What's A Guy Like Me Doing At The Jr. Youth Lock-In?

From my house, I could see that there was some interesting activity happening over at the church.  So, even though it was already way past my bedtime, I decided to do something bold.  At 10:45 at night, I decided to go see what was happening at the “Jr. Youth Lock-In”.

I know, you’re probably saying, “Wow, that Dan is reckless, wild, slightly crazy and ready to try anything!”

Yep.

Just moments after I walked in the door, it was announced that we would be playing Hide & Seek.  Well, I must admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve played Hide & Seek.  In fact, the last time I played Hide & Seek was probably close to 60 years ago.  I’m a 52 year old minister, and as you can probably guess, we rarely play Hide & Seek at ministers’ meetings.  But everyone seemed to assume that I was there to participate, so, I thought, “Okay.  Sure.  Why not?”

[Don’t try to do the math from that previous paragraph, it will only confuse things further.]

In the first round of Hide & Seek, I quickly ran to my hiding spot but within half a minute, or so, four other students were crowded into the same hiding spot with me.

I said, “Hey, this is my hiding spot.  Go find another place.”

But, they didn’t listen to me.

Well, it was tricky, but making a strategic move—with the stealth of a ninja—I quickly located another spot and guess what?  I was the last person to be found.  Really.  I was the last one to be found, which made me the winner of round one and the recipient of…let’s see…well…I received…um…uh.

Well, anyhow, it made me the winner of round one!  Impressive, huh?

One round of Hide & Seek had been played and I had already established myself as a force to be reckoned with in this Jr. Youth Lock-In!

A little later, as the third round was getting underway, one of the adults noticed that we had already broken some type of shelf at the church.  Suddenly, the lights were turned on and the students were gathered together around the scene of the accident and it was pointed out that, yes, in fact, something had been broken and a mess had been made.

I’m not sure—because these things are tricky to prove—but I think several people were tilting their heads in my direction or inconspicuously crossing their arms and secretly pointing my way.  Then, before I knew it, there was some talk among the chaperones of calling Nadia and having her come to pick me up!

“Hey, what’s going on?!?” I thought.  I think I’m being framed!

Listening to the chaperones discuss the situation further, from my vantage point in the “Time Out” chair, I could tell that, once again, I was in trouble.  “How is this happening?” I wondered.  I didn’t remember breaking that shelf.  So, during a minor distraction, I slipped out a side door and headed back home.

And now, here I sit, typing.  It’s well past midnight and I’m tired.  This is very late for me, but, I must say, it sure was fun while it lasted.  For 45 minutes, or so, tonight, it was like I went back in time.  For that brief time, this evening, it was…oh…[wistfully] it was as if I was a kid in the youth group again.

Well, I suppose I better get going.  I still have a paper to write for English and I have an early morning test in Biology!  I’d hate to put those things off till the last minute.