Date: Sat, 3 May 2003 14:25:57 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel-book 6, chapter 16

Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts.
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if:
**You're not 18 or over,
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story.  Placing this story on a
website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's
permission is a violation of that copyright.  Legal action will be taken
against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this
chapter, and Art for his additional input on each chapter.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge
all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various
sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

The Castaway Hotel-Book 6-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2000 by billwstories
Chapter 16 - A few more precious memories.        November 2002

The flight to Boston went smoothly, and we checked into our hotel room.  I
had reserved a room with two double beds, so the boys could have one to
themselves, in case they felt a little frisky.  I'm not sure if they would,
with me in the room with them, but who knows what they might try, once they
thought I was asleep.  Besides, it was going to be a weekend of
celebration.

Friday night, after we stopped for dinner, we took a walk around part of
downtown Boston, just to pass the time.  It was nice and relaxing, but we
actually didn't get to see very much, as it was already dark out.  By the
time we returned to our room, it was late, so we just decided to turn in
for the evening.  Tomorrow we would see more of this wonderful place, but
this time in the daylight.

The boys had actually been very subdued tonight, and there were probably a
couple of different factors adding to that.  First, part of it was probably
due to the fact that we'd had a very long day, having gone to school first,
before catching our flight.  Then there was the time we'd spent wandering
around Boston, but it was probably also due to the fact that we were in the
same room.  We also knew we had a big day tomorrow, part of it fun, and
part strictly business, and we wanted to be fresh for both halves of the
day.  We might have time for a brief rest in between, but it's better if we
are completely rested when the day began, so we wouldn't have to worry
about running out of energy.

Saturday morning we got up early, went out and had a decent breakfast, and
then I took the boys for a walk along the 2.5-mile long Freedom Trail.
There are sixteen historic sites on that trail, places straight from the
time around the birth of our nation, and things I thought the boys should
see.  Some of these places are now publicly funded, while others are
privately owned, but either way they had been preserved for generations to
come to visit, so the visitors could appreciate some of our country's past.
The publicly funded places we could visit included Boston's Old State
House, Old South Meeting House, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere's House, Old
North Church, Bunker Hill Monument, the Charlestown Navy Yard, and the
Dorchester Heights Monument, which is now located in a residential
neighborhood.  It would take some time to do all of that, and it would
require some physical exertion on our part, but I felt we could handle that
and still be in good shape for the banquet later.

I think we all had a strange feeling as we started this tour, and it wasn't
just because we were going to take a route that many of our country's
forefathers had traveled.  The trail we were about to follow was marked by
a line, in some places it was painted red, while in others it was just a
brick line on the payment, and it was almost like we were in the Wizard of
Oz, following the yellow-brick road.  Our journey began at The Boston
Common, the oldest public park in the country, which was established in
1634.  It is almost 50 acres in size, and was a focal point of the
community from its inception.  From there we went to the Massachusetts'
State House, modeled after Somerset House, which was considered to be
England's leading 18th century civic building.  Governor Samuel Adams and
Paul Revere set the keystone for the building on July 4, 1795, and in 1802,
Revere was commissioned to cap the wooden dome in rolled copper.  It opened
in May of 1796, becoming the first state house in the new union.

Next in line was the Park Street Church, which was built on the site of the
old town granary, where grain was kept before the Revolution.  It is an
Evangelical Church, dating back to 1809, and has celebrated many firsts.
It had the first Sunday school, in 1818, and the first prison aid, in 1824.
"My Country 'Tis of Thee" was sung at the church for the very first time,
by the church's children's choir.  The Granary, established in 1660, is
also the third oldest burial ground in Boston, and there are former
governors, clergymen, mayors, and three signers of the Declaration of
Independence buried there.

Next we walked up the street to King's Chapel, which was actually the
replacement for the original wooden chapel, built in 1688 on Puritan burial
land.  This chapel now sits next to the oldest burial ground in Boston, and
boasts the remains of Massachusetts' first governor, John Winthrop.  From
there we went to see the Ben Franklin Statue, one of Boston's most famous
sons, and it sits next to the oldest public school in America.  The Boston
Latin School was built by Puritan settlers on School Street, in 1635, and
was an important fixture in Boston's past.

