Captain Penguin Flies Again

I have not written in a while....too much school work. I do have a story that Jack wrote back in 5th grade ....good stuff....it was for his History class

Jack Murphy

Social Studies

Block II

September 15, 2006

Captain Penguin Flies Again!

 Beep! Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Went the alarm.

 “Trouble.” thought Captain Penguin. He then ran over to where the alarm was. Turned on the screen on to see where the crime was. “Somewhere in Nevada.” said Captain Penguin.

“Actually it’s the Great Basin sir.” said a voice. 

“Jerkins! It’s you!” startled Captain Penguin (Jerkins was Captain Penguin’s Butler.)

“What’s a basin?” asked Captain Penguin.

“A basin” started Jerkins “Is a low region surrounded by higher lands.”

“Thanks” echoed Captain Penguin’s voice as he ran out the door he then hopped into his helicopter and took off. Jerkins face appeared on part of the helicopter. 

“I hope you know your geography!” taunted Jerkins.

“I do to!” squawked Captain Penguin.

“Ok then what is it?” smirked Jerkins

“It’s. A … it’s … Um” stuttered Captain Penguin “It’s the study of the way people live and use the earth.” said Jerkins in a singsong voice.

“Yeah whatever.” said Captain Penguin “What am I supposed to use geography for anyway?” asked Captain Penguin.

“This villain is an odd one,” said Jerkins “He is part chameleon.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Captain Penguin.

 “I mean that he can blend in with his surroundings.” said Jerkins.

Captain Penguin then started the helicopter and took off. After a while Captain Penguin noticed something strange. There were big bumps along the surface of the earth. Glob monsters thought Captain Penguin. He then put the helicopter in attack position and then aimed at the nearest glob.

“Bombs away!” shouted Captain Penguin and was about to press the trigger when.

“No Captain Penguin don’t do it!” shouted Jerkins

“Why their evil globs!?” asked Captain Penguin “No. No they’re landforms!” laughed Jerkins

“So?” asked Captain Penguin.

 “You don’t know what landforms are do you?” asked Jerkins. 

“Maybe.” said Captain Penguin.

“Ok” began Jerkins “Landforms are shapes on the earth surface.”

“Oooooh” said Captain Penguin. After a while Captain Penguin got bored. “Are we there yet?” asked Captain Penguin

“Why you’re the pilot?” said Jerkins

“Yeah but I’m bored.” said Captain Penguin. 

“Yeah but you’re the pilot you should know how long the trip is.”

“Yeah but I’m bored.” said Captain Penguin.

This went on for an hour until they finally stopped. Then Captain Penguin realized something. A person was moving along the flat surface. Then suddenly the person disappeared then reappeared in a different place. “Jerkins” shouted Captain Penguin. “I see the villain and he is running on a flat thingy!” 

“That is a plain.” said Jerkins

“I know I know!” shouted Captain Penguin. “You probably don’t know so I’ll tell you. A plain is a large area of flat land.”

“Exactly what I was going to say.” said Captain Penguin.

After crossing the central plains, and following the villain along the way, our hero soon came upon another strange thing. A small river flowing then joined to a bigger river and many other rivers connecting to the big river.

Our hero watched this, transfixed in childlike wonder at the bright blue rivers. “Those are tributaries sir.” said Jerkins. “Tribe u tarties huh.” thought Captain Penguin. “I’ll get my rifle I know how to deal with Indians.” said the Captain. Then reached out to part off the helicopter and grabbed a shotgun. Then this childish penguin switched the helicopter to auto pilot. Then leaned out the helicopter and scanned the surface for Indians.

PLEASE DON’T BLAME HIM HE IS ONLY A PENGUIN!

“Captain Penguin what do you think you are doing!!!!” shouted Jerkins.

Before Captain Penguin could answer something interrupted him.

“Helping me win of course!” snarled a voice. Just then something appeared inside the helicopter. “The villain!” shouted Captain Penguin.

