Biography: Dads Make Bad Babysitters

Write a story prompted by a personal photo. What words do you need to tell the whole story, beyond what we can see in the photo?

Left to Right: My brother, Andrew (Age 7) and Sean Danilko (Age 4)
Summer 2009 (Personal Photo)

The summer between 4th and 5th grade, my family went camping with the Danilko's. My brother and I were 7 and 10 respectively. Melanie and Derek had a son, Sean, who was 4 at the time. Melanie also had an older son, Tom, who was about 13. The moms decided to run into town to grab some food for that night (I think we were out of stuff for s'mores). While the ladies were gone, the dads decided it would be funny to "babysit" the kids by duct taping us all to the trees around our campsite while they drank beers by the fire. Tom, being a teenager, had a pocket knife and simply cut himself free. I was, and still am, always cold, so I just slipped out of the hoodie I had on. The two younger boys were, unfortunately, a little more stuck without adult assistance. We all had a good laugh and even got some chuckles from other campers who wandered by. The moms were less amused when they got back, but it was pretty fun!

This was also the same trip where Derek caught a HUGE fish at the campground lake... himself.

(Not graphic, I promise)

Whatcha got there, Derek?
(Personal Photo)

Showing off his newest piercing
(Personal Photo)

Unfortunately, it was a barbed hook, so a quick trip to the local emergency room was required to remove it. The rest of the trip went off without any other incidents though!

Author's Note:

I feel like I should say that all of us kiddos were 100% on board with the tree thing and weren't restrained against our will. Tom and I only made a run for it when it took the moms like 20 minutes longer than expected to return. The only one harmed during this trip was Derek, and it was his own fault with no permanent damage.

I've been doing my darndest to insert a little humor into this crazy world through these biographical writing assignments. I hope it's been working! I know these trips down memory lane have been a huge relief for me. There's just something about that happy nostalgic feeling. I hope everyone's doing okay! Hang in there! We're almost done!