>From there we walked to the Old Corner Bookstore, which had been the
launching pad for publishing in America.  The building had been converted,
so it could house seven presses, and the owners began to print and sell
books from this location, including titles by many of the most important
writers of the day.  After seeing that building, we crossed the street to
look at the Old South Meeting House.  This building is now dwarfed by the
more modern buildings that surround it, but at one time its steeples
established part of the city's skyline, rising above the masts of the ships
in the harbor.  This building has seen its share of historic moments, as it
was the rally point before the Boston Tea Party, and it was also the place
where the community commemorated the Boston Massacre.

Now we walked up the street, to where the Boston Massacre took place.
Believe it or not, this started out over a supposed unpaid barber's bill.
On Monday, March 5, 1770, at about 8 p.m., a young wigmaker's apprentice
began to pester a British sentry about owing the bill, although the officer
had a receipt showing he had paid it.  Eventually one of the soldiers
became annoyed with the young man, and butted him with his rifle, though it
wasn't clear whether this deed was done by the same soldier whom the boy
was taunting or by one of the others.  At this point a crowd began to
assemble, and the crowd became increasingly rowdy.  As Boston had been a
powder keg for some time, the nervous British soldiers fired their weapons,
and eventually five men died from wounds inflicted there.  Patriot
activists used this incident to arouse public support for their cause,
including the distribution of Paul Revere's famous engraving of the
'massacre'.  Although the engraving was factually inaccurate, it was a
propaganda success, and it helped push the colonies closer to rebellion.

>From there, we crossed the street to the Old State House, circa 1657.  It
was first called the Town House, then City Hall, and in time became known
as the State House of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The Declaration
of Independence was first read from its balcony, and it stood on the site
of Puritan stockades and Boston's first trading floor.  A little farther
down we stopped to see Faneuil Hall, built by Peter Faneuil as the city's
first market, but it proved to be too small by 1805, and had to be
expanded.

We were all getting a little weary at this point, and more than a little
hungry, so we stopped to grab some lunch before we continued our
sightseeing.  The boys talked nonstop about some of the places we had
visited, telling me that they could almost imagine what it might have been
like to live here at the start of the American Revolution.  Although the
areas around these places had changed, once you focused on those historic
structures, everything else began to fade and you could almost forget that
centuries had passed.  After about an hour breather, we resumed our trek,
knowing there were only a handful of places left to see.

Our first stop after the break was Paul Revere's House, which was already
90 years old when the 35 year-old Revere purchased it in 1770.  However,
over the years the house has been modified several times, to serve as a
store and a candle factory, before it was restored to what the restorers
hoped was a realistic interpretation of how it might have appeared in
colonial times.  Little of the original dwelling actually remains, but it
provides an idea of what the early dwellings might have been like.

After walking a few more blocks, we came to the Old North Church,
technically called Christ Church.  This is the oldest standing church in
Boston, and the old Georgian styled steeple was the setting for the lantern
lightings mentioned in the phrase, 'one if by land, two if by sea".  In
fact, each year, about mid-April, there is a 'Lighting of the Lanterns'
ceremony held to commemorate Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to
Lexington, to warn 'the Red Coats are coming, the Red Coats are coming."

We also did a quick walk around Copp's Hill Burying Ground, first used in
1660 and named after William Copp, a shoemaker who once had a house on that
spot.  Among the notables buried there are Cotton Mather, a Boston minister
who determined that witchcraft was the basis for the problems in Salem, and
Edward Hartt, who built the USS Constitution.  From there, it was quite a
long walk to the place where the USS Constitution was on display, but we
continued on.  That ship was nicknamed 'Old Ironsides" during the War of
1812, when shot after shot bounced off her hull.

The final stop of this simple tour was at the Bunker Hill Monument.  It
opened in 1842, and commemorates the first time a unified colonial army
took the field against the British Army.  The 221-foot granite obelisk
actually sits on Breed's Hill, where most of the fighting took place, and
it marks the fist major battle of the American Revolution.  We climbed to
the top of this monument, to take in its amazing view, but this concluded
our brief trip back through history, and we knew we had to get back to the
hotel and get ready for the banquet.

We flagged down a taxi, preferring to ride back to the hotel, instead of
walking that far again, and then we went up to our room and showered,
before we took a brief rest.  When we woke up from this brief hiatus, we
put on our suits, and did the other things necessary to get ready to attend
the banquet.  This affair was much the same as the one we had attended in
Pennsylvania, although the setting was more elegant and there was a feeling
that this was more of an honor than before.  It was evident as we wandered
around the room, looking at the artwork and reading the various writing
selections, that the level of achievement was much higher here, and the
displays were much more impressive than before.  I could only imagine what
the national banquet would be like.

