I am writing early today because we will be participating in the You Gotta Regatta and the Scoutmaster Splash later on. The boys have their camp raft built and ready for launch in the pool, their viking helmets ready for spirit and their Scoutmaster ready to jump in. After that we have our closing Campfire.

We will be presenting the camp and fellow troops with something special tonight. There is a tradition that has been passed in a line from 1933 till tonight and has been around the world. Ashes from the original campfire have been taken to other events around the world – added to the opening of a campfire and the list of events shared with all participating troops. Each troop takes some of the cooled (that part is kinda important) ashes with them to share with other troops. We will be sharing ours with 14 other troops and the Henson Camp. Kinda cool!

I leave you with some final thoughts for this week:

1) They boys are always stronger than you think, smarter than they act, and greater than they will ever know

2) My senior boys have gotten it! I’ve seen more examples of scouts helping scouts in the past week than I thought possible!

3) excitement can be contagious – try it – I love the results

4) the camp store never runs out of nerd rope of ice cream – even though the boys tried their darnedest

5) don’t be afraid to try something new – whether its the dinner of deep fried bat wings with a lovely hollandaise sauce – or watching Mr L carve wood and himself a few times – keep trying – sometimes you can only get better!

6) and finally – these boys never cease to make me proud! They rallied through homesickness, bad weather, thunderstorms, exotic days (not my word it was one of your boys….really) and grumpy old guys – They did it! and they were all feeling pretty good when I left camp a little while ago.

So it’s here I leave you with the words to the song that we sing at the end of each meeting and campfire:

Softly falls the light of day
As our campfire fades away….

Silently each scout should ask
Have I done my Daily task….

Have I kept my honor bright….

Can I guiltless sleep tonight….

Have I done and have I dared
Everything to be prepared.

See you on the trail
Mr D

At this point I do need to apologise because today’s lesson taken from the book of Mr D really has little to do with a serious delving into spirituality, but instead I will take a little bit of inspiration (huh – good tie in there) and give you “THE FIVE COMMANDMENTS OF SUMMER CAMP!”

So here they are:

1) Thall shalt (I’ll apologize in advance about using the shalts but it all in the good cause of a chuckle and using a Don’t / Do will not tie into the subject line nearly as well) Any way – Thall Shart try all of the food that is presented for meals. Wow – why is that important – GOOD Question! We try to make sure we have a well balanced meal plan for all of the boys – We never serve the fried squid without a tasty sauce made with cranberries and so what if the boy need to catch the frogs to be sure we have enough for the stews…..this is a chance to try something new. We have a simple rule – try everything come back for the stuff you like – next year I’ll be running for Scoutmaster of the year so be ready for Deep fried Twizzlers with a supper fizzy sour sauce. I’m a shoe in!

2) Thall Shall change your socks – Mr D – DO you really need to make this in the top five?; again a question of epic gravity. The simple answer is OHHHHHHH YEAH! Picture the twenty three smiling cherub faced boys – all looking to you with a glance of hope, excitement and a little anxiety about facing a new day. Some with a streak or two or dirt or breakfast across their face – but a look to be in a Alphonse Rockwell painting (Norman’s little known brother, not as well artistically rounded – but crayon is as good a medium as anything else)
Anyway – as the camera pans down past the boys troop shirts lovingly stitched by the koobler elves and moves to their feet (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!) I’d like to paint a picture using each and every word in the newest edition of the Funk and Wagnalls – But I’ll save for you and just say that this needs to be a rule and not a guideline.

3) Thou Shalt NOT make comments about MR D’s balding head while he is within earshot – OK – I’m weak

4) Though Shalt keep fires small, controlled and away from Andrew – I don’t usually mention names in my blogs – but here, in these absolute rules, the guidelines to live by, it is appropriate. If anything is going to happen, occur, descend, shoot out, break or all around be questionable – my young lad will be in the blast range of doom. We save time and strap the med bag around his neck, much like the alpine dogs of yesteryear minus the cask. Its far easier and the boy really doesn’t mind.

