Hospital Mario Kart

Hospital Mario Kart

When you think of the Hospital you usually think of sick dying people that are sitting in their white beds eating gross food. It's not exactly the favorite place to be. As a society we avoid going there and hate to pay for the expensive bill. Everyone goes there and most don't have the best experiences there. Rarely there are people who remember the hospital visit in a good way. I am one of these few people.

I admit when I first went to the hospital I didn't want to be there. Being five years old it was scary not knowing what was going on and what would happen. I had a double hernia and was in a lot of pain. It was hard to walk and preferred sitting down. This particular visit was very memorable. I can remember the room I was in waiting for the operation. It was a colorful room with lots of toys and games. Of all the games I wanted to play Mario Kart. This was the beginning of the memorable trip to the hospital.

After playing Mario Kart for a few minutes some really tall guys came into the room with some balls. I was interested and moved away from my virtual box to see what was going on. I saw the balls they had and asked if I could have one. One of the big tall guys chuckled and asked if I wanted him to sign it. The balls had Jazz on the front and Andrei Kirilinko and Deshawn Stevenson signed the ball. It wasn't that big of a deal really to me. I didn't watch much sports and didn't really understand how cool this was. I'm glad because what I asked them next was very brave considering how famous these tall men were.

I asked the players if they wanted to join me in playing Mario Kart. I don't remember exactly what they said next, but next thing I knew I was playing a video game with professional basketball players. I didn't know what I was getting at the time but years later I would realize how crazy this experience really was. I chose the level being one of the hardest ones in my opinion. I was going to test these players. The level I chose was the freeway level with all the cars.

They beat me after one game. I was shocked at how good they were! I thought all these guys could do was shoot a ball into a hoop. I told them thanks and my mom came in and gave me some options on flavors of sleepy gas to have. I decided on bubble gum. The next thing I knew I was sitting on a bed with my family around me. My grandma gave me a big bear and I had the taste of bubble gum and a little pain on my side. To this day bubble gum seems to give me a bad taste in my mouth and almost make me dizzy.

This experience was very fun and cool. I still have the ball the players gave me. It's crazy how someone can change your mood and feel for an experience. One day I hope to give a kid a great experience like this that makes a bad feeling turn to a great one. Maybe one day I can even challenge the pro's to another game of Mario Kart and win!  

The Food Fight

The Food Fight

Food Fights always look fun on the television. Starting with one mad person a chain reaction of food is spread through the whole cafeteria. Kids hiding under the counter with spaghetti on their head throwing eggs at another's face. The whole scene always looks crazy and looks like chaotic fun! As kids we always joked that on the last day of school we would have one and no one would get in trouble because we would be free from the faculty after the day. It was fun to joke around about. I never thought this could really happen though especially where it did to me.

It was a typical dinner at my house one school day. We had all gotten back from school ready to eat some food. We were all starving and right after a very short prayer we dig right in. My mom had made some great spaghetti with some special hamburger sauce. My favorite, especially on a tiring week day after school. We all thought spaghetti would be a perfect dinner. We soon realized this dinner was not the cleanest one we would have.

I start looping my fork around the food when I notice my mom and dad arguing about something. I didn't seem like much so I put my head down and continued eating. The talking got louder to the point I knew that something was the matter. My mom lost her temper and almost teasing through some small broccoli pieces from her plate. My dad countered the nutritious attack by throwing some wet noodles at her. She half smiles trying not to hold back her excitement. At this point I was so shocked and confused I just stood there frozen holding my fork in the air with a spoon full of applesauce.

This little battle turns big fast. My childhood mentors start chucking their spaghetti at each other like it was the new sport. My sister and I, both in shock, stare at each other and decided telepathically that they are angry and we need to leave. We follow our instincts and jolt out of the room.

When this exciting minute or so is over we all look at the kitchen to see the damage. It was the biggest tornado of sauce I had seen in person. There was blood stains of tomato every where. The walls caked with hamburger and applesauce. We stand in amazement waiting who will break the silence. My parents start by bursting out laughing. Nervously we chime in and wonder what was going on.

Apparently this was their strange way of getting over the fight. I can just see the picture of them laughing while they through the food that would paint abstract masterpieces all over our home's walls. It was like punching a pillow, or counting to ten to get your anger out. Only time it was throw food at each other until we are no longer mad.

This experience was fun, but I wish I knew they weren't throwing it to be mean, but in a strange way for fun. If I had know this I defiantly would have changed the picture of the room. Instead of a mess it would have been a disaster. I can myself sitting there looking at my plate realizing what was happening. In the moment I wish I had grabbed some food and joined in on the fight. Then I could say I was in a food fight. I could have also said I cleaned up a giant mess too.  

Rapids

Rapids

               Scout Camp is always memorable. Whether it be for good or bad, there is usually some fond memories from the great outdoors. Stories vary from the awesome fifty miler that sounded fun for the first ten miles to the camp gone wrong when you forget a jacket and it starts to rain. Some have a great time catching twenty fish or eating steak for dinner. Most leaders in the meanwhile fretting whenever one of his scouts tries starting a fire or uses his razor sharp knife to carve something out of wood. Lucky for me one of the many scout camps I went to was a thrill and very memorable.

                We went to Moab for a summer scout camp two or so years back. It was nice and hot and we did a lot of things up there. We did things like hiking biking and even cooked crawdads. There are many memories that will last up there, but one of the best and most thrilling ones was the day we went up rafting the rapids.

                We were all jumping off the tin metal walls of the bus as the driver gave us instructions that sounded something like: blah, blah, blah. As the leaders showed us cool formations on the rocks our bishop told us a story. He told a story of when him and his family went up to Moab and did the same rapids as we were about to do. He told us that his wife was sucked under the water and was down for quite a while they were freaking out trying to find her. Finally they got her and refer to it ever since as the day she almost died.

               Well, being teenagers for about three seconds we felt a tingle go down our spines. Then we went back the excitement of the rapids. When the bus driver stopped we stampeded down and got our life jackets on and headed for the rafts. We had a guide that went with us to help us through the water. We were a big group and wanted to stay together. When I saw the raft this guy pulled out I looked around and saw the only thing comparatively close to the size of this thing was the bus. We were the elephant of the group and were excited to go on the water.

                The water was crazy and fun. It was rough and bumpy giving us some crazy air. We switched around spots and eventually I ended up on the very front end of the raft. I was so excited to be the first to feel the big waves and have water splash on my face. As I looked ahead I saw what looked like a water version of the grand canyon. At first I started, along with my fellow scouts, to yell in excitement. When I got up to it I started to scream. There was this big splash and one of the kids tried grabbing onto my life jacket. He couldn't hold on as he was engulfed by the monster. I felt my self in the air and thought I was a goner. I closed my eyes embracing the landing. When I looked up we were in half and I was in an unknown spot of the raft. We popped up out of the water and everyone looks around accounting for each other. They look at me and realize what had happened. They realize it before me as I stare in disbelief. I was on the other side of the raft laying down. That rapid had thrown me all the way across the raft to the other side. Again, being a scout I laugh and climb on to the front again waiting for another big wave.

               Now I really am glad we had the bus raft after all. River rafting is so fun and I would love to have that experience again. It's moments like these when you realize how fortunate we can be in this life. We can do some crazy things and somehow we live to tell the tale. This experience has helped me appreciate life and the fun things we have the opportunity to do.   

This is my new blog for English!