Truth or Dare in Tents!

When I was 11 I spent half of my summer in the middle of the woods at my first co-ed camp. One of the bonuses of going to a co-ed camp, as it turned out, was the competition to be the most daring.

My tent mates and I dared each other all day and all night, from self-inflicted brain freezes to throwing crayfish at the lifeguards, but the real fun came at night.

When we thought all the counselors had gone to sleep (but were probably off making out or drinking by the fire) we would sneak over the boys tent to plan pranks for the night and , of course, play truth or dare.

The boys were VERY competitive, and every night someone would try to out-do the previous nights' dare. While most of the girls would safely take the "truth" route, I couldn't resist getting in on the daring action.

One night in late-summer, I got a dare that didn't sound all that risky: sneaking into the mess hall to steal a vat of chocolate syrup. It would be a piece of cake, or so I thought.

My pack of snickering partners in crime followed me across the campground and into the service entrance of the mess hall.

They stood guard out front as I ventured into the pantry in order to retrieve my chocolaty prize. As I fumbled around in the dark I heard screaming and clambering from the front of the building.

Assuming we had been caught, I escaped back out the service entrance and ran straight to my tent, hoping to make a weak attempt at pretending to sleep.

When my truth-or-dare comrades finally returned, they had a story I hardly believe to this day. As it turned out, we weren't the only ones looking for a snack that night.

A black bear had scraped through the screen porch at the front of the dining room while we were sneaking in the back! Luckily all the screaming scared him off, but that was the last of truth or dare for US that summer! ...

OK, maybe not!