The Bowie Knife (A Quick, Humorous Story with a Valuable Life Lesson)
I Was Nine or Ten?
And my scout troop was camping at "Camp Bucocco" in Pennsylvania, USA. Woods, dirt, tents, concrete latrine buildings(we'll get to those in a minute).
I'll Call Him Dwain
Though I really don't remember the kid's name, the lesson I learned from his experiences were burned into me for a lifetime. (They were that funny. lol)
Dwain had a 6" Bowie Knife, just under scout regulations for length, and it sat in a simple leather sheath on his belt. Dwain was quite proud of the knife, his Dad had given it to him, not too long before.
The Uproar
The knife was close enough to being "over the limit," it came to the attention of the staff. As things go, the knife was declared scout 'legal' and the incident spread to the whole camp.
The Pack
Dwain was the most popular guy around, constantly attended by 8-15 kids at a time, all wanting a look or feel of the knife. Dwain had a lot of smiles the first several days of camp.
The Latrine
So, I'm sitting in the concrete latrine, either 4 or 6 stalls, and I hear "The Pack" coming close. (Told you we'd get back to the latrines.) Kids are whining and wheedling to see the knife, "Just for a second!" and Dwain is having a good time turning them down. Then Dwain announces, "I'll be right back."
No Time Like Latrine Time
I hear Dwain enter the latrines and enter a stall. The door closes. A few minutes later I hear...
Oh Shit!
Followed, a few seconds later, by a SPlOOP sound, down in the deep, dark, smelly, latrine pit. Heh
Sad Puppy
Dwain was a sad boy the rest of that camping expedition. Nothing cheered the kid up. He was looking to the future when he would have to explain to his Dad where the knife went. Ouch!
Moral of the Story?
Never hover non-replaceable items, over holes of non-retrievable depths. :D