The Test Between Work and Kids

by Nick M.

One early summer day, before the sun rose, a busy dad woke up so he could drive to a meeting an hour away for his job. But this was no ordinary job. His company created weapons of destruction for the government. Even though this job was horribly demoralizing, it got him paid. It got him paid a lot. His family was very wealthy, not only because of his business but because of his wealthy grandparents, who had gotten their money bootlegging whiskey, but now he was into the legal side of business.

Richard Knapp, or as he called himself, Rick, was dreading the day ahead of him. He had to renew his contract with the military leaders at the Pentagon. This was very stressful because one of the biggest bombing operations in history was going on in Vietnam. This operation was called Operation Rolling Thunder. Since the beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder, in 1965, his job had gotten ten times more brutal. His bombs were not performing as well as they had at the beginning. Rolling Thunder was now in its second year, and he had been supplying bombs since the beginning. His usual routine was to be at work by six in the morning, and he arrived back home around seven in the evening. This had been really tough on his three kids because of the long work days, and they just sat around the house doing nothing. So Rick had been bugging them to get out of the house and go camping in the nearby Sugarloaf Mountain Area. But first he had to get through this meeting.

“So, you want to continue your deal with us.” A big man was standing in the corner.  

Rick felt like he was at an interrogation table with the bright lights shining down on him. “Yes, I think I should,” replied Rick.  

“You think? I thought you were the owner of a company. You couldn’t have gotten to the top by thinking!” The big man was walking across the room.

“No, I know I should continue. My bombs have killed almost twenty thousand people and have destroyed three hundred miles of roads. Ain’t that good enough for you?” replied Rick. Rick did think in the back of his mind of another company expanding in the bomb industry; he just hoped the big man wouldn’t bring it up.  

“I hope you know we called you here because another company has come up the same way you did. And this company is almost as good as you. Now tell me why we shouldn’t give the majority contract to him and send you down to the minor leagues,” declared the big man.  

Oh s**t, whispered Rick under his breath. “Well, um, well, my company is the best,” Rick replied quietly.  

“Is that all you have to say for yourself? You have a week to come back with an argument,” said the big man.

Okay, okay, that did not go as well as I had hoped, thought Rick. I have a week, I have a week, what can I do what can I do in a week? He was thinking real hard when finally he realized that his neighbor’s son was coming home from being a pilot in Vietnam. He could talk to his neighbor’s son and find the ways to make his bombs better or the reasons why the military should continue the contract. Just then his favorite song came on: “I'm a Believer” by The Monkees. For some reason the song just brightened up his day, and he was ready to get home and help his kids pack for their camping trip.

He got home at noon. His kids were awake. They were ready for tomorrow, since it was the day they were going to leave on their four day camping trip. This one was going to be more exciting than the last ones because Dad would not be going. Just Rick Jr., Tyler and Ashley. The youngest, Tyler, was ten, but Rick Jr., who was sixteen, would be able to take care of his siblings without help from his dad. The only help he needed was packing.

None of the kids were looking forward to the packing. For the last trip the packing had taken three hours and their dad yelled at them the whole time, so this time they were hoping it would be different. It was different at the beginning. Rick was happy to get his kids out of his hair for a couple days. He was still worrying about renewing the contract, but his kids made him forget the problem when Rick Jr. and Tyler started to fight. Then Rick got mad, because he hated when his kids fought. He quickly stopped the fight over who would carry the food for the trip.

They were just about to finish when Rick got a call from his office, and his secretary told Rick he needed to come in immediately. The son of his neighbor, Daniel Boone, had come back that day, and he only was spending two days in the United States, so if Rick needed to talk to him he needed to come down immediately. Rick told his kids to finish packing while he ran off to his new Chevy Camaro. On the way, he called his wife to ask her to take the kids to the trailhead and drop them off because he would not be back for two days. He had to travel to southern Maryland and back. While Rick was doing this, he was also packing his briefcase.

Rick quickly jumped back in his car and made the two hour drive in an hour and a half. When he got there it was almost seven, and an opportunity to meet with Daniel had disappeared. Rick decided not to meet with him that day but wait until tomorrow.

So the next morning Rick went up to the house of Daniel and knocked. Daniel answered the door. He seemed like a brick wall, completely different from the frail little kid who used to bike around the neighborhood. They quickly reintroduced themselves.

“Hey.” Rick was walking into the house.

“Hello, Mr. Knapp,” replied Daniel.

“No Daniel, call me Rick. Okay, let’s get started,” spoke Rick. “First, just tell me what is going on and what the conditions are in Vietnam.”

“Well first of all, the targets we are hitting aren't anything. They are just dirt roads and bridges. I mean, the other day we saw a MiG factory with no protection whatsoever, and I was even tempted to just drop my payload on it,” ranted Daniel. “I have always been told never to bomb factories because there might be Soviets or other commies in them, and God only knows that the next World War to break out will be nuclear.”  

“Right now my company's contract with the military might be dropped, so I will no longer be the majority holder of the bomb contract. Can you tell me how to make the bombs better?” replied Rick.

“I’m sorry if I go on for too long, but this is the first time I have gotten to vent without my superiors looking over me,” Daniel said with hints of anger in his voice.

