He held his hand out to me. I shook it. "It's good to see you, Kyle. You still doing your training?"

"You bet, Will. Eddie is training with me."

"Cool. I go running in the evenings at 9 pm. Do you want to run with me this week?"

"Sure, Will. Can Eddie come too?"

"Why not? We'll start tomorrow evening. We're too busy with the opening campfire tonight."

"Thanks for offering, Will. I'll see you later."

I met our troop outside the changing room. Jason counted heads to make sure we had everyone. When he counted our 32, we marched back to our campsite. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting our campsite set up.

We had dinner at the dining hall. After dinner, Will got up in front of the 400 scouts and leaders and called for quiet with the scout sign. Silence came swiftly. Will welcomed the campers, did a couple announcements and then said that we're going to sing "Green Grow the Rushes Ho."

Will started the song off and the whole dining hall joined in. When we finished and were filing out of the dining hall, Andy yanked on my shirttail. "What's up, Andy?"

"I didn't know Will could sing. It sure was weird to see our big brother up in front of all of these scouts."

"Yeah, it is cool. You'll get used to it. The other staff members often treat me special since I'm Will's brother. It's neat."

"How will they know that?"

"C'mon Andy. The three of us look too much alike. They'll recognize us, no doubt about it."

"I guess I have a lot to learn about camp, don't I, Kyle."

"Yep. You know which merit badges you're signing up for?"

"Yes. Swimming and Basketry, right?"

"You got it. Those two, and work with Mr. Clark to finish First Class this week. That's what you need to do, Andy."

The camp did merit badge sign-ups after dinner. I signed up with the Envi-Sci counselor first. Then I signed up for Climbing. Last I went over to the Aquatics section and signed up for Canoeing. A CIT was taking names. I wondered who was going to be the counselor. The CIT didn't say. The scouts scattered around camp to tour, buy stuff at the trading post or just hang out back at the campsite.

All the troops met at the campfire area for the opening campfire at 9 pm. After some skits, songs and cheers, everyone went back to camp. Our troop had a cracker barrel every night. We pigged out on trail mix that evening. I went to my bunk. Eddie had a Patrol Leader's Council meeting to go to, so I was alone in our tent. I fell asleep before Eddie got back.

The next morning, Mr. Clark woke Eddie and me up. We woke up the rest of our patrol. We showered and cleaned our tents up for the day. The whole troop marched to the dining hall for breakfast. We sat by patrols in the dining hall, so Eddie and I were together with the other five scouts in our patrol. Mr. Good, one of the assistant scoutmasters, sat with us. He looked after us, making sure we went to classes and did the things we were supposed to do.

I purposely kept the first of the three morning merit badge periods open. I could hang around camp, make sure my tent and my patrol site was cleaned up properly. Eagle Patrol ALWAYS did well on campsite inspections. We didn't want to let down the older guys who set the tradition years ago. We were proud of our patrol.

At 10 o'clock I had Environmental Science Merit Badge at the Nature Lodge. The counselor was Rich Short. I had him for another merit badge last year. Rich recognized me as soon as I came into the class.

Rich asked, "Hey, Kyle. Good to see you again."

"I'm glad you're teaching this badge, Rich. I enjoyed Fish and Wildlife Management with you last year."

"How old are you, Kyle?"

"I turn fourteen on Saturday."

"Ahh, a birthday in camp. You ready to be embarrassed?"

"Yeah, this will be the fourth birthday I celebrated in camp. I'm used to it now."

"Are you going to sign up to be a CIT next summer? You'd be good at it."

"I don't know, Rich. A month ago I was planning to do that, but I've been recruited to play football in high school. I don't know how that will fit in. I've been working with our quarterback Zack Hayes this summer practicing pass routes. I'll see how things will turn out next summer."

"I remember, Zack. He attended camp a few years ago. He was in a couple of my classes when I was a camper. Where's he at now?"

"He has done quarterback camps the past two summers. He really has his heart set on a football scholarship for college. That's why he isn't coming to summer camp anymore."

"Kyle, tell Zack I said hi, OK?"

"Sure thing, Rich," I said.

