Twilight Camp

My little rant on scout leadership training reminded me of a funny story; not that I’m necessary proud of it but it made me chuckle. Let me start off by saying that I love the scouting program. Especially the practical training it provides in so many areas. I also like the outdoorsy stuff but my beef (and teasing) is when some leaders put a little too much emphasis on that one aspect. What did Mike Dickerson say? Something about if a boy preferred Pop Tarts to Dirt n’ Eggs then he shouldn’t be allowed to be an Eagle. Or something like that. I don’t remember, but I remember thinking that the Scouting program was more than just “roughing it” to me. Anyway, back in the summer of ’03, I had the opportunity to chaperone 9-year-old Ryan and pals one afternoon at Cub Scout Twilight Camp. What a great program with great activities. However, when the first activity ended, I noticed that a pack in our group lined up single file behind their olive-shirt clad leader, Mrs. Leatherskin I believe, and began marching to the next station. I looked to see if my boys were lining up and they were wandering like a herd of sheep (with no shepherd.) The good pack then started singing the marchy-boot camp song “I don’t know what you’ve been told…” Oh man, I’m a lamer. Granted, this is Day 4 and the first three days were covered by three different parents. I had a feeling Leatherskin had not missed a minute. I wished I could have done that. Anyway, these kids had it going on. Their songs were full of Cub Scouty Goodness, like, Akela is in every thought, Build a bird house, tie a knot They were great but kind of giving my kids a complex. They watched this for three days with no answer. Oh, I could come up with words for them, but what? They were a bunch of somewhat domesticated kids. I came up with something that I’m not proud of but the boys loved it and it became their march chant for the rest of the afternoon. Vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, We prefer to be indoors Oh man, maybe I should have paid better attention in training. Somewhere Mike Wood just had a chill run through him.