5) Thou Shalt not ask the same question more than 20 times in the same five minutes, even if you think you are being clever and changing the words around so that you confuse poor old Mr D into saying “yes”. I’m still a little sharper than a bowling ball – and I surround myself with other leaders. We are like the think tanks of scouting (more like a fish tank without all those annoying bubble things that make you need to use a rest room from listening, but I may be off topic a bit here)

So you would think that 5 wouldn’t really cover the scouting experience – and truth is – it really doesn’t – I could go on forever about the overall rules to the point where they would just get silly.

But here I am after a full day – the boys are past the hump of the week and getting excited about being able to go home to their showers and beds, clean underwear and electronics and best off – Cheese Curls – they ran out at the camp store and you could imagine the collective scream of oh no as the news spread like wild fire, who knew?

I was able to tour the entire camp today, looking in on all of my first years through the 603 boys on staff – let me tell you how happy they looked.  The temperature was at a comfortable 3,000 degrees so the walk from class to class was pleasant, at least until you go into the sun.  Don’t want to say it was hot – but reminded me of the time I was chased by tigers in the serengeti…… we”ll save that one for a later blog (or at least until I extend the story – it still confuses the boys as is )

Brown Sea boys in Nature Class (check all good and having fun in the woods) – Boys earning their 100 year anniversary badges (Check – waving flags at each other in the old style texting called semaphore or tracking each other in circles) Boating, Climbing, Computing, Picture taking, first aiding, swimming, auto maintancing and shooting.  All having fun as they finish up their classes to earn their badges for this year.

All is well – the boys are ready to come home – there has been alot or crying – but the leaders will all stop when you pick you bundles of loving stinkiness up on Saturday

Be proud of your Boys!  They will all look a little taller and worldly when you first see them!  They worked hard, played hard and never cease to amaze and make me proud!

Still here at Henson Summer Camp!

See you on the Trail!

Mr D

I’m going to pick up where I left off last night – as I was shutting down last night I was given the news that the end of the world was coming in the next few minutes in the form of a thunderstorm of biblical proportions. It was over the Chesapeake at the time but was coming fast. Mr O and I left the admin and could see the bright – daytime like flashes making their way to us and the biggest thought I had was….. Wonderful – the boys just got back after showers and now – MUD.

Luck was with my com-padre and I because we made it back to the boat yard, next to the river, under the trees before the thunderstorm hit. It was mass chaos – kids in all directions – some running in circles – a few wanted to go home – all giving me a headcount as soon as I was seen in camp. Would have been great if anyone of them matched though.

Great news was the storm was not coming as fast as it looked – we had time to tie down the tents – do a visual count of scout noggins – confirm we had all of my little curmudgeons in their bunks and safe before the first drops of water hit.

Drops of water….drops of water…. yeah – it was like the tide came in over our heads at breakneck speed. But I was good – not only were all safe and freshly showered and wearing clean clothing (mostly) but the adult chairs were safely stored under the tarps so out collective cabooses would be somewhat dry as we waited this one out.

I decided with a couple of my friends to stay under our aluminum ribbed tarp, next to the propane tanks when everything started – my initial thought was that way I was at the entrance and no one would get by in a panic and another reason was… THIS WAS A REALLY COOL STORM AND I WASN’T MISSING IT!!!!!!

No kidding – the first flash of lightning turned the entire camp to day for a split second, we counted and then BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….wait for it…………..OOOOOMM!

The good news was only half of the boys needed to re-change into clean clothing after that one, the other half just wanted to go home. Boy what a night.

I do want to mention the rescue deed a couple of my older scouts accomplished – I asked the older boys to keep their eyes and especially their ears open for any signs of panic, home sickness or all out terror while we battened down the camp. These two heard the scream of “HELP!” from one of the tents that they knew had the younger scouts – both immediately bolted to their fellow scouts aid – checked the situation and ran across camp to get me – This was no small feat! The lightning and thunder was past – but Niagara was still falling!