“Lucky guess.” said the villain. If you want to know the truth this villain was an ugly one. Half of his face was part chameleon and the other half was part human. He had a chameleon’s tail too. “That’s all folks.” said the villain. Then he busted the controls. After that he jumped out the helicopter and pulled his parachute string. Then the helicopter fell out the air and into the river.

But Captain Penguin was prepared for this.  He pressed a button and inflated a raft around the helicopter landing safely in the river. “Now that we are safe Jerkin’s tell me what a tributary is.”

Jerkins replied, “A tributary is a stream or river that flows into a larger river.” 

They flowed down the Ohio River into the Mississippi River into Arkansas River. On the way Captain Penguin fixed the controls and they took off again over the Ozark Plateau and then the Great Plains towards the Rocky Mountains. He changed the helicopter to a higher altitude and said, “What are these huge rocks? They look like gum drops. Is that sugar on the top?”

“No Captain Penguin, it’s a mountain range, which is a series of many mountains”

“It still looks like gumdrops to me.” whispered Captain Penguin.

After crossing the Rocky Mountains, Captain Penguin spotted the villain. “There he is on that flat surface!” The villain then saw them and disappeared.

“Actually Captain Penguin, It’s a plateau, a flat surface that is higher than the surrounding land. It’s the Colorado Plateau.”

But Captain Penguin didn’t hear the Colorado Plateau part and landed the helicopter on the plateau. Then he rushed out of the helicopter with a flag with a penguin on it and drove the flag into the center of the plateau. He shouted, “I call this plateau The Plateau Penguin.” He then took out a sticky note wrote on it and placed it on the flag. It said, “One small step for a penguin, One giant leap for Penguin-kind”

Jerkins said, “You can’t call it Plateau Penguin.”

“That’s unfair Jerkins, I named it before you did.” exclaimed Captain Penguin.

“No!” said Jerkins, “Someone named it before you did. It’s the Colorado Plateau!”

“Why must you ruin my fun Jerkins.” sighed Captain Penguin. “Oh well, I have a villain to catch!”  He then saw the villain running toward the Grand Canyon and followed in the helicopter.

The villain began climbing into the canyon as fast as he could. Since he was part chameleon, this was quite easy. He hopped into a small boat when he got to the bottom of the canyon.

“Gee what a big ditch.” said Captain Penguin. “It must have taken a group of kids their whole summer vacation to dig that!”

“No!” said Jerkins impatiently. “It’s the Grand Canyon. A canyon is a deep valley with steep sides.”

“Tell me about it.” sighed Captain Penguin. He then pressed a button that released a huge butterfly net, hanging from one side of the helicopter. “I’m gonna catch me a lizard!” shouted Captain Penguin. “YEE-HAA!!!” He then flew the helicopter into the canyon. 

Meanwhile, the villain turned on the motor to his boat and sped off.

Captain Penguin glared at him. “He thinks he is so smart with that little motor. Let’s see what he thinks about this!” He pressed another button in the helicopter and turbine engine accelerated the helicopter toward the villain. He maneuvered the helicopter to capture the villain. “Uh oh!” exclaimed Captain Penguin “I wouldn’t want that to happen.” as he stared at the speed boat motor. He pulled out his shot gun and fired at the motor. BANG!!!! He demolished the motor in a single shot! “They don’t call me dead eye penguin for nothing!!!” He scooped up the villain with his net and carried him off. 

They headed off to jail and on the way Captain Penguin asked the villain a question.  “How come you left Nevada?”

The villain answered, “You took too long. I grew impatient waiting for you. So I came to get you to destroy you!”

“Ha!” said Captain Penguin. “I’m lucky we caught you sooner, because I would have found something on the landscape that I didn’t know and Jerkins would have to explain it to me and make me look like an idiot.”

Jerkins replied, “Never an idiot sir, just misinformed. I hope you are ready for the test you are going to get when we get back.”