The meal was delicious, and this time I had ordered the beef selection,
which turned out to be prime rib.  The boys had ordered the same thing, and
we all enjoyed it immensely.  Following the meal, the winners were
announced and the plaques presented, and I couldn't have been more proud of
Trey than I was the moment his name was called and he went up to receive
his award.  He, like all the other winners, received a very nice ovation
from the crowd, but we gave him a special congratulatory response, once he
returned to our table.

When it came time for the keynote speaker, we learned that tonight's
address would be given by a very distinguished college professor.  He began
by going over the benefits of what a good education could do for a person,
and then he congratulated the winners on taking advantage of their
opportunities.  Finally, he challenged them to continue to build upon the
impressive talents they had already displayed, and use them to not only
improve themselves, but also the world they lived in.  Looking around the
room, I could tell that each of these young persons seemed to be taking his
challenge seriously, and making their own silent commitment to do as he
suggested.

After the banquet ended, we stayed for a while longer, talking to other
winners and their parents, amazed by the diverse backgrounds they came
from.  We met some from inner-city schools, and others from wealthy
suburban districts, and their families ran the gamut of the social-economic
spectrum.  Although the majority of the students seemed to come from
professional homes, I was more impressed by those who had risen above their
background, and went on to achieve at levels unknown to their families and
communities.  They were truly the success stories here.

After spending an additional hour talking, we returned to our hotel, but I
told the boys I was going to visit the hotel bar for a while, giving them
some time to be alone.  I told them I'd return no sooner than an hour from
now, to let them know they'd have some time to themselves.  I think they
appreciated this gesture of recognizing their need for privacy and
intimacy, and they both hugged me before they sped up to the room.  As they
disappeared toward the elevators, I went into the bar and ordered a drink.
There was a piano player in the bar, and he was quite good, so I sat down
on a stool, sipped my drink, and turned to listen to the soothing songs he
was playing.

I actually stayed at the bar a little longer than I told the boys I would,
making sure they had enough time to themselves.  Besides, the music was
good, the drink prices were reasonable, and I actually lost track of time.
When I got back to our room, the boys were cuddled up together and sound
asleep, so I slipped quietly into my own bed, ready to cut a few z's of my
own.

The next morning, we got up, got ready, and packed our bags, before we went
down for breakfast.  After we finished eating, we went back to our room,
grabbed our luggage, checked out, and then caught the shuttle to the
airport.  A couple of hours later, we were in the air, on our way back to
Pennsylvania.  It was a short, uneventful flight, and once we landed, I
made a quick call to Jake to let him know we'd be back shortly.  After
hanging up, we made our way back to where we had parked the Grand Am,
loaded our things inside, and headed home.  As we pulled into the driveway,
it almost looked as if no one was there.  The van and the Suburban were
parked out front, but we saw no signs of life, which was highly unusual for
our place, especially since they knew we'd be there by now.  Confused, we
grabbed our things, walked up to the door, slowly opened it, and went
inside.  There wasn't a sound in the house, that is, until people jumped
out from all directions, screaming "surprise!"

The three of us jumped when this happened, and my heart skipped a few
beats, but I should have suspected they would do something special for
Trey's triumphant return.  Once again the whole extended family was there,
the Shays, the Spences, Aunt Sally, and the Beckers, and there were
congratulatory cards and letters stacked up on the phone stand.  Many were
from those in attendance, but some were from family members who couldn't
make it, while there were still others from friends, including a huge stack
from teachers who had had Trey in one of their classes.  It was all very
nice and it meant a great deal to Trey, who couldn't wait to show them his
new plaque.  After that we sat down and had a very nice meal, as everyone
had brought a very large dish or two to pass.  We topped that off with
dessert, as we each had a piece of congratulatory cake, which Jake had
ordered while we were gone.

We spent another hour or so after that, just sitting, talking, and
answering questions about our brief stay in Boston, which seemed to really
interest Vinnie.  Seeing he had grown up in the Boston area, he remembered
having visited some of the places we stopped at along the Freedom Trail,
and he had questions and observations to make as we talked about the trip.
I didn't let this go on for very long, as I didn't want to bore everyone
else, so we soon began to discuss other topics, mostly current events.
When the party broke up, and everyone went home, we went up and unpacked
our things, getting geared up for another day at school.

