Dear Mom and 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 2 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 cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It
was neat. We never would have found him 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 gas on a fire, the gas can will blow up? The
wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did. 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 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 patrolman stopped and talked
to us.
 
Scoutmaster Don is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he
is teaching 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.
 
Scoutmaster Don isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad
about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the car so
we are trying not to cause him any trouble. 
 
Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Dave dove in
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 pedophile? I have to go now. We are going to
town to mail our letters and buy vaseline. Don't worry about anything. We
are fine. 
 
Love, Jonathan.