Rich glanced at his watch and realized that class had to start. Rich went over the requirements. This merit badge was going to be hard. A lot of essays and study. I needed this merit badge to finish my Life Rank. Will got Eagle last year, so everyone expected that I would do that too. I had to work hard to keep up with my brother.

I went to the climbing tower at the center of camp for my next merit badge. I didn't even get a chance to sit down before the counselor recognized who I was.

He asked, "You're Will Henry's brother aren't you?"

"Yes. I'm Kyle Martin." I extended my hand to shake his.

"Hi. I'm Bill Jones. Have you done any climbing before, Kyle?"

"No, but it sounds like fun," I had a seat at the picnic table. A minute later, Eddie joined me. This was the only merit badge class we shared. Bill went over the badge requirements, the safety rules, belaying and the commands. We had about fifteen minutes to try climbing at the end of the day. I hoped we would spend more time actually climbing tomorrow.

Eddie and I walked back to our campsite together. I said, "Did I tell you Will asked us to go running with him tonight at 9 pm?"

"No, but that's cool. Do you think Mr. Clark will have a problem with that?"

"I'm sure it'll be OK if it's with Will."

The troop had lunch at the dining hall and then went back to camp for siesta. Everyone had an hour of free time in our campsite. At a quarter to two, I headed for the boatyard at the far end of camp. I got there a couple minutes early. Will was sitting on the picnic table when I got there.

I asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you worked at the pool."

"You didn't hear did you? We had a shake up during staff week. The guy who was going to run the boatyard this year called the first day to say he quit. I got a promotion. I'm in charge of the boatyard this year."

"Cool. So, who is the instructor for Canoeing?"

Will smiled and said, "Me."

"Oh man. You're going to work my ass off aren't you?"

"You bet little brother. I have to get you ready for Canada."

The other kids started to file in and find seats. "Have a seat, Kyle. We're going to start class soon," Will explained.

Will went over the parts of a canoe, how to do the strokes, and what the requirements for the badge were. Will assigned everyone a canoe partner. He assigned me to work with a blond haired guy from Troop 187 in Manheim. His name was Trent Wilson. Finally it was time to get out on the lake. Trent picked up two PFD's for us. I went for the canoe. I grabbed the canoe off the rack and laid it on the ground the way I was taught at shakedown last month. I pulled it up on my knees and flipped it over my head. I could feel the difference my weight training was making. This was much easier than last month.

Trent came over just as I flipped the canoe up on my shoulders. "Jeez, Kyle. Don't you want some help with the canoe?"

"No, I'm good. My Venturer Crew is going canoeing in Canada in August. I have to do this up there. I might as well practice here." I carried our canoe down to the lake edge and walked into the water. I carefully set the canoe down in the water. I asked, "Ready, Trent?" I noticed Will was smiling as he watched me. I guess I did things right. I steadied the canoe while Trent climbed in the front.

The other students in the class weren't willing to stand in the lake. The stood on the shore and tried to climb in the canoes from the shore.

Will shouted, "C'mon guys. You can't canoe without getting your feet wet. Get out in the water before you get in your boat!" The other students reluctantly waded into the lake and climbed into their canoes. We practiced strokes for about fifteen minutes. I had trouble with the J stroke.

Will noticed, "Kyle, what are you doing? Put more twist in your wrist when you do the stroke."

We practiced some more. I couldn't keep the canoe straight. Will yelled, "Kyle, what are you doing? Lift more at the end of the stroke." We practiced for a few more minutes. I was getting better. The canoe didn't weave too much. I thought I was getting it.

Will shouted, "C'mon, Kyle. Twist your wrist more. The blade of the paddle should be perpendicular to the water at the end of the stroke. Get it right!"

I said, "OK, Will."

Trent quietly said, "The instructor sure is hard on you."

"I know. He's my brother." I said.

"His last name is Henry. I thought your last name was Martin."

"It is. We're half-brothers actually."

Trent sympathized, "Now I understand why he is so hard on you. It must suck having your brother as your instructor."

"I've gotten used to taking orders from my brother. He's been SPL, JASM, Venturer Crew President, most every leadership position scouting has. That's just how things are for me."