The next week brought a couple more surprises for us, the first one not
being very pleasant.  It was a letter from our insurance company, letting
me know I would have to drop Vinnie from the family auto insurance policy
or my insurance would be canceled.  I called my agent, as soon as I could,
and he told me it was standard practice with a new driver, if the claim was
over a certain amount.  Seeing the 4Runner had been totaled, it was
definitely over that amount.  He then explained to me that I could put
Vinnie on his own policy, but he warned that option would be expensive,
because of Vinnie's age and driving record.  I told him to go ahead and
remove Vinnie from the policy for now, and I'd get back to him about how I
wanted to handle this on a permanent basis, as I had other considerations
to take into account.  What I was actually thinking was that I was going to
check with other companies, to see what they could do for us, as I wasn't
happy that I've been paying this company sizable premiums for many years,
and now that we've had a claim, they want me to remove one of the boys or
cancel my policy.  What the hell did they think I was paying them all this
time for, my health?  I wasn't just donating to their surplus all this
time, and now that we have a reason to collect, I don't see that as
justification for what they were doing.

I was planning to call around and get some quotes from other insurance
companies, explaining our situation, and then inquiring if their company
would have done the same thing.  I'm so mad about this now that I might
just dump this company out of spite, as I don't wish to give them another
penny of my money for that type of coverage and service.  I'm tired of
those companies that have their hands out, happy to accept your premiums
and promise you coverage in return, but the first time you need to collect,
they want to drop you faster than if you'd picked a hot dish out of the
microwave.  That's not my idea of the type of company I wish to deal with.

Later that week we also learned that Andrew's drawings, the ones of Cody
and the house, had won ribbons at the art fair.  The ribbons were awarded
based on age groupings, and Andrew's had won a ribbon in the pencil drawing
and watercolor categories for his age group.  We were all thrilled for
Andrew, especially Cody, who wasn't hesitant to inform Andrew that he won
because he had the best model.

"See, I told you you'd win, because you drew the picture of me," he told
Andrew, slightly tongue in cheek.

"How can that be, cuz I won for the picture of the house too?"

"That's easy.  The judges knew I was inside the house too, so they gave you
a prize for both."  As he said that, Cody punched Andrew lightly in the
shoulder, letting him know he was only teasing.  However, Andrew wasn't
about to take this, without making a retort of his own.

"Then next year I'll draw a picture of some really old, shriveled up
person, and I'll bet that will win a prize for that one too, just to show
you my winning had nothing to do with you."  Andrew was smiling as he said
this, and then he punched Cody's shoulder, to emphasize his point.  This
good-natured ribbing went on a while longer, and then the boys wrapped
their arms over each other's shoulders and went outside, to do what, I
don't know.  However, I think they had gotten closer over this experience,
even if Andrew had worried about having drawn that picture in the first
place.

A few days after that, we received more good news.  At that time we learned
Sammy's essay on history had qualified him to be one of the students chosen
to go to a very special camp.  There were about sixty students chosen
throughout the region, and they would be the ones to attend a special
history camp in early May, instead of going to their regular classes.  The
part that impressed me the most was the fact that nearly every student in
every freshman history class in the area had written essays that were sent
in for this contest, but only around sixty were eventually chosen.  This
represented only about 10% of those who entered, so I was proud of Sammy's
accomplishment.  This reminded me of something the first President Bush had
once referred to as 'points of light' illuminating America's future.  I've
learned over the past few months and years that I have several points of
light of my own, brightening my life and preparing to make their own unique
impact in this world.  I consider myself a very fortunate guy.

As May approached, not only did we have Sammy's camp looming before us, but
we had some graduations coming up as well.  First of all, I'd be going with
Mark, to see him graduate from college, and then Frankie would be
graduating, with a degree in criminal justice from his two-year college.
After that, Ricky, Pat, and Jay would be graduating from high school, and
getting ready to go on to college.  Even though Jay is technically not part
of our family, he has often been included in our family activities, and he
has been like another son/brother to all of us.  Therefore, he would be
included in all our celebrations too.

