{"id":31,"date":"2014-11-23T00:10:51","date_gmt":"2014-11-23T00:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/?page_id=31"},"modified":"2015-01-19T01:06:43","modified_gmt":"2015-01-19T01:06:43","slug":"jungle-adventures","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/?page_id=31","title":{"rendered":"Jungle Adventures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"newbook\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SAMPLE<\/p>\n

Chapter 1<\/p>\n

Return to Paradise\u2014the Homecoming<\/p>\n

The single-engine plane sat on the dilapidated runway. It looked completely out of place in this primitive coastal village. The pilot gunned the motor and the plane rattled to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cNovember Tango Mike, you are cleared for takeoff,\u201d crackled the control tower.<\/p>\n

The small aircraft shook as it bounced over the ruts. It caught the wind and soared into the clouds. The beach below grew small. Tiny waves broke in the surf far beneath the plane. The Swanson family, securely strapped inside, waved good-bye to the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0missionary base far below. After a year in the States, they were returning to their other home deep in the jungle.<\/p>\n

The plane banked to the left and headed into the tropics.<\/p>\n

Over the deafening noise of the motor, Blake yelled to his sister, Kara, \u201cThis is more fun than a roller coaster!\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara flashed Blake a thumbs-up. The children stared out the windows at the lush greenery below.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook,\u201d yelled Blake. He pointed at the flock of white cockatoo birds circling below. They darted through the clouds and then plunged into the trees. Kara twisted in the cramped seat to peek out of the window. They disappeared and reappeared as they chased the plane. Kara waved at the birds. \u201cIt looks like they\u2019re racing us.\u201d She laughed. The pilot banked the plane so the children could get a better view.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey look close enough to touch,\u201d exclaimed Blake.<\/p>\n

The siblings sat side-by-side in the back seat, carefully strapped in. Their younger<\/p>\n

brother, Wesley, slept next to them, cradled by his mom, Shannon. He snored quietly, unaware of anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can he sleep with all this noise?\u201d yelled Kara.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe motion of the plane rocks him to sleep.\u201d Shannon smiled and kissed his blond head.<\/p>\n

A fluffy cloud rolled by. \u201cLook.\u201d Kara said, \u201cDoesn\u2019t that cloud look like the castle at Disneyland?\u201d She remembered the wonderful day she had enjoyed there. \u201cWow, I can\u2019t believe we\u2019ve left America. What a fast year that was. And now we\u2019re heading back to the jungle. I miss the States.\u201d Tears rolled down her cheeks. \u201cBlake,\u201d cried Kara. \u201cI already miss America. Don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Blake shrugged. \u201cYes, America\u2019s fun, but living here is exciting. Think of all the animals we have waiting for us. I can\u2019t wait to see Spunky. I hope he hasn\u2019t forgotten me. I can\u2019t wait to go hiking in the jungle with him. Maybe this year, Dad will get me a machete knife to chop through the brush.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlake, you with a machete knife is scary. I\u2019m sure Spunky hasn\u2019t forgotten us. I hope I can get a baby wallaby this year. I\u2019ve already thought of a name: Meson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blake laughed. \u201cI think you should name the wallaby Wally. Meson doesn\u2019t sound like a wallaby name. Wonder what the Brinkley family will think if you get another pet, especially a wallaby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember when the Brinkleys brought a sheep from Australia? He ate everything we planted, especially the flowers and vegetables. Remember that rooster they got, too. He crowed at four o\u2019clock every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he was delicious,\u201d Blake added.<\/p>\n

The Brinkley family, co-workers with the Swanson family for years, teased Kara about her ever-growing menagerie of animals.<\/p>\n

Kara turned to look out the window. Far below, smoke curled out of a tribal hut.<\/p>\n

She could see people\u2019s faces and waved. A tribal guy raised his spear in a friendly greeting and waved back.<\/p>\n

Kara listened as the pilot switched on the dials of the radio. I wish I was sitting up front in the co-pilot\u2019s seat so I could wear the radio headset. I\u2019d love to be a pilot. First I\u2019d fly really low and then shoot straight up into the clouds. Maybe I\u2019d even do a loop and make the plane fly upside down.<\/em><\/p>\n

She looked out and saw the Sepik River flowing below them. The largest river in Papua New Guinea, it ran through the heart of the island. Kara thought it looked like a snake coiling through the jungle, almost as though it were pointing the way back to their remote home.<\/p>\n

Blake pointed at the river. \u201cLook how brown the river is. Doesn\u2019t it look like chocolate pudding?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara\u2019s stomach rumbled at the mention of chocolate. She already missed American chocolate, especially chocolate peanut butter cups and Grandma\u2019s fudge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. The river flows so fast it churns the dirt, making the water look muddy. It helps to hide the crocodiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be so cool to see a crocodile. I\u2019d love to hunt one and then mount the head in my bedroom. My friends in the States would be so jealous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara rolled her eyes. \u201cYou have way too much imagination. A machete knife and now a crocodile? You\u2019ve been watching too many American movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plane hit an air pocket and dropped. The family lurched forward. Their dad, in the co-pilot\u2019s seat, turned around to check on the family. The pilot straightened out the plane and signaled all was OK.<\/p>\n

The sudden jolt woke Wesley. \u201cAre we there yet?\u201d He sat up and looked around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAMPLE Chapter 1 Return to Paradise\u2014the Homecoming The single-engine plane sat on the dilapidated runway. It looked completely out of place in this primitive coastal village. The pilot gunned the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}