After canoeing, I went over to the pool for free swim. It was nice to have free time at camp. Eddie and I spent the evening hanging out at camp talking and joking. Around 8:30, one of the second year scouts from Andy's patrol ran over to our tent.

"Kyle, you've got to come. Andy's in his tent crying. He won't talk to anyone!"

Eddie and I went running. I motioned for Eddie to wait outside the tent. I sat down on the bunk beside Andy. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I hate camp. I want to go home!" Andy declared and then he started to cry again.

I stuck my head out of the tent and told Eddie to go get Will, immediately. I held my little brother and patted him on the back. "Will's going to come and talk with you, Andy. Please stop crying." He cried and sniffled the whole five minutes it took for Will to arrive.

I slid over when Will arrived, making room for him beside Andy. He put his arm around Andy. "What wrong, big guy?" he asked quietly.

"I miss my family," Andy said as he sobbed. "I wanna go home."

Will laughed a little. "Look around the tent. We're all family. We're here for you." It took Will about ten minutes to get the whole story out of Andy. Some of the other second year scouts had been teasing him about being a baby since he didn't know where anything was or what to do in camp.

Will called Hal Long over. He explained that a good patrol leader better take care of all his scouts. Hal needed to fix the problem and get his patrol working as a team again. Hal agreed to work on it.

Will joined Eddie and me when he was done talking with Hal. "You guys ready to run?"

"Sure, Will."

Will said, "We're going to run to the main road and back. It's about three and a half miles. It's a good workout."

Will took off. Eddie and I struggled to keep up. The run was a lot harder than the one at home. The camp road had a lot of hills on it. Part way through, Will must have felt pity for us. He finally slowed the pace down so we could keep up. It was nearly forty minutes later before we got back to camp.

Eddie and I went straight to our bunks to sleep. Later Jason came to our tent. "Eddie! Wake up!"

"Huh," Eddie groaned.

"You have a Patrol Leader's Council meeting in five minutes. Get up."

"OOohhh ... I'm sleeping. I'll send my assistant," Eddie said.

"NO WAY!" Eddie's assistant, me, exclaimed.

"You're the patrol leader," Jason said. "Get up and get your butt to the meeting."

I laughed at him as he got out of bed and dressed. Eddie said, "You suck, Kyle," as he left our tent. I didn't hear him come back. I was long asleep.

Chapter 7

The rest of the week went about the same as the first day. Rich Short did a good job teaching Envi-Sci. It was hard, but interesting. Eddie and I loved Climbing. We spent every second they would allow us at the climbing tower. Will pushed me every day at canoeing to make sure I did everything perfect. I tried to accept it all in good humor. What else could I do? I became a good friend with my canoe partner Trent Wilson. Even though we were from different troops, we hung out together some outside of class.

Andy got accustomed to scout camp. By Wednesday he was having a blast. On Friday he asked me if there was any way he could stay for another week.

Will had humiliated me at the dining hall for the past three summers by having the whole camp sing Happy Birthday to me. This year I would miss that 'honor' since my birthday was on Saturday. My parents were coming up Friday night with ice cream and cake for the whole troop, but that was OK. I just wanted to miss standing in front of close to 500 scouts and leaders while they serenaded me.

Will shocked me when lunch was done. He got up in front of the 500 people at the dining hall and called for silence. Shit! Here it comes!

Will announced, "Tomorrow is a special day for one of our campers, but we are going to be too busy to recognize him. Kyle Martin, please come up front."

I walked the walk of the doomed to the front of the dining hall. Will pulled a chair out from a nearby table. He said to me, "Stand up on this, Kyle."

"I hate this, Will. I really do!" I said quietly so only Will could hear me. I stood up on the chair.

Will announced to the crowd, "My LITTLE brother has a birthday tomorrow. Kyle turns 14!"

I towered over Will standing on the chair. I looked down at him and declared, "I'm not LITTLE anymore!"

Will ignored me and carried on, "Let's sing Happy Birthday for my little brother, Kyle." The large crowd in the dining hall sang to me while I turned bright red from embarrassment.

Will gave me a hug when I got down. He said, "I love you, Kyle."

I got a few handshakes and slaps on the back as I went back to my patrol's table. I was glad when we were dismissed from the dining hall.

