The "River Survival" Story

It was an ordinary day. We are rafting down the Susquehanna River. A few months ago I was talking with Tim K. and Sam M. after a scout meeting and they (mostly Tim) thought it would be neat to build a raft and float down the Susquehanna. Our sons were all in the scouts together and they would help build the raft for the adventure so that they could earn another merit badge. Tim wanted to know if Tad and I were interested. Tad was ready for the adventure as soon as he heard the proposal, so we met at the crack of dawn in Tim's driveway a few weeks later and built the raft. It was about 6'x10' and made out of landscaping timbers covered with a variety of plywood and pine planks. Whatever we could round up from our garages. Had to float, it was wood! Tim was in heaven! By lunch we were finished with the raft and loaded it on to a trailer that Tim had rented. Off to the river. Felt like I was in a Tom Sawyer story. This summer Saturday afternoon was scorching. No breeze blowing, and the river was low because we had had very little rain for the past few weeks. Tim backed his car to the river's edge under the bridge which ran from Columbia to Wrightsville. We all pitched in and unloaded the raft and before long it was floating by the shore of the Susquehanna. OK, what's next? Well, this is as far as anyone had planned. If we all get on the raft, what will be do when we float down the river and decide the trip is over? Well, Tim didn't want to miss out on the floating part, so he asked Sam to drive his car and trailer down the river to a location that he knew we could reach in a reasonable amount of time and wait for us there. Sam was delighted to do that. Smart man! We all put on our life jackets that Tim had brought along, hopped on the raft and pushed it out into the current. We did have two paddles from Tim's canoe so we had something we could use as a rudder if necessary. We sat there and sat there. "Where is the current?" I asked Tim. Because of the low river and no rain, there was very little current. Like NONE! The paddle wouldn't be needed for a rudder, but rather to power the raft. Since the raft was rectangular and had no point in the front. It was slow going and hard to paddle. Now, this is the Susquehanna River. Maybe the most powerful and scariest river in the State of Pennsylvania. And we are sitting still as can be on a 6'x10' raft with three cub scouts on a 90 degree day in the roasting sun. We can't leave them jump in the water to cool off, because you never know what could happen on this river. Boy, they are really earning this badge. After a half hour I realize the badge they will earn will be the survival badge! I man one paddle and Tim man's the other paddle and we work our way down the river. It seemed like two days later, but probably wasn't more than two hours, we saw Sam along the shoreline waving to us. We had made it!! Sam looked as refreshed as could be. Tad, Alex, Ben and I were glad we survived. Tim wanted to know if Sam wanted to hop on the raft and go a little farther down the river. He passed on the offer. Smart man! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.