Mr L jumped to his feat like the super hero the he is and also thinks he looks like (uhhhhhh yep) and ran back to the younger scouts while Mr Howe and I sat in our chairs with the dry seats, and asked the older boys what the problem was. The tent had a HUGE hole and the water was pouring in at a rate that threatened to take both boys down the river riding their respective TI Boxes (good thing we made them from wood huh? forward thinking – what do you do in the case of tides……

Well the crisis was averted – the huge hole was fixed with a piece of tape and the steady drip was stopped! Another fine save from Mr L.

My older scouts made their way back to their tent and stepped (fell) into the knee deep puddle that they missed on the way to us – and they had a blast!

In all seriousness – this was a fantastic example of how we all look out for each other and do not even think twice about putting their training into practice. The younger boys were not in danger at any time, but they were seriously unhappy – my boys jumped, judged the problem and went for help immediately and without fuss. I cannot express in this silly bunch of words how proud I am of every one in this troop and the way that we all look out for each other!

Well – gonna go back out – the boys are all taking part in the camp-wide games, wearing their viking helmets and screaming alot. So far each of their stops have given them points for enthusiasm.

At this point in the week – I think it would be safe to declare this trip a success!

Proudly representing the Boys and Leadership of Troop 603 at Summer Camp 2010!

See you on the trail!
Mr D

That’s right – these boys all rose to put on their bathing suits to jump into the frigid waters of the Camp Henson Pool…. We chopped through the floor of ice – doned our goggles and gave it the collage try – in we went – some feet first – some in a dive – we had the paramedics and crash carts available for the older soles with poor hearts and frost bite victims…..and…….um……and…. Ok – the truth of the matter is 23 boys were force marched to a luke warm pool and told them they had to jump in. All of this was done while I sat back in my camp chair and enjoyed my first cup of coffee.

But they came back to camp refreshed – ready to face the day and also a little more purified form the chlorine. Good thing all around really.

Then it came – The Rain – and not a summer shower or a slight sprinkling – this was the cool wrath of the Lord kind of stuff – we couldn’t here people close to you and animals were leaving for the boatyard in two’s. But at least it cooled off the camp to a chilly 175 degrees and brought down the humidity at least a percent or two. It was a little sticky – no doubt about it – the boys all looked liek they had been shrink wrapped in their clothes – so much for the pool water.

But like everything else we all survived another day of fun – got a little damp while we frolicked or went to the camp store to spend the rest of our hard earned cash and change found in the bottom of TI Boxes on the worlds best candy – Nerd Rope! Pure sugary goodness lovingly wrapped in a cellophane that calls to you from the shelves – much like the sirens from the Greek legends. Or at least that’s what they told me.

But the weather cleared and I made my way to one of the classes that a few of my boys were taking. Good walk and I’m glad that I made it. Going to the door with excitement and pride as a couple of my boys would start woodcarving and maybe starting on a new hobby that could last a lifetime. Ah – a Kodak moment in the works – Scoutmaster looking in on his boys as they work diligently on their wood projects while trying not to alter their hands in any way with the choices of sharpened tool. I was there – couldn’t;t wait – ready to be proud…….. their seats were empty.

The Kodak moment changed to one of them walking toward me up the path, one quickly trying to explain that it wasn’t their fault and the other so nervous he almost made his ice cream explode – oh well – another life experience and a build of the myth that Mr D is everywhere.

I’m off now to gather the boys for another end of day march – It’s Shower Night!

See you soon – We are all well here t camp!

See you on the trail!
Mr D

But Fear not fellow 603 blog followers – I am with your boys and there is always something going on here. So today I’d like to talk about my Brown Sea group and the steps to proper first aid.

So your first question on your mind is probably….”why do I keep logging into this site an reading whatever seems to fall out of this guys head and onto the keys.”

But besides that your next question is probably “Mr D what is Brown Sea and what does it really mean?”

I’m glad you asked – the second question I mean, the first can be cured after some good talk time with a trained professional, but Brown Sea is the program at summer camp for all of the newer boys that just came from cubs. It gives them a chance to learn some of the basic scout skills needed but also to help them adjust to scout life. The program is named after one that our founder put together for the first scouts from London. He took a group out to a place called Brown Sea Island for week program of basic fundamental skills of first aid, knot tying and creating non flush-able facilities with a really fancy French name.