After siesta, I headed to Canoeing Merit Badge. Will gave everyone a final written test before we took the canoe handling test in the lake. I knew I aced the written test. Will had beaten all the terms and safety precautions into my head a long time ago. Will made Trent and me take the handling test first in our class. We blasted through the maneuvering test, kept the canoe straight on that part of the test and demonstrated our sweeps, draws and sculling perfectly. Will called Trent and me in and congratulated us. We passed.

Trent and I sat down at the picnic table while we waited for the rest of the class to be tested. I said, "It's been fun working with you, Trent. You've been a good friend and canoe partner."

Trent said, "Yes, it has been fun, Kyle. We're both from Lancaster County, maybe we'll meet again someday. Are you going to free swim when we're done?"

I said, "Yes, let's buddy up. We can enjoy another hour together."

That is exactly what we did when Will dismissed the class. I headed back to my campsite after the swim. Things always got busy Friday night at scout camp. The camp invited parents for a barbecue. The troop leaders made everyone clean up so the campsite would look good for the parents.

Mom, Dad, and Lizzie went through the dinner line with Andy and me. Will was serving the barbecued chicken like usual. I knew he hated chicken so I couldn't resist teasing him. "Mmmm ... I love chicken, Will, can I have extra?"

"No, Lizard breath!" Will snapped.

"Toad!"

"Twerp!"

"Baboon!"

Jim Hardy, standing beside Will, laughed at us. "Ahh, brotherly love. You want some potato salad, Kyle?"

"Sure, Jim. Thanks," I said.

I enjoyed having dinner with my family. Andy couldn't stay quiet. He had to tell Mom and Dad every single thing he did all week. Scout camp had turned another young kid into a dedicated scout. I knew Andy would be back to summer camp many times like Will and me.

Andy and I gave Mom and Dad a tour of camp after dinner. At 8:30, all the troops gathered for the closing campfire. The staff handed out awards. Troops did skits. Everyone had a grand time.

When the parents left, our troop gathered for our cracker barrel. Tonight we had birthday cake and ice cream. I didn't mind people singing to me when they brought ice cream. I loved it.

Saturday was anti-climactic. We packed up, had a cold breakfast and attended the closing ceremony at the parade field. When the ceremony was done, Andy and I met up with Will to say good bye. We wouldn't see our brother for another five weeks.

Chapter 8

The next weeks passed quickly, too quickly. Eddie and I did our training and running every day. Every Saturday Eddie and I met Zack and Mike at the park to practice pass routes. Mike taught me a lot I didn't know before. I think Eddie was learning a lot from Zack about being a quarterback.

Eddie and I played catch with a football some days, watched TV or DVD sometimes. Sometimes we simply hung out and talked. We passed the time without cares. It was great to have one last summer without responsibilities.

Our gang of friends caught a movie one Friday night. Another Saturday afternoon the gang went out to play mini-golf. I really enjoyed hanging with the girls in our group, talking with them and flirting with them without the stress of a real date.

The evening before the Algonquin trip, Dad and Abby brought Will home from scout camp. Mom and Dad wanted to take the whole family out for ice cream that night, but I begged off, since I hadn't finished packing. Dad was going to insist, until Will said it was OK that I stayed home.

Will and Abby started his wash as soon as the rest of the family left. Then Will checked in with me to make sure that I was getting packed.

I asked, "Do you and Abby need my bedroom tonight, Will?"

Will looked me with a bemused smile on his face, "You're serious, Kyle? Why do you think we want that?"

"You and Abby haven't been together in eight weeks. I thought you might want some privacy and a bed a little bigger than the bunk beds."

"That's really nice of you, Kyle. I think Abby and I will take you up on that offer in a few minutes. You really don't mind?"

"No, it's not a problem. I'll finish packing and get out of your way."

When I had all my things packed, I headed over to Eddie's house. I really didn't want to listen to my brother and his girlfriend have sex tonight. Unfortunately, Eddie wasn't home when I got there. I decided to try the Edwards house. Maybe I could help Penny pack for the trip.

Penny's older sister Nikki answered the door when I knocked. "Hi, Kyle. Come on in." she said.