“Thanks.” said Captain Penguin sarcastically. “I always could rely on you.”

THE END

 

Court of Honor

Here are some of the short speeches that the boys wrote for the recent Court of Honor for Scouts. I asked several boys to write a short paragragh about a scout activity they participated in and how it relates to the scout laws. (Jack wrote this set!)

Even though it has been over 100 years, the scout oaths and laws and expectations remain the same. Part of being a scout is doing new things and learning how to be a leader. Whether you are assistant patrol leader, scribe or troop leader every person is important to the troop.



Summer Camp

What was the best week of your summer? For most boy scouts it was spent at boy scout camp. It is a week with no technology, which is normal for the scout masters but difficult for the modern day scout. Classes take place outside which is a lot of fun. There is canoeing, rowing, fishing and bird watching, Some take place in the woods, like wilderness survival. This is probably one of the most challenging of all the merit badges to earn. You make your own shelter and sleep on the ground in the woods. Somehow, it always rains this evening, making it even more challenging.

Morning activities that are not merit badges but still fun are the polar bear swim or running the mile and basketball.

A scout learns to be clean during the week. If you don’t clean up after yourself, mice can come and steal the food you leave out. You and your bunk mate also need to keep your tent clean.

Half way through the week the parents come to see how much the boys have accomplished. Scouts learn to work together, competing in the evening race on parent night.

So what are you going to do this summer?





Service Project
The scouts participate in many different service projects in the community.
Each fall the scouts help the local food pantry by putting out flyers and collecting canned food. They help with the home tour by being courteous greeters at the different homes in town. They clean up bike trail in the spring and last year they helped clean up Camp Seph Mack. We also put out flags at the local cemetery.

Starting a Fire
The most important thing that a scout in troop 135 will learn is how to start a fire. There are many ways to start a fire. Using matches, a fire starter and even gasoline. But Troop 135 knows how to start a fire by using flint and steel. Starting a fire with flint and steel is important because you may have gotten your matches wet while canoeing. Also you may have used all your matches to start fire crackers on the Fall Hike.

In Conclusion, Scouting is about accepting challenges and setting high expectations for yourself. It’s about learning to work as a group as you work towards bettering yourself. It means being true to yourself and living the scout oath and laws everyday of your life, not just on a scouting trip.


These were written by some of the 6th and the 7th grade boys,

Fall Hike

Cooking with Kate: Valentine's Edition

Kate wanted to make chocolate covered strawberries and other goodies for Valentine's Day. It took me a while, but here are the pcitures from our fun eveing. I didn't do anything but clean off the table to give her room to work....GO KATE!!

 

 The ingredients

 The yummy magic!!!

 Graham crackers with marshmallow fluff, soon to be covered with chocolate. Kinda like a smore!

 More!

 and more!

 Tray 2! with some chocolate covered Oreos!!!

 Finished off with a drizzle of white chocolate!

Thanks Kate for making it a great evening!

KLONDIKE DERBY

This past weekend, Jack's scout troop hosted the Klondike Derby at the Grove. I was worried about finding parking but the leaders are good and plowed out there and fires were going and even though there was no running water, we were able to make some ham and bean soup, hot chocolate and coffee. I bout about 4 gallons of water and after washing the pots at home, filled them with water and brought them back...we were able to have the basics.

The boys were broken in patrols and went to various stations demonstrating their skills in fire building, first aide, wilderness rescue, team work on an obstacle course, ice rescue and a tomohawk throw. There was also a sled race around the little league field. They finished the day just as the drizzle started and made it back to the scout hall in the pouring rain. The Big Stags Patrol from our Troop came in 1st and jack's Badger Patrol came in 4th. The Big Stags came in 2nd in the race getting beat out by a team from Confluence, I think. It was a great day. Here are some pictures from it.

bunny tracks

There is a rabbit scooting around my house this cold, cold winter. Not in it, but leaving its little tracks outside. At first I panicked....'what if those are rat tracks' I thought. 

