Character Building
The "Professor" threw out the 25-exposure roll of film. I guess that means I will never find out what was on it in the first place.
I think I first joined Pack 108 back in the winter of 1993, but I may be wrong as far as the season is concerned. Anyways, I do not specifically remember any meetings, any campouts, or that stuff because they were not that memorable, or maybe I cannot remember them because it was just so long ago. However, I do remember all of the people I met there, stupid little activities we would do, and just... having fun. I will not go as far as saying that we had a grand ol' time or whatnot, but it was fun nevertheless. However, it seemed like it was just a prelude to Boy Scouts, sort of like how they want to sucker you into thinking or buying something by letting you try it out for free or only showing you the fun parts. That is my only guess as to what the true purpose of Cub Scouts is simply because there seemed to be no organized effort at anything other than the fun aspect.
Comparing Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts is almost like comparing apples and oranges; they are similar but they are also very different. Apples and oranges are both fruits but they taste very different by comparison; Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are both organizations based upon similar principles but are entirely different when it comes down to what actually goes on. For example, Cub Scouts is child's play to say the least because everything is oriented towards children and it feels more like one big babysitting organization. On the other hand, Boy Scouts is the exact opposite because the scouts make shit happen, not the adults. Yeah, adults have to come along on campouts and hikes and all of those cute things, but they are not usually running the show (Okay, they do all of the financial stuff). It seems similar to the situation depicted in Robert Graves' Good-Bye To All That in the fact that the grunts (Scouts) are in the trenches doing all of the work while the officer and logistics staffs (Adults) sit in the back and try to make sure that things happen somewhat according to a designated plan.
As much as it seemed like Cub Scouts was trying to sucker me into joining Boy Scouts (Almost in a fashion that made it seem like "Oh no! Boy Scouts sucks a monster cock!"), there was no suckering because...
... Boy Scouts was even more fun.
Okay, I will admit that when I first joined Troop 108, I was picked on most of the time by the older scouts, but this seemed like a weeding-out process. Separating the chaff from the wheat, so to say. In short order, I earned the nickname Sox because I always wore these long white socks with stripes on them that I would pull up to my knees (And sometimes past my knees), and I earned the nickname while it was still summer. Everyone would laugh about them and make fun of me for it, and I eventually decided that shorter socks might be better. Another thing is that there were some other scouts in my troop who were just fucked in the head, and there is no other way to put it. As I look back and remember these people who were just screwed up, it does seem as if their only real purpose was to separate the willing from the weak, a "natural selection" like process (I could probably go on for the rest of the day with naming this process). However, as I became older and gradually began going up in the ranks, this process died off. This happened partially because I was just getting older and was not taking much more shit from these people, and part of it had to do with the fact that my troop was losing many of the older scouts who had originally been picking on me. Some of the older scouts had dropped out, but most of then became Eagle. This is a bit surprising because only 2% of all scouts ever become Eagle.
Anyways, Boy Scouts was a blast. There was no partying, drinking, or anything like that; just pure, clean fun. Hell, I gave up three summers to work (Read: volunteer) at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation just because it was fun. There was work involved in all of that, but most of the time, it was just raw fun. I gave up almost a month of the summers of 1998 and 2000 in order to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico (Many miles of hiking, eating freeze-dried food, and running around where no trace of civilization existed with 80 lbs. of gear on my back). Even after all of that blood, sweat, and tears, I can still say that it was a damn fun time.
Somewhere along the line though, the line between fun and duty was blurred, and I am not sure if this is good or bad. The good thing is that when you combine fun and duty, you are more willing to perform your responsibilities because you want to. However, the bad thing is that you could possibly lose sight of your duties because you think that whatever is fun is your duty. Both are separate elements and can be combined, but even with the line blurred, you must be able to see through it all to know when to divide them.