And here we are – a good long time later – pretty much following in his footsteps and torturing young lads for a week of forced showers and eating outside.

So any way here are the steps that I noticed that my new boys use in treating an injured person:

1) Keep calm – while this seems to be extremely hard to practice – the first step is to do this. My young lad, upon hearing that bug spray was put on his buddies scratch followed this rule wonderfully. He raised one finger in to the air like Superman about to take flight and screamed “I HAVE MY FIRST AID KIT!!!” And in fact he did – he hasn’t taken it off his belt since he arrived.
Now it was good that this young Marcus Welby yelled very loud because it got my attention so that I could witness and stop him from putting full badges around the boys leg – this would have been OK accept the scratch was at the back of the other boys neck.

2) Carefully open your med kit – In his excitement the kit was opened and the bandages flew – as I walked over I was greeted with a wonderful flesh colored ticker tape parade.

3) administer the first aid – again, these probably seem like simple steps – but in the case of Wilderness first aid the practice of helping your wounded individual should not be stopped until complete – even in the case of jumping frogs.

So, by keeping these simple rules in mind you should be able to easily administer first aid four minor injuries without additional injury.

Now if you are looking for me – I’m hiding from the overanxious scout who found that I got a splinter from the picnic table. I admit I panicked – but when they talked body cast, I bolted.

Have a great day!
See you on the trail!
Mr. D

All of the boys seem excited to start their week here at lovely Camp Henson. Or it could be that they spent all of their spending money on “super sugar coated sour sugar balls”. Not sure, but the excitement level is high either way and I’m good with that. We went through or orientation, duty rosters, explanations of the duties associated with the duty rosters, explanations of the explanations of the duty roster and finally answering the same question of “Mr D….. are you really serious?”" about 27,000 times. I intend to get as many pictures of the boys washing dishes and cleaning latrines (they call it a fancy word to make you feel better about the experience….it really doesn’t work….but we carry on the tradition anyway)

If your boys come home from their week at camp and tell you they don’t know how to do any chores – they may be pulling your leg a bit. While I can’t guarantee that they will do it to any of your home expectations, I can say that I will produce evidence of the effort and the experience probably won’t kill them. Mostly because I don’t want to have to do the extra paperwork.

Anyway, check back here each morning as you pry your eyes open with your morning coffee and look to see what the 603 boys were up to the day before. I will try to keep the spelling as close to readable as possible – but you may have to bear with me a little bit

Reporting from the field here at Camp Henson….

Mr D – the guy with the 13 inch horns attached to the top of his Wheaties hat.

See you on the trail
Mr D

 Of course I realize it’s different for each of us – but mine was always that end credit music from the old Hulk TV Show with Lou Ferrigno…. Poor Bruce Banner…..

 -          Anyway –

 Here we are at the end of another 603 year, the boys have grown, some have advanced and all have had a good time.  Now we have to roll the flags, pack the tents and put away the gear until next time…….(heavy sigh and head hung low)….

 ——————————-

 ——————————-

 Ummm What?!?!  It’s not over yet!?!  THAT’S RIGHT – WE STILL HAVE SUMMER CAMP!  WOOO HOOOOO

 Another week of sweaty days and bug filled nights!  Can’t wait to get out there and listen to the wildlife (our boys).

 I’ve done this summer camp thing for a number of years now and I’d like to list a few of the events that will happen during the week:

1)      None of the boys will be able to sleep that first night because of a combination of overexcitement and the sugar they consumed by spending all of their money at the trading post as soon as Mom and Dad left

2)      Morning will come a whole lot earlier at Summer Camp – I think it’s because we pass the date / time line or something – not sure will have to ask Mr. O- He’s kinda smart

3)      Mr. D will have to think fast whenever the camp inspector finds something “out of place” when he does his morning walkthrough – “honest sir the boy was so excited to get to his first class he ran clean out of his undershorts….that’s why they are in the middle of the path.”

