Death Marches

     Every summer my father would take us "hiking" this would involve getting up at dawn and with no breakfast or supplies head out for the day. We would walk like this without any breaks, food, or water till nightfall when hopefully we would have reached the campground again. At which point I would be too tired to cook dinner so it would be off to bed without any food. This was repeated for 5-7 days straight. Which is why I know so much about plants. He would spank me if he saw me eating plants along the trail so it was important to have him walking in front of me. I wouldn't have long to pick up something and eat it so I had to make my selections quickly, quietly, and accurately. He didn't care if I didn't feel well. He would even spank me for whining, so during the school year I would go over different plant identification manuals to learn what I could eat. My sibling was never as apt to roll with the punches and would even whine about the flavor of some of the foods I found. Eventually I would keep them to myself so as not to get caught. I would still be pretty hungry at the end of the day but at least I was in better shape for the next "hike."