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of
drugs.”
    There, I’d said it.  Badly, but I’d
said it.  To my relief, Dare picked up where I’d left off. 
    “We thought we could do some research
about the effects of drugs, then maybe do some role playing or skits with the
kids—tell them how to say ‘no’ to drugs.”
    Lieutenant Hudson nodded his head
enthusiastically.  “I think it’s a great idea.  What do you all think?”  He
spread his arms wide.  “Well?”
    “I think it’s a really good idea,”
one boy said.  “But I kind of like the toy drive idea, too.”
    “Me, too,” I heard a girl say from
the middle of the room.
    “Could we do both?”  I asked. 
    “Well, I don’t know, Laura,” the lieutenant
said slowly.  “I suppose we could.”
    “Maybe we could divide into two
groups,” Courtney suggested.  “Then we could choose which project we prefer.”
    The lieutenant raised his eyebrows
and stroked his chin thoughtfully.  “There’s an idea,” he said.  “It would be
great to collect toys for needy children, yet I think you all would be doing
our community a real service by educating young children about drugs.”
    “Lieutenant Hudson?”  I began
somewhat hesitantly.   “I uh, was on a ride along with my dad last night, and
we responded to a pretty serious car accident, and well, there was a little boy
at the scene, and we gave him a Teddy bear...”
    He nodded his head vigorously. 
“That’s right.  We all have a Teddy bear in the trunks of our patrol cars.  If
we find ourselves responding to a call where a child is frightened or upset, we
give him or her a bear—tends to calm the child down.  And too, sometimes kids
are downright afraid of law enforcement officers, for whatever reason.  We don’t
look so frightening to a child when we approach with a Teddy bear in our hand.”
    I nodded my head.  The bear had
certainly made a difference for little Joey.  “Where do the bears come from?” I
asked, as an idea was forming in my head.
    “Well, actually, we purchase the
bears ourselves.”
    “What happens if there are several
scared kids?” Jennifer asked, picking up on my line of thinking.  “I mean, how
do you decide who gets a bear?  What if you miss somebody?” 
    Like me, I knew my soft-hearted
friend couldn’t stand to think of a frightened child who might be overlooked.
    “It does happen,” Lieutenant Hudson
acknowledged.  “Then we scramble to get a hold of extras.”
    I felt myself moving to the edge of
my chair.  “Maybe we could collect Teddy bears from the community, or donate
some of our own.  Then you could keep more than one in your cars at all times. 
Maybe, we could...” 
    My words dwindled as Lieutenant
Hudson chuckled.  “Gosh, group,” he said, “it seems we’ve got three community
projects to consider.”  He glanced at his watch.  “But now we have to get to
the second half of our meeting.  We have a lot to think about with L.E.C. fast
approaching, and our community projects getting underway.” 
    To my surprise, I found myself
looking forward to our community projects.  I wondered which I would choose to
participate in.  All sounded really worthwhile.  I had to admit that the explorer
meeting was turning out much better than I’d expected.

Chapter Seven
     
    “Now I’d like to talk a little bit
about self-defense,” Lieutenant Hudson said, “and we’ll get back to L.E.C. next
meeting.  Okay, then, a few words about self-defense.”
    “Perhaps the most important aspect of
self-defense,” he began, “is to first and foremost, not put ourselves in
situations where we may be forced to use any self-defense techniques.  That is,
never walk alone at night, stay out of poorly lit parking lots, try not to go
anywhere alone, if you can help it.
    “I don’t mean to sound sexist,” he
continued, “but girls, you especially need to be wary, though the warning holds
true for boys, as well.  The key is to use good judgment always.”
    As the