He’s 26 years old and already runs his own tech company and travel agency.
With that kind of resume, it’s safe to say that Jon Hebb has been pretty so good (so far) in predicting his future.
His wellspring of clairvoyance was continuing at Camp Mountaineer Sunday afternoon.
Heck, if the Boy Scouts handed out merit badges for prognostication, Hebb would have gone home with a sash-full.
We’ll get to that.
First, though, another prediction. This one, about Miah Radcliff.
Here goes: Might as well pencil in “rock climber” on her resume right now — even if she is only 7 years old.
“I wanna go again,” she said to her mom, Kayla Radcliff. “Can I go again?”
Miah, who was up from Clarksburg with her mom for the afternoon, owned the 60-foot climbing tower at Camp Mountaineer.
The camp, which is nestled in 1,000 acres off Grafton Road, has been home to Boy Scouts from the Mountaineer Area Council since 1954.
There are cabins, zip lines, a trading post, pavilions and more — including that 60-foot climbing and rappelling tower that rises over the expanse like a Saturn rocket on Launch Pad 39-A at Cape Canaveral.
Fun introduction
Camp officials and volunteers opened the camp for the afternoon, to showcase the facility, and to let all kids know they can soar in scouting also.
With all those Halloween costumes, the setting was also as spookily whimsical as could be.
The camp hosted its second Trunk or Treat celebration.
Volunteers kicked in the candy — what was left was going to be donated to area causes for Halloween — and then stepped back to see what was going to happen next. Which, was plenty.
There were all those features in the camp, and area National Guardsmen were there to show off trucks and other equipment, also.
“The idea is get kids and families interested in scouting if they’ve never been out here before,” Sara Jones said.
Jones, who teaches in Preston County Schools, earned her badges as a Brownie and Girl Scout. She helped organize Sunday’s gathering.
“We’ve had 100 kids so far,” she said.
“And, uh, it’s 2:30,” she said, checking her watch — pretty good, for a person done out as a skeleton — “so I think we’re going to end up with a bigger crowd than last year.”
Miah, meanwhile, drew a crowd as she dangled and rappelled near the top the tower.
With all the harnesses, buckles, guide ropes and other safety features, it’s virtually impossible to fall, organizers said.
A certain 7-year-old from Clarksburg seemed especially at home up there, though.
“Yeah, she’s in gymnastics,” Kayla Radcliff said, with eyes skyward on her daughter. “Pretty obvious, huh?”
Zoltar predicts
Hebb’s appeal was obvious, too, and not just because he was the guy doling out the candy.
It was his Zoltar costume.
Zoltar, the glass-enclosed, fortune-teller, was a staple on carnival midways for generations.
It’s likely, however, that Kayla Radcliff first made her acquaintance with Zoltar in “Big,” the Tom Hanks movie from 1988.
And Miah surely knows Zoltar from the current Liberty Mutual commercials on TV.
Hebb, who puts a lot of miles of the odometer because of his work, always makes it a point to seek out Zoltar while on he’s on the road.
“Yeah, I live for those goofy, weird roadside attractions,” he said.
His costume was a combination of cardboard, Velcro and a gloriously cheesy B-movie goatee.
He was working it Sunday at the camp while the kids queued up.
“Zoltar predicts you want more candy,” he said to a pint-sized Spiderman and “Frozen” extra.
“Guy’s pretty good,” a dad observed, playing along.
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