4)      My “happy wanderer” will really try to make it to his first class on his own – it’s not his fault he saw something really interesting that made him forget where he was going

5)      The weather will have the same lovely temperature as seen in the fun filled movie with Peter O’Toole – “Lawrence of Arabia” though there will probably not be as many camels

6)      Humidity will be at a comfortable 3,000%

7)      KP will take 15 hours a day

8)      We will have some crying and homesickness…….. from the adult leaders

9)      We will miss Gil’s singing

10)   And finally…. your boys will all look like they’ve grown an inch when you see them at the end of their week. The look of accomplishment in their eyes cannot be beat!  Enjoy it!

 I am really looking forward to this year’s summer camp!  We have an excellent group of boys and adult leaders attending! 

But remember – no how much crying you see, Mr. Howe needs to stay the entire week!

 See you on the trail!

Mr. D.

A few last thoughts and happenings for your reading pleasure -

* One boy insisted that he go home with a mohawk. It’s a good thing Mr. Sharkey’s clippers are battery powered. You should have seen how much hair came off this young lad. His mom will definitely be surprised! Last I heard they were leaving for a trip first thing Saturday. Sorry Mom’s, I’m sworn to secrecy on the identity of this young lad.

* Our youngest scouts completed their Brown Sea program successfully completed a large number of requirements for Tenderfoot, First AND Second class. We spent the better part of an our going over their books and adding a MR D to the completes. They also earned two additional merit badges – you will have to ask them which ones!

* Two boys spoke to me about out gateway, and reported that they had heard about it but did not see it. I told them it was coming down today and they would have to hurry. When they left I didn’t much of it – until they took the extra time to come back up to the admin building to tell me how “COOL” it was.

* A couple of our scouts took their fear of heights and of the water head on. THEY took the climbing and swimming merit badges, and got themselves up to class and took on their concerns head on. GREAT JOB GUYS!

* The BIG Cahunna participated in the Scout Master Splash this evening complete with Grass Skirt. At this point we will not give the identity of which of our fine helicopter salesmen hit the pool with the fine looking costume, so I won’t tell.

In conclusion for the week – I leave you with this:
Day is done…..

Gone the sun….

from the lakes to the hills to the sky…..

All is well…..

Safely Rest……

God is Nigh………

May the greatest Scoutmaster of all time be with us until we meet again.
See you on the trail

Mr D

……….

……….

What? We have another day? SWEET!!!!

I have not read the posts from the other nights – so if I repeat how proud I am about our boys, you’ll all have to deal with it and forgive me. To this point there has been no issue that could possibly take away from the pride I have for each and everyone of the boys of Troop 603.

Tonight was our Hawaiian luau and the prep started with the awesome members of our traveling snack shack. The pit had been dug and fire lit for the oncoming pig roast. The look on some of the scouts faces when the cooler holding porky was opened and the four legs stood up was priceless. It ranges from a wide eyed “COOL!” to a wide eyed “I’M NOT EATING THAT!”

Walking our youngest patrol to their first session this morning was an experience after they saw the pig. I had one boy swear over to vegetarianism and another wonder if they would let him keep the head, he knew his mom had room in the freezer. (Careful when you open the returning TI boxes this weekend!)

I only had one guy fall into the water when we hunted for frogs this morning, far less then I thought we would have – and they caught tadpoles, frogs, each other and the Counselor in their nets as they communed with nature again.

Almost forgot to update you on our outdoor survivalists! I got back from writing to you late last night through a fog of bad spelling, walked back to camp through the rain (feeling bad for me yet?) and checked on the boys. I turned off my flashlight so that I could sneak up and listen to the chatter – because I figured they would never sleep through the night, this was too cool. But to my surprise I heard nothing. Ok – they ditched the idea and were say and sound in their cots – nope. I shined the flashlight in and saw the three sleeping, dirty faces of our boys fulfilling their requirement. Now, I’ll be honest here, I did leave the camp to write last nights blog – but mostly to leave as the boys built their shelter. The last thing they needed my my hovering hulkiness as they prepared to sleep ala cart. I got back to camp and sat in a chair out side the hovel for as long as I dared to trust the canvas cover to not fall in on me and then went to bed, clearly seeing everything that could possibly go wrong to the broken down bamboo cover as I slept safely in my tent. The last time I checked my watch before actually falling asleep was deep into the night / early morning. Just don;t tell them – it would ruin all the work I’ve done to seem uncaring and heartless .

