nwiowa
Cherokee, IA
age: 53
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One of my favorite childhood stories to tell occurred in 1966.
When I was 11 and in the Boy Scouts, I went to a week long Boy Scout Summer Camp, in what is now known as Gull Point State Park on West Lake Okoboji, near Wahpeton, Ia.. Even though my friends, and even my brother were there with me at summer camp, I found that after the 1st day that I had become homesick. As each day grew on through the week I got more Emtionally/Physically sick.
Wednesday was supposed to be Parents' Day, when all the Parents could come and visit their young Scouts at the Camp. The Scout Master got wind of my plan to escape the camp, and go home with my Parents mid week, when my Parents were to come visit. The Scout Master called them, and told them not to come. He said I needed to do some growing up, and to get over it.
When I recieved the news that my Parents weren't coming I got very sick to my stomach.
I was sent to the Camp's Infirmary. It was a small wooden structure consisting of 2 small rooms. Where 2 older Eagle Scouts provided first aide to injured scouts, and those like me with belly aches.
There was one lad on the bottom of a bunk bed, stretched out on the bed with his head hanging over the mattress, and into a trash can waiting to vomit.
Being a fat kid the Eagle Scouts had to hoist my fat butt up into the top bunk. Where I lay, moaning, and groaning, while feeling the need to vomit from the stress of not getting to go home.
There was a small window that I could look out of, and I could see my Campsite from the bunk I was in. I got to thinking how much I wish I was over there than on the top bunk suffering. I began to calm down. I got to feeling better and rolled over to tell the Eagle Scouts that I was feeling better, and wanted to return to my campsite. But as I rolled over, everything in my gut shot out my mouth, and I puked all over the head of the kid, in the bunk below me.
Well of course he began to cry, and puke too. My puke went in his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and all through his hair. It was horrible! He was puking , and I kept puking, and he was crying, and puking, and the Eagle Scouts had their handsful with 2 puking and crying 11 yr olds.
After I got done puking, I felt better. One Eagle Scout took me to clean me up, and the other Eagle Scout tended to the other kid. Who was still crying, covered in my puke, and who was now having dry heaves.
I asked the Eagle Scout who was tending to me if I could go back to my Campsite as I was feeling better. He couldn't push me out the door fast enough!
So I returned to my camp.
I realized at the tender age of 11, that I needed to just take it one day at a time, to make it through till I could return home. I made it through Scout Camp just fine.
I have told that story many times since. Simply because it is such a funny story to tell. I know many people have also repeated the story to their friends/family as well.
The one thing that sticks in my mind is: I never knew the kid I threw up on, and I have always wondered how that event in his life shaped him into the person her became.
I just want to say:
"Hey Buddy if you are out there? I'm sorry I puked on you!"
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nwiowa
Cherokee, IA
age: 53
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Geez that's just sad! That no one else has any favorite memories that they would like to share, about living in Iowa.
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yournextangel
Johnston, IA
age: 43
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all of my memories are of here in Iowa... have lived here all my life (except for 13 months in Ohio and want to forget those months...lol) and not really any I would like to share... lived in a samll town and not much happened there.... 
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indiegal1
Indianola, IA
age: 47
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Hello again. My memories of Living in Iowa go way back to when I was about
eight years old. When my great grandmother and great grandfather was here.
We used to have these big family get togethers and they had this big screened
in building set up like a big dining hall. All of us would get together and
have these big dinners and run around the yard and the others would be on
hammocks drinking Iced tea. They had this big huge weeping willow tree in the
yard and one day my brother was messing around and made my great grandmother
mad and she took a stick off that weeping willow tree and swatted my brother.
I told her to stop it and she started to chase me. I ran two house away and kept
running from her. Thought it was the funniest thing. She never did catch me.
The memories of that time are so vivid. It seems the older I get the more I
remember the things I did when I was younger. I was quite the ornery one. One
time I took the hose and turned the water on and started spraying cars that
were driving down the street. One car stopped and I turned the hose off and ran
in the house and sat on the couch like I had been there the whole time. Then
came the knock on the front door. I heard my mom yelling at the people and telling
them that I had been in the house the whole time. Guess they were all dressed
going or coming from a wedding......I finally told my mom one day if she remembered
that incident, which she did, and I told her that I really did do that.
All the best of my memories are from when I was growing up. Have lots of them.
To many to write about. I guess it's because as I got older, around 14, my mom
started to drink and work in bars and from then on I don't care to remember.
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nwiowa
Cherokee, IA
age: 53
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Well there are currently 24 members belonging to Iowa Chat. How about some of the rest of you sharing your favorite memories of living in Iowa. I'd hate to think you aren't posting your memories because you don't have any good memories to share with us. That would be so sad!
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