Shelley shares some local news about two boys who ducked out of school and took off on an adventure. She writes:

Our children, with their PS3s and XBoxes and iPods and internet and other artifacts of modernization and privilege no longer have a chance to experience a suspension of belief long enough to put such adventures into action. These two young Amish boys, however, isolated from the modern appliances of society, filled with stories of another era and faith in themselves and in the goodness of life, have set out for a grand adventure.

I worry about them, but I also admire them and, frankly, even envy them. I just hope they’re found before this adventure has a sad ending.

This story really speaks to me. I read Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer when I was a boy, and my brother and I shared raft fantasies in the bedroom after lights out on many a night. When they were old enough, I read Huckleberry Finn to my own boys. The youngsters in Saint Louis know what it’s like to row a boat, catch fish on live bait, and cook them over an open fire.

The lost boys have since been found, and I’m guessing they’ll face some stern (if relieved) parents. How lucky they are that their transgressive behavior is so wholesome, and their boundaries are so clear.