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Fireworks At Scout Camp l I knew that being a scoutmaster to 18 boys was not going to be a walk in the park, and that I would have to keep my eyes open every minute. That included during the night, when they tried to draw on everyone’s face with indelible markers. It also often meant an inspection of their gear before camping trips. How the fireworks got past my inspection, I can only guess. But when we arrived at scout camp and started to unpack, I sensed that something was wrong. All the boys had gathered in a huddle, and loud oohs and aahs were emanating from the group. I worked my way through, and found Mort with a huge cache of extremely explosive items. There were fireworks and firecrackers that I wasn’t sure would even be legal anywhere but in the military. However, I knew for sure they weren’t legal at scout camp, and especially a scout camp that was on Forest Service land. “Mort,” I exclaimed, “what do you think you’re doing? You know very well that those aren’t allowed here. If we get caught with them, we could all be sent packing.” 36