I have heard of older people having clearer memories from decades past than from days past. I might get to be that way some day.
I accompanied my great grandson to the registration night for Scouts the other day. It was an impressive event, totally full of energy, good spirits and activity. Going to that event gave me many chances to remember Scouting in my life. I was a Scout and a patrol leader. I had difficulty with swimming and boating so I only made it to the rank of Life Scout.
Later, I worked at a very large Scout camp, first as a staff member at the distant camp to which Scouts hiked and stayed overnight. The next year, I was the camp quartermaster and oversaw equipment for about 15 troop sites. The camp furnished kitchen equipment, cots and mattresses and the large troop tents where the Scouts slept. Getting enough equipment to sites where large troops were expected always meant long, busy weekends.
Still later, my wife and children lived at the camp with me as I worked there summers.
I recall adventures and mis-adventures. I had my ears cleaned of wax and went unwisely directly over to the firing range. My ears rang for a long time afterwards and that experience may have contributed to my currently dimmed hearing. I was walking along the boundary road one day and was being pestered by a deer fly, the bug that flies in circles around your head and lands at random places in your hair. I had a heavy short stick in my hand and got so flustered, I whacked myself in the head. I think I was completely unobserved, thank goodness. The fly was not hurt.
I had a box of doughnuts covered with powdered sugar on the floor under my cot. In the evening, I reached under and found a doughnut in the dim light and ate it. My friend asked if he could have one. I had shoved the box further under and couldn’t see it in the dark. I got a flashlight and saw that all the doughnuts were totally covered with crawling ants.
Once after a day of hiking along the Appalachian Trail, my patrol set up a makeshift arrangement to heat our stew. The pot was beginning to get warm when one of the guys decided to level the grill. Whoops! The food for our dinner suddenly lay in the ashes and stones. I had a Musketeers candy bar for dinner that night. But I have forgotten all about that now.
Looking back, I see many good experiences and lessons gained from Scouting.
