June 26 2016: Etch-a-Sketch crisis - Jake, we need you!

Today at 9 AM, we got another... update! And the instruction to listen tomorrow at 9 AM.

It has been warm and I have been making much use of the opening windows Roger installed in my cabin last season. That breeze is heavenly. Today, though, for some reason, it was a little sticky. I tugged and tugged and it wouldn't open, until it flew open hard, knocking everything in its path onto the floor. The Mifi went down and so did the Etch-a-Sketch. I found that I was almost indifferent about the impact on the Mifi, but I was holding my breath over the Etch-a-Sketch outcome.

In 2009, Jake, in his first year, revealed many talents to us. His talent as an Etch-a-Sketch artist was among the most remarkable (but I will add that it probably isn't the most remarked on. And Jake, you know what I'm talking about.)

Jake created this impossibly genius piece of art after the second fire of the season threatened our camp. The second fire happened on July 4. Something about smoking in an outhouse a few cabins south of us. We were out in the skiffs when we saw it. We rushed in to see if we could help. Our heroic neighbors were there before we were and saved their neighbor's cabin. Luckily, the wind was blowing away from their cabin. Unluckily, it was blowing in the general direction of ours.

The helicopter with a water scooper came to try to put out the fire (it looked sort of like it was delivering a thimble full of water from where we were) and a B-52 loaded up with red fire retardant stuff came flying over our cabins, dropping the red stuff on the other side of the lake behind our cabins in an effort to stop the fire's progression. The fire fighters told us that we probably wouldn't have to evacuate, but they didn't want to have to deal with the paperwork if we died from the fire, so if it looked like evacuation was necessary, they would be sure to let us know. For a while, we were standing up on the roofs of our cabins to get a better look. But eventually, we realized that we needed to sleep because we were fishing the next tide. So we all went to bed, knowing that the fire department would come get us if we needed to leave. It turns out that we slept through the smoke-jumper part of the process.

After it was all over, Jake picked up this mini-Etch-a-Sketch and created this drawing, complete with clouds, helicopter with water scooper, smoke, cabins, stairs, bluff, water, skiff with outboard and two people going through the nets - and the nets have corks and fish in them (you usually can't see the leads anyway), and signature.

My only comfort this day was that I had this photo of the Etch-a-Sketch art. Jake, your blank slate awaits you. I'm sorry I lost the precious original.