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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Digital Detox (04/24/14)
Toe-Top jumped from his seat as if his pants were on fire when the 2:30 pm dismissal bell rang. It was Friday afternoon and the beginning of a long weekend was finally here. Tomorrow promised an exciting day.

Molly Jensyn, Toe-Top (Mathew Finley), and Aaron Siegel Jr. were the best of friends and were inseparable. Most folks called them “three peas in a pod.” The three shared the same loss with the deaths of their fathers that forged an unusually strong bond that could not be broken. It was sealed with the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Each father was a fireman that died while fighting the same 4-alarm fire.

Saturday was a day they had been looking forward to for weeks. “Molly and Aaron meet me at my home no later than 6:30 am tomorrow.” directed Toe-Top.

“Gee wiz Toe-Top, I never get up before 7:00 am. However, I will be more than happy to get up anytime you deem necessary,” said Molly as she bowed down before Toe-Top as if he was royalty.

“I, Aaron Siegel Jr, promise to be there on time as usual.”

At 6:25 Saturday morning, Molly lightly knocked on Toe-Top’s front door.

“You are late Molly, I have been here for 15 minutes,” boasted Aaron.

“You two are impossible! Next time you give me a specific arrival time, I will get there an hour early and wake you or Toe-Top up right away.” They laughed briefly and were eager to take on the day.

“Let’s make sure we have what we need for today. We need our lunch, bottled water, first-aid kit, a pen, and note pad.” said Toe-Top.

Toe-Top then took a quick stretch and yawn before the three adventuresome kids started off. After walking for a good 3.5 miles, Toe-Top, Molly, and Aaron reached their destination. At least 12 other kids arrived just about the same time. As the group grew larger, the level of laughter grew proportionately.

To the surprise and delight of the group, legendary Grandpa Jim-Tom Sutton walked out of the Forrest Ranger cabin at the foot of Feed-Rock Mountain. Standing at a height of 6,955 feet, it was the tallest mountain in North Carolina.

“The first and most important thing is to turn off your cell phones and place them and your watches in the basket I have here. Take these labels, put your names on them, and place them on your cell phones and watches. This way you will be able to find them when we are finished.” instructed Grandpa Sutton.

“The activity we will do today is called orienteering. You will be in teams of three. You will be given a compass, and a map that has 6 points marked on it. You will use your compass to find each point on the map. However, you will have to find each point in order from 1 to 6. You are mountain kids, and should know how to use a compass.” Grandpa Jim-Tom then gave each group their compass.

“Before we start, close your eyes and bow your heads. Dear Lord, be with us today and show each kid that they can be happy and have lots of fun without all of those gadgets that make life more difficult than it should be. Lord, you know as well as I do, that kids grow up too fast, and never get to learn what your creation is all about. Please keep all of my kids safe, but allow them to get lost and found a time or two, Amen Dear Jesus.”

Most of the kids had owned cell phones since they were 8-9 years old. “What will I do if I get lost?” asked one of the girls in the group.

“I will find you sweetie, yes I will.” Grandpa Jim-Tom’s words were calming, and soon all of the kids were laughing as if they had no care in the world.

After a few minutes of further instructions, each group set off on the course. Each group was assigned a different point to start from. Toe-Top, Molly, and Aaron started their quest at point station number five. The first point they had to find was number 6 and then to find point number 1.

One-by-one, each group successfully found all 6 points before finishing the quest. Toe-Top, Molly, and Aaron finished in second place out of the five teams. The kids had a blast and had more fun than they could remember.
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This article has been read 527 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
05/02/14
This was an enjoyable read and kept my attention throughout. Nice message, and good tale!

Nicely done.

God bless~
Joanne Sher 
05/04/14
Fun little story. I enjoyed the interaction between these friends.

Would have liked a bit less lead-up to the actual event. It felt like the hike wasn't the central part of the story - but that could just be me.

Thanks so much for sharing this piece!
lynn gipson 
05/04/14
This is awesome storytelling. A fine lesson for those kids to learn. Having fun doing other things besides playing with their phones.

Very well done, I say.
Lollie Hofer 
05/05/14
You didn't preach "digital detox" but the message came through loud and clear in a much more fun way than lecturing us. You have a wonderful gift for story-telling.
Sheldon Bass 
05/06/14
This made me want to join in the fun with the kids. You did well with the topic. Good job. I was never certain what age the kids were though, but perhaps that doesn't matter. Keep up the great work!
Mar
05/07/14
Interesting read and clever putting orienteering into the topic of digital detox, orienteering should be an essential skill for everyone! Good job.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
05/09/14
Congratulations on ranking 9th in your level. The highest rankings can be found on the message boards.