They got up and out of the shelter the next morning with one of the fine accomplished young lads asking our fearless leader if he could sleep in there again the next night!

So back to today – the realization of greatness continued – I had reports of at least one of the boys finishing his work early and earning their badge, Water Skiers completing their requirements, seeing pictures of final lashing projects, sampling some awesome scout cooking, rock climbing accomplishments and witnessing some extreme effort to try to earn lifesaving merit badges.

The dreaded 5 mile hike for the youngest scouts was today. This is the time that, in the past, served to give the leaders some really funny stories and act as the final straw for some of the boys. I am extremely pleased to report that none of my boys had the slightest of breakdowns! That isn’t to say that I wasn’t asked 4,569,852 times “how many miles have we walked so far?” on an trail that had no distance markers. But we all got through it.

My funniest experience today happened right before we started our walk. One boy was frustrated with his camel back (an over the back water bladder with a long flexible straw) because it was leaking. As I am the fix-it-up chappy, I asked to take a look. Now, it was about then that I learned something new. Yep – even old guys like me can learn something each day! I learned that carrying your open shampoo bottle on you back in a leaking camel back can create and awful lot of bubbles! Yep – this poor guy had a good foam going down his back before we left. The good news is, I was able to fix the cap on the bladder and the soapy water did not get mixed into his refreshing drink! AND the soapy water was another step closer to a shower, but he wasn’t that dirty because he had a shower three days ago – with soap!!! And besides, he was in the pool every day (see one of the past days references to chlorine)

A few of the boys completed they 1 mile swim today! the lion share of these boys were my Scorpions! Proud? maybe a little – One guy didn’t make it to the end, but the fact that he got in the pool and tried meant as much to me as the ones that finished – I only said that to him 3 times, and I did get a small smile through the tears.

The Luau was great – the Tiki Bar was open for business with three coolers full of delightful bug juice! fresh fruit and even water ice!! My older guys were beautifully dress for the occasions with their flowered bras and welllll……let’s just wait for the pics and court of honor videos, shall we?
Well – We’re in the home stretch now…… Last day of fun and accomplishments!

Oh, and the boy that wanted to sleep in the shelter again decided against it. He is sleeping with his pioneering class in a different shelter he built in class today! GO BUD!!!!!

Gonna try and get some sleep again – starting to see things from lack of sleep. Would’ve sworn the swim tests were being given by the care bears earlier today, I think I was wrong, but not really sure.

Some of you sent me emails to tell me you have been reading! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it!

See you on the trail!

Mr D

]]> http://blog.troop603.net/2008/07/10/summer-camp-another-night-in-heaven/feed/ 0 http://blog.troop603.net/2008/07/09/summer-camp-day-563603941-the-curse-of-the-haunted-latrine/ http://blog.troop603.net/2008/07/09/summer-camp-day-563603941-the-curse-of-the-haunted-latrine/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:07:07 +0000 Mr D http://blog.troop603.net/?p=21 MADE YOU LOOK! BWA HA HA HA HA!

Attention Mr and Mrs America and all the ships at sea! Flash – Our Boys have made it past the hardest point in their tour of duties.

Wow! always wanted to do something like that. I have felt like a reporter in the field putting words to fast moving black and white pictures for the newsreal that comes between the 3rd trip to the lobby for a snack and the main feature.

Today was the toughest point of the week for summer camp. The first hurdle is the initial realization that the boys are not home. Happens on day one, some tears, some anger, mostly misplaced excitement. SOme of the boys are so excited that if they tried to expell bodily gases they would actually blow themselves to the next camp site. (sorry mom’s, made it as high brow as I could, but I am out in a field for half a week with Pre-teen and teens, and let’s face it, It’s me.

But anywho, this is the day that the boys realize a number of things-

1) They only have a couple of more days to finish all of the work that they put off and Mr D will be disappointed if I do not get my badge – HA! untrue – I’ve had 5 conversations with scouts today about the importance of trying. I cannot be disappointed as long as they do that.

