As summer found New York again, Jimmy found himself and his Boy Scout troop flying out to Arizona for a two week long camping trip. His father had worked hard to organize the trip, raising the money so the boys didn't have to pay much to go. It was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Too bad they didn't appreciate it.

Filmont Park, their destination, was a two thousand acre park. It had lots of trails and camping spots, as well as many wild animals they would have to be on the lookout for. The trails they were taking would give the Boy Scouts two weeks in the forest until they completed their circuit through the park – the longest camping trip the boys had ever been on.

The troop started off through the park. Jimmy and Andrew marched together. At first, there was joking and laughing, but the voices trailed off into silence as their excitement wore off but the walking continued. And then the complaining began.

Ahead of them, Jimmy noticed Ron scoop up a rock and quicken his pace until he was behind Nathaniel, who had given voice to the most complaints so far. Carefully lifting the top of Nathaniel's pack, Ron deposited the rock inside and then stepped back.

Andrew and Jimmy exchanged a glance. At first, the idea was funny, of weighing down Nathaniel's pack – that is, until the complaining got worse.

And worse.

And worse.

When the cursing started, Jimmy's father turned around. "Whoever curses from here on out owes me a quarter for each word!" he bellowed, thereby ending the swear words but not the complaining itself.

When they finally stopped for a brief rest, Nathaniel discovered the rock in his pack. And he was certainly not pleased. Which led to Mr. Brandt giving the boys a lecture. Which led to Ron grabbing a piece of old donkey dung off of the ground and throwing it at him, just missing his father. Jimmy thought his father was going to kill his brother, he looked so angry.

And that was only the beginning of an extremely long two weeks.

The complaining continued on throughout their hikes, and so did the rebellious behavior. The boys walked by the rocks of one part of the trail, where the snakes lay sunbathing, ignoring Mr. Brandt's orders to return to the trail. Only a close call with a rattlesnake striking scared them back to the path. Once, they missed their turn completely because they were complaining so much they had quit paying attention and Mr. Brandt had decided not to interrupt their whining.

Three hours they wasted that day doubling back to find their trail. One of the boys had approached Jimmy's father after they got back on track, handed him a dollar, and then started cursing up and down. It was the only time on the entire trip that everyone had a good laugh, no one laughing harder than Mr. Brandt.

Jimmy had the misfortune to be assigned to share a tent with Nathaniel. For the most part, it was only normal annoyance. But one night, Nathaniel's bad decisions came close to possibly costing lives.

That night, close to midnight, Jimmy woke to hear a noise outside their tent, something snuffling around in the dark. Immediately, he froze, knowing what it was instantly.

It was a bear.

Slowly, Jimmy shifted and glanced over at Nathaniel. The other boy was awake as well, and judging by the look on his face, he knew exactly what was meandering around outside their tent.

There's no food in here, Jimmy thought, racking his brains to try and figure out what had attracted the bear to their tent. Dad told us no candy or scented soap or anything that could attract bears in the tents. So if there's nothing here to attract it –

Jimmy almost groaned.

"Nathaniel," Jimmy whispered. "Do you have any candy in here?"

"No," Nathaniel shot back. "Do you?"

"Of course not," Jimmy hissed. "Why would I have candy in here?"

"Why would I?" Nathaniel retorted.

Because you always disobey Dad? Jimmy thought grimly. Because you never listen?

The bear snorted outside their tent.

I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun Nathaniel. I know, I'll trip him going out of the tent.

The boys held their breath as the bear nosed around their tent for several more minutes before wandering off. Jimmy and Nathaniel both exhaled simultaneously, relaxing a little.

The overall attitude of the trip wasn't helped when one of the Boy Scouts got a fever. Mr. Brandt traveled behind the troop, stopping often to let the kid have a rest, staying up late in order to rejoin the rest of the group.

Finally, the camping trip was over, with everyone intact, although very grumpy.

However, Jimmy's father never organized a trip like that again.