“I’m starving!” I exclaimed.

“Me too,” replied Luke.

We were on our way back to our campsite after a long day of sailing around the harbor in Annapolis.  It had been fun, but it was time to return so we could eat.  Soon after, we pulled into the grassy clearing that was our campsite.  From our tent, we a beautiful view of the sun-sparkled harbor.  The sun was setting, but it was no time to admire the view.  I was starving, and my stomach rumbled at the thought of food.

Shaan, a new member of our patrol, was the cook, as he needed a cooking requirement.  During the previous camping trip, some older boys had brought steak, and the delicious aroma had enticed us into bringing hamburgers on this one.  It was exciting to imagine a bite of juicy, succulent burger while on a camping trip.  However, the results were not as good as I imagined.

Shaan began cooking immediately.  My stomach growled as I watched and waited, mess kit in hand.  After a few minutes that seemed incredibly long, Shaan proclaimed, “They’re ready.”  I made sure I received one of the first ones.  The burger looked cooked perfectly, as it appeared completely brown but not at all charred.  In order to maximize the delicious flavor, I added a glob of ketchup, which I spread around with my bun.  I took a bite, and the taste was amazing.    I savored every bite.

Once I was finished, I told Shaan “I wish I could have another, but I’m too full.”  Then I loudly asked “Does anyone want to split another burger?”

    “No,” came the chorus of replies.  readier

I decided it was not in my best interests to have a second, even after imagining the delicious flavor.   However, Brendan, another patrol member, asked for another, which Shaan quickly cooked.  But when it was ready, Brendan could not be found.

“Where is he?” I asked Shaan.

“I don’t know,” he replied.  He handed the burger to me and began to clean up.  I walked around the whole campsite multiple times, but Brendan had apparently disappeared.   I was worried his burger was getting cold, and I still wanted a little bit more, so I eventually gave in to myself.  I tore the burger in half, and took a bite.  Surprisingly, there appeared to be ketchup on the inside, even though I didn’t remember Shaan or myself adding any.  Oh well, it’s saving me time, I thought.  But why can’t I taste it?  I would have never suspected the “ketchup” would lead to quite a bit of discomfort.

“Alex,” I said to a fourth patrol member.  “I had to eat it, it was getting cold.”  I felt as if I  needed to defend myself, even though my decision was relatively responsible.  “I couldn’t find Brendan,” I added.

    “Brendan’s right there!” he exclaimed, pointing to where Brendan was standing about 20 feet away.

    Uh-oh, I thought.  I’m in trouble now….

    I gobbled down the rest of the burger, then ran over to Brendan and handed him his half.

“I’m sorry!” I blurted out before he could say anything.  “I couldn’t find you!”

    “What the heck, Mark!  Why did you eat my burger?”  Brendan angrily asked.

    “I’m sorry,” I repeated.  “I couldn’t find you and I was worried the burger was getting cold, so I ate half.”

    “Fine,” he replied.  “But I’m still mad.”

  I was starting to feel bad, but we quickly forgot about the incident.  I prepared for bed, and soon were all sound asleep.  Unbeknownst to me, however, during the night Luke vomited in his tent.  Everyone else in it was was woken up, and they had to clean up the mess in the middle of the night.  None of them had any idea why it had happened.  I slept through the whole incident.  In the morning, I was quite surprised when I heard the news.  As we talked it over, I thought back to the burgers.

    “It must have been the burgers,” I said thoughtfully.

    “I guess,” replied Luke.

    But why would these burgers make Luke sick?  They appeared to be completely cooked, and I know they stayed in the cooler until we were ready to eat them.  Maybe the cooler wasn’t cold enough….

  Suddenly I had an epiphany.  If my life was a cartoon, a lightbulb would have appeared over my head.  “I just realized,” I exclaimed, “why Luke threw up.”  Luke’s body had been battling with bacteria the whole night, and it was all because of the “ketchup.”

    “Why?” asked Alexander excitedly.

   “The burgers were really raw.  They were so red it looked like they had ketchup on the inside.  They were barely cooked at all,” I explained.

    Everyone stared accusingly at Shaan.  “Ummmmmm…” he said.  “Oops.”

    Poor Shaan, I thought.  It’s not fair to blame him.  I had been in similar situations before, and I knew it was unpleasant.

    “Guys,” I said.  “It’s not really his fault.  Now we know not to bring meat.”

    “Yeah,” agreed Luke.  “Blaming him doesn’t solve the problem.”

    “Let’s have a vote,” I suggested.  “All in favor of banning hamburgers, at least until we’re better cooks, raise your hand.”

    Everyone raised their hand.  Since that day, we have not brought hamburger on a camping trip.  Not once.