September 21st, 2019

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent I recited to myself as I continued to look for arrowheads in the white sand dunes at Oasis State Park. Once a month I’d come out here with my Boy Scout Troop 411 to clean the park. The park was southwest of Clovis NM and just north of Portales NM. It was a small park with a few sand dunes and a small lake the state had increased from a pond back in the ’90s. Sometimes we’d stay the whole weekend, hanging out and practicing our different skills as we worked to earn merit badges. This weekend, we’d come out yesterday, set up camp, cooked dinner, then told stories around the campfire until it went out. Then we'd looked at stars. Light pollution wasn’t that bad out here. If we were up in Rocky’s at Camp Winnipeg the view of the night sky would be fantastic. Last year I'd slept in a sleeping bag under the stars in one of their closed-off valleys. That view had been breathtaking. Last night the stars that we could see had been enough to point out the various constellations and teach our younger scouts how to find the Big Dipper and the North Star though. Today we’d cleaned up the park, emptying various trash bins. Then we’d walked the parking lots and campsites and picked up any litter we could find. We’d eaten an early lunch then split up to spend a couple of hours sifting through sand dunes looking for any Indian arrowheads that might still be out there. Sure, people had been looking for them for years but every once in a while, a new one would be found.

There were so many collectors in my area of the Midwest that finding a single rare arrowhead could theoretically send the entire Troop to Summer Camp next year. More likely, any arrowheads we’d find would be worth just enough to send one of our scouts from a low-income family to summer camp. Today was one of my last two free days before I had to start packing for my trip to Alamogordo next weekend. This trip was my last chance to spend time with all of my friends from the Troop before I went off to college. Sure, I’d see them online and we’d stay in touch but it wouldn’t be the same.

Johnny, Ben, Mike, Craig, and I had made sure to be here this weekend so we could hang out for one last time. We’d even toned down the pranks we often played on the younger scouts, though we pulled a good one on one of the newer scouts, a sixteen-year-old kid named Carl. His dad had just arrived at Cannon Air Force Base, and this was his first campout with us. We’d convinced him to use the large trash bags to take air samples every five minutes this morning, then tie them down and leave them for the Scout Master to collect so he could turn them into Bioenvironmental at the base. We’d convinced him that the Air Force was checking for air pollution leaking up from the ground after the UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) crash in 1947. He’d fallen for it hook-line-and-sinker. Our Scout Master Landry had tried to keep a straight face when he’d seen what Carl was doing but couldn’t. Carl hadn’t spoken to any of us since then. Though I had noticed the glint of mischievousness in his eyes. I was sure he’d come up with something to get even with us which meant that he’d fit in just fine with the other boys It was Too bad I wouldn’t be around to witness the payback, or even be the target of his retaliation. The look on Carl’s face told me that he was putting some thought into getting even.

Sifting through the sand I thought about how I’d be on my way to New Mexico State University Alamogordo to start my Associate Program. What I was going to do after that point, I had no idea. I was looking forward to getting started though. As I was thinking about the future I was pleasantly surprised when my fingers felt something hard. Focusing on my hand, I moved my fingers until I could grab whatever it was. Success! Moving slowly, I pulled a dull silver ring from the sand. Blowing on it, I removed the sand and dust and lifted it up to let the sunlight play across it so I could get a good look at it. I thought I saw etching along the inside but when I looked closer there was nothing there. I checked to see if it fit. It seemed a little too big when I first put it on. I opened and closed my hand to see if it would slip. It didn’t slip and seemed nice and snug now. It was a nice ring. The safest place to keep the ring was on my finger so I left it there. I turned back to the dunes and went back to work looking for arrowheads.

I spent the rest of the day looking for arrowheads. When I heard the Scout Master’s call to pack it up I stood up, dusted myself off, and started walking back to the parking lot. I saw the other scouts making their way towards the parking lot as well and called out, “Find anything?”

Ben, one of my closest friends said, “Just sand, you?”

“No arrowheads, how about you Johnny?”

“No luck, just a bunch of sand,” Johnny said dejectedly.

“Pack that in boys! You all know we don’t always find arrowheads and next week we’re doing that carwash. We’ll also be doing a couple more carwashes to make sure everyone that wants to go to summer camp next year can!” Mr. Landry said enthusiastically. “Now get over to the wash station, wash your hands and let's get everything packed up so I can get you all home at a decent hour.”

“Yes sir!” Everyone called out.

After I’d washed my hands I helped pack the cars and then pulled out my phone while we waited for Mr. Landry to do one more check of the campgrounds to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. I started by checking the news. My parents and my teachers never understood why someone as young as I was so interested in politics or world events. How could I tell them that it was a way for me to stifle the boredom I sometimes felt. Of course, nothing major had happened. There were reports of murders. Right-wing analysts spinning things towards their narrative. Left-wing analysts spinning their narrative. Like anyone was stupid enough to believe the falsehoods they were spouting. Besides, there were more important things to do than worry about politics. Turning off my phone I thought about the fact that I’d just turned 18 on July 16th and now I was getting ready to head off to college. I had lots of important stuff to think about.

