Guest post by JO

The Ginormus Injury

I was walking down to the river thinking about how fun it would be.  We were at the end of the steep hill and by the bridge to the bank.  Immediately I saw a big stone thinking that I should go a different way.  As I was looking at the rocks, pebbles, and pine needles wondering if it might be my last day on earth and what a lame day it would be to die while I said, "Don't follow me.  It could be dangerous" to my cousin and RO.

I was walking down a steep slope that came off the big stone.  I was luckily still alive.  It led me down to a pond of water.  My only way out was to climb over a big rock.  I climbed to the top of the big rock and saw that it was hard to cross.

There was a huge pile of sticks, but then I thought, "cool, a fallen over tree across another pond."  The tree led to where my brother, my cousins, and my cousins parents were.  I was walking across the pile of sticks with a bottle cap in my hand and one of the sticks snapped!  I fell and there was stick pointing up.  I fell on to the pointing up stick and it went up my shirt and gave me a huge wound.  I kept thinking over and over, "I have blood.  No dought [sic] about it." as I walked back up the rock and realized I had lost my bottle cap.  I didn't bother to get the bottle cap or look at my scratch.

I went across the bridge the usual way and I found where they were.  The first thing I did was show them my wound.  After that I looked for more bottle caps to make up for the one I lost on my fall.  I didn't even find any.  While I was looking I heard a big splash by the place I was when I got my scratch.  It was my brother trying (say sarcasticly [sic]) to cross the fallen over tree.  My Aunt and Uncle figured we had to leave and go back home.  I measured my scratch and it was 5 inches long.  I bet my skin is still on that stick.  I know, isn't it gross?  One of the [our last name] kids was wounded and one was soaked, but all the [cousins' last name] kids were all right.

JO wrote "The Ginormous Injury" this weekend after he came home from the river.  He is a fourth grader who likes World Cup soccer, jumping on the bed, roller coaster rides, and counting the money he's saved for trips to the amusement park. He does not like doing dishes or getting along with his 7 year-old sister. His teacher told me yesterday that JO is the best writer she has seen in years.  He turns 10 next week.