Scavenger
Hunt
You're involved in a scavenger hunt—boys versus girls—and
you take off to help your team collect every item on the list. The first
several items are relatively easy but the last item is very unusual. But, upon
reading the last item, you know exactly where to find it. The only problem is
that it...
We were looking forward to the scavenger hunt when we went to a "fun night for grownups" at the church. Pairing up into teams, we anxiously grabbed the lists, knowing that we could find each item with no problem.
A rubbing from a family gravestone? check. A copy of last week's county newspaper? A visit to a local "hoarder" made that easy. A unique pair of salt and pepper shakers? Someone's grandma collected chickens in her kitchen. Took care of that. A dog kennel? We got to the friend's house where we knew this would be portable and "borrowable" just minutes before the guys got there. A single homemade cookie? After we knocked on six doors, we obtained a Snickerdoodle from a lady's freezer! An old wedding photo? One of our teammates had one in her purse, thinking she was going to get copies made for her children in the near future. A lawn chair? Easy peasy. A piece of old sheet music? Found one in the church library. A pocket knife with at least six blades? Someone knew someone who knew someone that carried one! And finally, we had to borrow a MAMMAL-- not a bird nor a fish -- who had been stuffed by a taxidermist. We knew of a few but they were mighty big. And lots of people had deer heads but that wasn't a whole animal. The local museum was closed and off limits. But then.... Mary remembered that her neighbors had their favorite cat freeze dried and stuffed. However, they were gone for the winter. Who would be able to open the house so we could borrow the cat? Cell phones were dragged out, phone books consulted, and calls were made. No luck. And then....Amelia shouted "I know! Get in the car!" Off we went to the owner of a hardware/hunting store. When we explained our mission, Joe McCarthy laughed and got in the car with us. Down to the store, we zipped. He opened the door and said, "Anything you can carry, you can bring down to the church!" We looked at deer, at elk, at wolves, at foxes. Too big. Just then, Mary spied a small prairie dog in a glass case close to the floor where kids could look. "How about this?" "Sure!" He opened the case, Amelia found a large handkerchief in her purse, and off we went (with Joe in the car!) to the church.
Rushing into the fellowship hall, brandishing all our items, we were ready to claim our prize! Until we saw the row of smiling fellows, looking at a mangy raccoon that had been languishing in Bill's attic for (obviously) many, many years.
What fun! We learned a lot about our little town in that fall evening!