Mr. Landry made his way back to the SUV and jumped into the driver's seat, “Looks good boys, great job cleaning up the park!” He climbed into the driver’s seat, turned on the SUV, backed out, and we were on our way to Clovis. As we came into Clovis New Mexico city limits I thought about where we were. My mind does that, pulling up information as I see, smell, hear, smell, feel, or taste something. For the most part, I ignore it but I reviewed my information on Clovis. Clovis New Mexico sits on the west border of the Texas panhandle. With about 50,000 people, give or take, Clovis is not a very big town. In fact, the biggest town near Clovis is Albuquerque which takes about 6 hours to get to. Amarillo and Lubbock Texas are about two hours away but they’re not incredibly big with only about 200,000 residents in Amarillo and 250,000 in Lubbock. Not much bigger than Clovis but with a little more to do and a larger variety of restaurants for sure.

The drive home was uneventful and too soon Mr. Landry pulled up to my house I jumped out of the SUV. I grabbed my stuff from the back and called over my shoulder, “Sorry we didn’t find any arrowheads, but I was glad to spend time with all of you again today. See you all the next time I’m in town.”

Mr. Landry called back, “Always glad to have you, Johnathan. Tell your mom and dad I said hi and have a safe trip next week. You’re always welcome to come by and hang out. Now I must get these other hellions, I mean Scouts, home before their parents start to worry. See you around.”

The others call out, “See you, Johnathan,” “Don’t have too much fun chasing those college girls” which led to an “Oooooooo” and Mr. Landry saying, “Knock it off!” I stepped back laughing then turned and walked up the sidewalk to my front door as they drove off. I walked into the house and called, “Mom, Dad, I’m home.”

Calling from the kitchen, my mom replied, “We saw you pull in; come on back to the dining room it’s time to eat.” After a short pause, she continued, “and don’t forget to wash your hands.”

As I put my stuff down by the door, I responded with a quick, “Yes Mom” and went to the kitchen sink, washed my hands, and dried them. Making my way to the dinner table, I sat down and asked, “So what did I miss?”

“Nothing much,” my mother answered as she started making her plate then continued; “I went shopping with Sally down the street. Stocked up on food supplies and such, but other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day. “

I watched what my mom put onto her plate and realized they were having a pot roast. Of course, I’d smelled beef when I’d entered the house, but they could have been having steak. But no, they were having pot roast, cooked to perfection with beef, carrots, potatoes, and onions. Oh yeah, dinner was about to be awesome. Closing my mouth before I started to drool, I waited for my mom and dad to serve themselves. After my father handed me the utensils, I piled a good portion of what was left onto my plate. Being an only child did have some perks: no brothers or sisters to share with. Of course, the downside of that point is that I had no brothers or sisters to share anything with. Enough melancholy, Pot Roast!

My family was not much for small talk while eating. Once we were all done, I gathered all the dishes, rinsed them off, and then placed them in the dishwasher. I knew a dishwasher was supposed to wash the dishes, but I’d come to terms with the fact that it was just easier to do what my parents wanted than try to use logic against their logic, which had something to do with it made it easier to keep the dishwasher clear of food. I’d lost that argument more times than I’d like to admit over the last six years.

Jarring me out of my thoughts, my dad asked, “Are you ready to enjoy your last week home before you head down to the college next weekend?”

I continued to rinse the dishes as I answered, “Yep, today was great. I got to hang out with my friends who all have school or work this week, while all I have to do is pack up my stuff and take it easy. You were right, dad, having a plan is always easier on your time.”

“Hopefully that’s not the only lesson you’ll remember,” my dad said with a heartfelt smile. He continued, “Your mom and I wanted to give you one more gift to help you on your way. Come with me.” my dad led me and my mother into the garage.

Wondering what my parents were doing, I followed them into the garage to find my mom standing next to a new-looking, silver-gray, Nissan Rogue. I knew that my father was not made of money and had expected to be driving down to Alamogordo with me next weekend. I had not expected my parents to get me a car. “Are you serious?” I asked with an excited voice.

“Yep, it’s a 2017 model, so it’s not brand new, but it has low miles, and we did get a really good deal on it. Of course, we will be making the payments and covering the insurance, but it should go without needing to be said that you must continue to be the responsible young man you’ve proved yourself to be these last four years,” my dad said with a hint of pride.

Mom took over as Dad stopped. “Besides, with your own car there will be absolutely no excuse for you not to drive home unless the mountain roads are closed due to snow, which we all know doesn’t happen all that often as the plows for those roads are on the ball all the time.”

Stepping forward, tears of joy in my eyes, I hugged my dad and whispered a muffled “Thank you, dad.” I stepped back and bent down a little bit to hug my mom and whispered, “Thank you, mom” to her. After a little bit, I let my mom go and stepped back. That’s when I realized that all of a sudden I felt extremely woozy, and the room felt like it was spinning. I dropped to a knee muttering, “Dizzy,” as I collapsed sideways. My father caught my head and eased me down onto the concrete, rolling me onto my back.

I felt my father put his hand to my head while he muttered, “No Fever, not clammy, overworked, overexcited, dehydrated, think maybe he faint…” were the last words I heard before I drifted off into darkness.