Diane Falanga's 'P.S. I Hate It Here!' Helps Homesick Kids Adjust to Camp

You are missing that the child wrote it in jest...to get the parent's attention. Instead of an "I hate it here" letter, the child creatively thought what event would get my mom to come get me....Ahaa...access to a gun might do it! Funny.

To C.C. Murphy
My sentiments exactly. Just what is hilarious about a child having
access to a gun at camp and how funny would it be if another
child was accidentally shot?

Yea, am I the only one who doesn't see how these letters would be "humorous"? Especially when dealing with sad little kids who have access to guns....I feel like the author is saying that it's a right of passage to send your kids away and let them be miserable for three months while they spend the summer at camp.

I am pretty sure the child had the gun at home.. not at camp.. duh!

Haha, I agree with gracehappenz... and C.C. Murphy u need to calm down and take a look at the bigger picture, either that or you just dnt hav a sense of humor.

Shooting is a sport. Kids do outdoor sports at camp. What part of it is too complex for you?

You obviously don't have kids. HE MADE THAT UP TO GET ATTENTION OR TO MAKE MOM AND DAD WONDER. mINE SAID HE WANTED A BOA CONSTRICTOR LIKE HIS ROOMIE BROUGHT WITH HIM.. Guess what --stuffed animal

Your missing about 5 decades of moral decay. Some of these were written in the 40's and 50's. Many camps were very much into teaching young boys the basics of shooting (remember WWII?) Most of America is now urbanized and perceives the world through the tainted immorality that comes with city life, where honor, respect and trust are just to foreign for city folk to grasp. Living in Iowa and after moving from Seattle, it is a WORLD of difference. the High-school kids don't wear their pants on the ground, their hats backwards and actually know and talk with adults in the towns they live in. That is one of the reasons we allowed our oldest son to dual enroll (after 6 years of homeschooling) in a public high school in the town of Grundy Center IA. The teens were all pretty decent and everyone knew everyone else's children and kept things in check. A WORLD of difference from West coast "CIVILITY".

What are YOU talking about? We used guns at camp back in the 50s in rural New Jersey --- with supervision of course. What's so strange about teaching kids how to use a gun?

Here's what you're missing: Riflery and target sports are activities that are found at many camps. While I'm not a fan of riflery, I've seen the appeal that it holds for kids. It's not just about the shooting. It's about developing an individual precision skill that they get better and better at. They are also taught safety skills in a controlled environment and probably have more respect for the weapons than a lot of NRA members.

What you are apparently missing is the fact that supervised marksmanship classes and basic firearm safety classes are a good idea. It's a pretty safe bet that you won't be teaching your children either. You are also missing the ability to engage in reasoned thought processes. Have you ever read the Constitution? The Bill of Rights? Have you looked at the statistics? Do you know that over a million times a year a citizen uses a lawfully owned firearm to prevent a violent crime? Can you divide a million by fifty? Can you divide the result by 365? Your state, on average, every day. Do you drive. Does your child? Can you divide 30,000 by 50? Can you divide the result by 365? Your state, on average, every day. Chump!

There are camps all over America that teach safe, responsible use of firearms. To teach youngsters the proper safe handling may well prevent the tragedies that we see all too much of in today's news. It may also lead to helping to save a life some day.

well guess you have never went to scout camp every year we have boys that go home after trying out the rifels shotguns and arechery equipment and ask for it or send letters home saying how much fun they are having on the ranges
but then again we also let them have pocket knifes and matches too

Look at picture 7 of 10. LMAO!

Excactly, "DF" is laughing at a simple sentence of childswork. Nothing in this article was...humorous at all. Perhaps "DF" was seeking a heading in the AOL news slideshow? It is a negative thought of humor when a child is threatening terms with parents about arms acess.

Just to let you know that camps do have guns like that. I have been going to summer camp for many years and they do have a riffle range for kids to learn about and shoot. BUT they do not get to just walk on and shoot a gun any time they want. they have to go to class and learn the how too and what not to do.No child can shoot any thing unless they have pass the class and at no time would any child be shooting unless a trained adult was on the range. All riffles are under lock and key. And I am a trained scout leader for over twenty five years TM

This is hilarious and wish I had thought of this when I was homesick at camp. Instead I cried to mom via the telephone, who only said, 'THIS IS A NON-REFUNDABLE CAMP. WE'LL BE THERE [AT THE END OF THE CAMP].'

C.C. Murphy you obviously have no sense of humor......people who lack the ability to joke or get jokes are invisible to me.

It's simple: the child asks for something he knows he's NEVER going to get BUT then he asks for what he really wants & the parents are more than happy to get & them the less dangerous alternative. I'll make it interesting: want to bet me that the child got what he REALLY wanted?

We had rifles at camp. We learned marksmanship skills. I'm not an NRA fanatic and haven't shot a gun since but I remember those days very fondly and took a lot of pride in my shooting skills. I remember winning a couple of trophes and earning some marksman medals that summer. I think some of the anti-gun folks don't see the forest for the trees on this issue.