2) Today marks the longest they have been away camping since last year – I miss my gameboy – Ok, they tell me I miss my Mom and Dad – but in most cases electonicgameboy360wiianideous has set in. It’s not uncommong to see a scout twitching his fingers like he was holding that beloved game pad.

3) HEY WE STINK AND THE POOL IS NOT CUTTING IT! Yep – they are finally tired of being dirty. I’ve seen more showers today than when I worked as a banquet waiter during wedding season.

4) Fatigue is setting in. These guys have been going full tilt for three days. Sugar from the Trading Post and Bug Juice will finally take its toll and yesterday we started in the pool at 6:a and ended back in the pool at 11:00p.

Don’t worry guys we are all trained professionals! well, at least trained. We got each of the boys back into the camp spirit using combinations of humor and humor. All is back on track for the rest of the week!

And now for the news -

The younger guys, my Brownsea dudes, Scorpion Patrol, they won the campside challenge again and came back with the crown! MY BOYS!! don’t surprised mom’s if their voices all sound a little deeper on Saturday. Tomorrow is our 5 mile walk. This will be great! Mostly because I am going to have them carry me the whole way.

I was able to take a bit of time to check on my own son today. Talk about being proud – I saw him lashing his own tripod during his time in Pioneering. It looked awsome and stood on its own. For a guy that has to be reminded to tie his shoes constantly, I saw this as a real step forward!

I checked in on some of the other guys – one cooking a peach cobbler – which he brought back to camp…. and saved me a BIG bowl of it. Man – what a lucky day for me!

Mailed some letter from the brothers to Mom. Not sure what they put in there – but darn, missed the days mail and they should arive after the lads are safely home, clean and fed. I even wrote a note – postcard style- on the outside of the envelope.

Here’s how it works – the letter get writen – the tears flow – I promise to mail them – and they go about their day and come back to tell me how much better they feel!

Three of the boys are earning badges that have a really cool requirement – They have to build a shelter from natural materials and spend the night inside. These boys got permission from our altruistic, beneficent, benign, benignant, good, goodhearted, kind, kindhearted, kindly leader (I LOVE THE THEASURUS) to make their shelter in camp so that they would not have to spent a night in the scary dark of the Scout Craft area, and to complete the requirement a day early. Al was going well until teh sky opened up at the end of our campfire tonight – letting loose with a true 603 thunder storm. All that was missing from the swamp that was left over was teh croc hunter and a few of his larger scaly friends.

I checked out the shelter after the storm, and it was absolutly fine, no issues, like the being at a four star overlooking the water…………..Ok well there was water. “What do you mean we should have placed it on higher ground? and the plastic was placed on the ground so that we wouldn’t get muddy………er. and water goes between bamboo poles? but we put leaves on top…” Ok… so an inch of water on their emergency blankets might be a problem – but look at the bright side – the shack now had running water!

Good thing they decided that sleeping in their survival abode would be a bad idead…..right?

NOT So for the boys of 603! tear it down – rebuild! use some plastic and survive the night!!! Now when I was a cout I would’ve waited for the Scoutmaster to fall asleep (you can tell by the snoring) roll a pillow in the blankets (incase he checks) and get in my cot then sneak back before the camp wakes and fell like I got one over. Not these boy, it’s a different time and they would never tink about it….That and we have 7 leaders that don;t sleep very well.

In truth – these boys will not sleep – survive the night (it’s half over right now anyway) and create a stronger bond between them. Another Life long memory compliment of scouting.

Last note of the night…. The call out ceremony for OA was tonight. OA, for those that are not aware is the honor societ of scouting. We had two leaders and two scouts elected from their peers to be a part of this honor. curious? http://www.delmarvacouncil.org/ and click “Order of the arrow” on the right. Cool stuff! and no, I will not list any names. Let them tell you for themselves!!!

Gonna go now and hit the rack – sleeeeeeeppppppy!

Hope everone is enjoying this! Thanks to those that sent me emails!

See you on the trail!

Mr D