So, I haven’t been feeling well the past two weeks. However, today I feel excellent. So good, in fact, that we had my daughter’s fifth grade friends come over for a camp out in the back forty. Many of them haven’t ever camped, or even started a fire. We showed them how to build a fire, and in fact built several. The first we lit with a magnesium bar and flint. The second we lit with 2 D cell batteries and steel wool.

I showed them some backpacking tips, show them how to put together a small survival kit, with some very basic things. They drank water out of a life straw from a muddy pool in the yard from the rain. They pitched a tent and are now playing cards in it by their fire. They are getting ready to roast hotdogs and will have Smore‘s later. Of course, I’ll probably be in bed for the Smore‘s but my wife will supervise.

They also got a kick of something that surprised me. I let them try some MREs whch I’ve used while backpacking for short three or four day treks where carry everything in and everything out – because they don’t need water- i’d prefer to save the heavy water I have to carry for drinking with the life straw option as a last resort - other than minimal amount for the heater and drinks if you want the drinks/shakes - and they heated them up themselves with the ration heaters, managing not to burn themselves, and actually ate the food. I told them these were about 1200 cal per meal. I told them don’t make this a habit and less you are letting your backpack across the woods for three days – or otherwise in need of mediocre processed formed sausage patty, etc.

Anyway, the point is with the cancer and chemo I am unable to go actually do these backpacking trips right now, so this was a really great date for me to talk about all these things and teach these kids. It was really a blessing.

I hope you all are well. Have a great weekend.

Don

PS – please excuse typos as I did this with voice dictation on an iPad. My fingers are pretty numb lately and I am wearing gloves almost all the time. God bless. – Don