The history camp came first, and it was a mixture of archaeological studies
and a chance to experience activities from the past.  The group was split
into smaller groups of ten or so each, and these groups would spend half a
day at one of these activities, or they would all join together for some
larger activities.  Sammy told me later about some of the things they did,
and I'll try to relate them to you, so you can appreciate his experience.
The archaeological site wasn't really a dig, but merely a chance to locate
and discuss various items.  The college professor and a couple of his
graduate students 'seeded' the site with artifacts that the students could
discover, and these artifacts were from a previous period in our history.
After the students discovered them, they discussed what they appeared to
be, what they might have been used for, and how they might have been used,
but they also discussed the layout of the site, and why they found what
they did, where they did.

The area had been 'seeded' with a variety of interesting items, including
square nails, blacksmith tools, an old, worn out sickle and pitchfork, a
pickaxe, an old metal flatiron, the type you would heat on a stove, a
washboard, a two-man hand saw, an axe, a hatchet, and chisels.  In addition
to the tools, there were pieces of old pottery, dishes, utensils, and an
assortment of bottles, made of various colored glass.  Some were blue,
others green, a few were amber, and some were brown, and they came in a
variety of sizes and shapes.  They then discussed whether these bottles
might have been used for medicines, perfumes, or beverages.  They then
discussed the reason for using colored glass, instead of clear glass, as it
was believed that sunlight could affect the composition of the materials
contained within the bottles.

After discussing the uses of the various items, the students were then
asked to imagine how difficult simple tasks must have been to perform
during those times.  As everything was done by hand, they came to
understand the various steps required to complete simple tasks, like doing
laundry, making a meal, building a house or barn, or just heating your home
in the winter.  It wasn't quite as simple as today, where you pop the
clothes into the washing machine, prepare a meal using a stove or
microwave, after buying your food at a store, hiring someone to build your
home, or going to the store to pick out your furniture.  Only the wealthy
could afford to have others do these things for them, while most people
would have to do this for themselves, or do it in cooperation with groups
of other individuals, such as with a barn-raising.  I think they began to
comprehend how different things were back then.

The students were then asked to try to figure out the layout of the home,
by studying the foundation and considering the items found there, and then
they were asked to determine what the other, smaller foundations were for.
The also discussed the use of the outhouse, when there was no indoor
plumbing, and then they were told where it would have been located, how
often it was moved, and what the occupants would have done at night, rather
than venture out to use the outhouse.  I think the students found this not
only very informative and quite fascinating, but they began to appreciate
the advantages they now enjoyed.

In another class, the students were given the opportunity to card wool,
which would have been required to make the yarn they would need to make
clothes with back then.  They would card wool by drawing the raw wool
between two small paddles, which had thistles or little metal teeth
imbedded in them.  The wool was pulled between these paddles to straighten
and separate the fibers, drawing them into strands, and then these strands
were spun together into yarn, by using a spinning wheel.  After having a
chance to try their hand at carding the wool, and then trying to spin it
into yarn, the students were also given a chance to use an old-fashion
loom, to weave the yarn into fabric.  They were then shown several examples
of the rough, homespun fabrics that might have been used to make their
clothing, had they lived back then.

At another site, the students were given the opportunity to make candles,
under the supervision of a graduate assistant.  After explaining how
candles would be made from tallow (animal fat), beeswax, or later paraffin
(a byproduct of crude oil), he showed them how to use paraffin to make
their own candles.  They would use a variety of molds, attaching their
wicks in the mold, and then they were given a chance to add color to the
wax, if they so desired.  The students had also been given a chance to
start a fire in an old wood stove, on which they would heat the wax they
would use to make the candles.

In another area they got a chance to try washing clothes, using a large
washtub, a washboard, and a bar of Fels-naptha laundry soap.  They had to
pump their own water, using an old-fashioned hand pump, and they discovered
how much more difficult this was than just turning on a faucet.  After
washing a few items, they got a chance to try to iron some other fabric,
using an old flatiron.  They had to be careful, so they didn't burn
themselves as they did this, but I think most of the students were
surprised by how heavy the iron was.

At another site they were given the chance to churn butter, using an old
wooden butter churn, but they discussed the whole process of making butter,
from milking the cow by hand, and separating the cream from the milk,
before churning the cream into butter.  While at that location, they also
got an opportunity to see how a smokehouse was used to cure meat, and they
talked about other ways to preserve food, before the advent of
refrigeration.

Another location gave them the chance to chop wood, using an axe or
hatchet, to show how they would get building material to build their house
or furniture, or how they would prepare the wood they would use to heat
their home with during the cold winter months. Not only were they allowed
to cut the wood, but they were given a chance to split some too, using just
the axe to do this, or by using wood splitting wedges and sledge hammers.