“I won’t think less of you for venting about the mistakes of the operation. Here is a list of the new bombs we are going to build.” Rick was looking through his briefcase. “Oh, no.” Rick looked up at Daniel. “Well, it doesn't seem I have the papers. I must have forgotten them. But can you tell me why you think my bombs are effective?” asked Rick.

While waiting for Daniel to reply, Rick was thinking to himself how nice it would be if Daniel could see the new or improved bombs they were going to make. Daniel could give Rick feedback so Rick’s company wouldn’t make a lot of bombs that never get used.

“Your bombs are the best because they are the most accurate and have the biggest explosion for the payload size. Both of those are good because you can destroy more of the stupid paths and so you can have a better chance of hitting your target,” Daniel told him. Just then the phone rang, so Daniel got cut off.

Daniel got up and answered it. He came back and gave it to Rick because it was meant for him. It was Rick’s wife, and she was asking about the compass and the map that was on the kitchen table and if the kids were supposed to have them. “Daniel, sorry, but I am going to have to go,” Rick replied, running out the door. I can’t believe my kids are out in the woods without a map and compass. I am so stupid, Rick thought. Rick was about to cry, but he had to hold back, because he knew he could not figure out what to do with a clouded head.

On the way home, Rick remembered that he had been about to pack the compass and map when he got the call about his neighbor’s son, so that must have been when he put them on the kitchen table and his kids never packed them.

Just then he stopped because of the traffic. It felt like he was in a parking lot. Up ahead was the town of Cambridge, Maryland. It took Rick an hour to pass the main town, and there was a huge mass of people. They only seemed to be African Americans. It must be a race riot. It was: the  Cambridge race riot of 1967.

This race riot severely delayed him. Even though he was getting delayed, he understood their cause. African Americans had been fighting for equality for years, and they still had not achieved it. Rick supported their cause and even had participated in the March on Washington a few years back. So he knew the feelings towards equality that the African Americans had. They were dying in Vietnam for the United States, and they still did not have equal rights in the country they were fighting for.

The second Rick got home, he ran to his room and packed a bag so he could go searching for his kids, who were most likely lost because of the maze of trails in the park. He packed food for two days just in case he couldn’t find them tonight. He got the map and marked out the areas where his kids might be so he would search there first. Then he raced over to the Sugarloaf Mountain Area where his kids were.

He started out running down the path, yelling out his kids’ names. He soon got tired, though, and walked down slowly, looking off the sides of the path. After walking for about an hour, he looked to the west and saw three shapes that looked like his kids, so he ran over towards them. He dropped his pack and fell on the ground next to them, hugging them, but strangely they seemed all hard and wet. He was so caught up in the moment that he did not notice that his children were logs. Rick looked back and could not see the path. He decided that since it was getting late, he would set up camp and stay there for the night because it was stupid to search for the path and maybe get himself lost.

As soon as Rick set up camp and bedded down, the worrying set in. What if one of them’s hurt? What if a bear attacked them? What if they run out of food? Then Rick realized that he had trained them well and none of that was going to happen because they knew what to do in the wild. So finally, after what seemed to be like an eternity, Rick fell asleep.

It was nineteen thirty seven. I feel like I have been wandering around in a circle forever, thought Rick. I know I have seen this tree at least three times. I can’t believe I forgot my compass and map. At least my dad has probably noticed them on the kitchen table by now and is searching for me. Just then Rick heard a rustling in the bush next to him and he froze solid. He remembered what to do if a bear attacked him. Rick fell on the ground and did not move; he did not even dare to breathe, even as the black bear came out of the bush next to him. The bear was an inch away from his face. He could feel the cold, wet nose of the bear on his cheek. Rick felt like he was going to die right there. So he said his prayers right then and there and prepared for his death. Just then, the bear got spooked by a silent noise. Rick didn’t know what had spooked the bear, but he was thankful something did.

Rick woke up in a cold sweat. He wished that what had happened to him when he was fourteen would not happen to his kids while they were lost.

Rick got up as soon as the sun rose to start looking for his kids. He looked everywhere while he was walking. He finally, after three hours, spotted a tent pitched pretty shoddily on the side of the path. His kids were almost safe. As soon as he got to the tent, he called their three names, and they all answered. Rick started sprinting towards them; his kids were in his reach. He was about to cry for being so negligent in his packing, but he had to stay strong for his kids.

He soon apologized to them all for working too hard and forgetting about the most important things that you need for a backpacking trip. The kids looked like they were about to cry. They must have been lost, Rick thought to himself. Rick quickly gave them a big hug. The tears started to flow from everybody. These were tears of joy.  

As soon as they got home, their mom gave them big hugs and kisses, and she sent them upstairs to clean up for dinner. While they were doing this, Rick turned on his favorite show, “The Fugitive,” and sat down and relaxed. Since his kids got home safely, it felt as if a bag of rocks had been lifted off his shoulders.  

Then the next morning, just as it started, a tired Dad woke up to drive into D.C. He had good news for his family and his business, because he found out why his bombs worked so well. He was in no rush this morning, so he stopped by the 7-11 near his house for a doughnut. Rick thought to himself how lucky he was.

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