But when I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink, I looked out my kitchen window. 5:30am it was. Whose cute little face and dark button eyes was looking up at me. A brown rabbit. Stopping, looking, hopping across the driveway. I went to the front door and he hopped across the front steps, down the sidewalk and a left turn into the back yard. 

Poor little guy. Is he warm? Does he have enough to eat? I worry about the little critter. I want to leave some food out but I don't want a rat coming aroung and stealing it!!!

My plan to capture a photo of him....leave my camera by the kitchen sink, so when I see him again, I can just pick up the camera and share his adorable face with you!!

Fun days...Snow Days

We have had lots of snow this Winter. Quite a few snow days. One week we had two days off in the middle of the week and by Saturday we couldn't wait to get out of the house. So we made it to the Fire and Ice Festival in Somerset. When they were little, I loved going to the children's programs. The local bank gave out free books, we would sit and read and drink hot chocolate, ready to face the cold again and get some homemade soup and kettle corn.

Here are some pictures from the day. The theme was Flight 93 from the crash on 9/11.

Last weekend we stayed home most of the time. Friday was a fun night at the school and I taught some kids to play chinese jump rope. Jack had friends over Saturday and it was bitter cold. The kids and I cleaned. I made ziti for the boys and a veggie tray and they ate some Christmas popcorn that I still had here. Two moms came early to get them and we sat and talked over hot tea in my semi-clean kitchen. I like that I am friends with their friends parents. It makes me feel....safe. The boys and polite and fun.

Jack stayed over Flip's house last night, so Kate and I got our 'girl nite' and watched 'Eat Pray Love' I read most of the book, but had some trouble with the premise. It is touted as "she quits her job to travel the world to find herself" quit her job, really??? She got a dam advance for the book she was going to write on the experience of finding herself. She was already a successful author so the publisher advanced her. Give me a break. I still cried some. There was a scene where a guy is saying goodbye to his college age son and it made me think of the future when my kids leave for college. Yuck.

Kate has wanted to go snow tubing but it is so expensive for 2 hours...Her Sunday school teacher works at the state park nearby and they have sledding there. So....I made hot chocolate, hot dogs in the crock pot, kids brought snacks and I drove the Laurel Hill State Park with food, 2 sleds, one tube and 4 kids in the car. It was a fun afternoon and the boys built a fire in the fire ring there. Here are some pictures from the afternoon.

Tonight we are watching our other Netflix, season 2 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Absolutely hilarious!! Love the story lines.

Thankful Things

Now that the holidays are over, I need to review all those things I am thankful for. Little moments over the past week that I got to enjoy as well as some bigger things that I have reflected on over the past year:

Little Things

watching Kate open her 'Pillow Pet'

Watching my brothers open the t-shirts Jack picked out for them

spending time with Krissy and the kids in the city

Seeing Matt at his swanky Park Avenue Office

texting Kathy every chance we got

watching Jack text his cousins

taking the car to the train to the subway and hiking through slush to get to the Met for the very first time

Watching Annie help Jack with his Spanish HW (yes 50 pt assignment over break)

(at first I was annoyed by this, but God helps me find the good in it and that was seeing how amazing Annie is at Spanish!)

Watching 'Monk' with Mom and Dad

getting a teapot and picture travel mug from the kids

seeing Jack read the plaques under Monet's paintings at the Met as intensely as he reads his comic books

watching Kate draw and imagine and dream

Bigger Things

thankful for my healthy children

spending time with our new-found cousins "The Warms"

looking at the empathy and perseverence my children display with our little friend with Autism

seeing that same compassion in my brothers

Trying to look at a child with a problem not as 'what if my kid were in that room' but instead 'what if my child suffered like that' and growing in empathy and patience

Thankful for the friends and family that helped bring me to where I am today and hoping I add as much to their lives as they have added to mine.