At still another area, they were allowed to use two-man handsaws, one-man
handsaws, rasps, chisels, and other hand woodworking tools, to give them a
chance to see what it would have been like to make their own furniture for
their home.  After cutting the wood to the right length, they were given a
chance to smooth or shape it, before it would have been assembled.  Then
the students were also shown a variety of items that they might have built,
from simple tables, benches, stools, chairs, and bed frames.  Then they
were shown how they would have used ropes to supply the tautness to support
the mattress, instead of using bedsprings.

At the final site, they were given a chance to prepare a meal for
themselves, but to do this they had to work with adults and prepare
everything from scratch.  They made a soup, using raw vegetables that they
cut up themselves, and then they made bread dough, using yeast to make it
rise, and then they baked a previously prepared dough into bread, which
they would then use to make their sandwiches with.  When they had finished
all that, they made a pudding, but not from a box mix, like they might do
at home, instead making it from scratch and cooking it on a woodstove,
before letting it set. When their next mealtime rolled around, that's what
they ate, bypassing the meal prepared by the staff.

Sammy told me later that the camp was fun, and he learned a great deal, but
he was glad he didn't live back then, because everything was too much work.
He said he learned even the kids had to do much of the work, and many
didn't get a chance to go to school, or they only went when there wasn't a
lot of work to be done at home.  He also told me that with only candles and
lanterns to use for light, it was hard to do much at night, so everyone
went to bed early, and got up early, and that was certainly not the thing
modern teens like to do.

However, no matter how much Sammy learned or how much he enjoyed that camp,
it was not the most memorable part of the trip.  That happened on the way
back home.  Sammy was riding in the second bus, and sitting in the third
seat on the right, when one of the kids sitting behind the driver screamed
that something was wrong with their bus driver.  Sammy was sitting in the
aisle seat, so he could see the driver slumped over the wheel, with the bus
still moving down the highway.  He and another boy made their way toward
the driver's seat, and realized the guy was unconscious, but his foot was
still on the gas.  Fortunately the bus was on a straight stretch of highway
at the time, but the boys could see they were approaching a curve up
ahead. Knowing he would have to react quickly, Sammy pulled the driver's
foot off the gas pedal, stretched his own leg across the bus driver's leg,
and pressed on the brake, slowing the bus down.  While he was doing that,
he told the other boy, and the kids in the seat behind the driver, to grab
the bus driver's clothes and pull him upright, getting his weight off the
steering wheel.  Once they had done that, Sammy worked the gas and steering
wheel, slowly guiding the bus off the shoulder of the road, and getting
them safely out of harm's way.

The other bus didn't notice anything had gone amiss at first, and they
continued down the highway.  However, a short time later, the other driver
noticed the second bus was no longer behind him, so he pulled off the road,
and then turned his bus around, to see if the other bus had broken down.
When he found the other bus, Sammy had already had one of the other kids on
the bus flag down a passing motorist, to ask that person to call for help.
Luckily the driver had a cell phone and dialed 911, and then that driver,
and the other bus driver when he arrived, began to see if there was
anything they could do to help the unconscious driver.  It turned out
Sammy's driver had passed out, due to a low blood sugar level, and he
wasn't even aware that he was diabetic.  When the ambulance got there, they
revived him, took him to the hospital for observation, and then he was
released.  However, another driver had arrived to drive the bus back, while
the person who brought him waited to take the other driver back home.
After seeing how he had handled himself in that situation, I guess it was
fortunate that some of my older boys had been giving their younger brothers
driving lessons, without my knowledge.  Even though it had helped to save
the day, this was something I thought I should address, once the hoopla
from this event died down, because I didn't think encouraging underage
driving was such a good idea.

All in all, I'm glad that things worked out the way they did.  Sammy not
only had a good time at the camp and learned a lot in the process, but he
and the other boy were now called heroes, and received quite a bit of
attention because of what they had done.  Not only did the local newspapers
write it up, but they were given special recognition at their schools too,
and several parents sent them letters or cards, expressing their gratitude
for their quick thinking and possibly saving several lives.  I guess it was
just another shining moment, in the midst of many stars.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
by clicking on the Nifty author link and scrolling down to "BW".  This will
give you the links for everything I have posted there.

E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.