I technically became an Eagle Scout on February 22, 2001, although my Eagle Ceremony was a month or two afterwards. As I stood at the podium to give my acceptance speech, I could not find the proper words to say. I kept saying "Scouts is fun" multiple times in various ways, but I never pinned down a specific reason. I had so many thoughts and memories rushing through my head that I just could not pick a specific instance to talk about to expand on the "Scouts is fun" idea. I think my parents have it on video, and I laugh about it as I think about it even now. It makes me feel silly because I was trying to make up my speech on the spot even though I had one written down in my pocket.
In my life, I have been to at least a dozen Eagle Ceremonies for people that I know in the central Pennsylvania area; however, I have been invited to many more. The main reason I did not go to any of those other Eagle Ceremonies was not because of time constraints or anything like that, but simply because of who the person was and how they "achieved" their Eagle. If I ever received an invitation from someone, it was because I was friends with them to some degree, but being friends with them does not mean that I should deny the fact that they may have fudged part of the "road" to becoming an Eagle Scout. While working at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation, I saw at least four or five kids per summer who would have their Eagle before they were even 14 years old. I never agreed with this because all of these kids were immature and did not understand what they were getting into. To them, it was merely a game; beat it as fast as possible and move onto the next big thing.
The most heart-wrenching part of all of this is seeing people not earn Eagle Scout when you know that they do deserve it. I am talking about those people who just put so much time and effort towards Boy Scouts that they lose sight of their personal objectives in it all or those people who have so much potential but squander it by quitting/never really taking advantage of what they can exploit from within themselves. I have seen many of these people go through Boy Scouts, and it truly pained me to see it going on around me all the time. While preppy kids would practically buy their Eagle Scout, there were other people who never got Eagle Scout but deserved it far more. On my Philmont 2000 Trek, there was a kid in my crew named AJ who openly admitted that his father (Who was also apart of the crew) pretty much did his entire Eagle project so that all that AJ had to do was "earn" merit badges at summer camp. After talking to a number of people from his troop, I got the impression that AJ never worked on any merit badges and had just forged the papers for all of them.
Becoming an Eagle Scout is something special to me; I even had an eagle tattooed onto my left shoulder blade to symbolize what I had become and so I could never forget who I am (Although other factors contributed to my desire to get a tattoo). I honestly believe that Boy Scouts made me a better person in many ways, and it does for many other young men as well, but I cannot deny that it loses its potency as people take advantage of the system. As I came back to Hershey for this summer, the "Professor" informed me that there was a new man in my troop who basically took control; since there is a relative lack of scouts, this man has gained leverage over my troop's leaders by pointing out that he has a strong sway over many of the parents and their decisions to continue supporting the troop (Monetarily and with their sons). I have no clue why this man wants control over a Boy Scout troop, but I cannot deny the "air" that he had around him the last time I went to a troop meeting.
Since then, neither the "Professor" or I have gone to a troop meeting; the troop we once knew is dead.
Despite all of that, I cannot forget all of the lessons that Boy Scouts has taught me, nor can I forget all of the people that I was friends with for those short seven years. At the very least, I got a "Get out of Jail Free" card from a Federal "mail cop" who happened to be my assistant scoutmaster. It was there to have fun, but if you dug only a little bit, it was there to help you mature and become a better person.
Hank Weis, ex-Reservation Director of Hidden Valley Scout ReservationWhen my family and I moved to Pennsylvania back in 1991, there was a two-year gap between when I had friends. In an effort to help me make some friends, my parents encouraged me to join Cub Scouts, but perhaps that was not their sole intention in condoning such an action.
If you aren’t modeling what you’re teaching, you’re teaching something else.
I think I first joined Pack 108 back in the winter of 1993, but I may be wrong as far as the season is concerned. Anyways, I do not specifically remember any meetings, any campouts, or that stuff because they were not that memorable, or maybe I cannot remember them because it was just so long ago. However, I do remember all of the people I met there, stupid little activities we would do, and just... having fun. I will not go as far as saying that we had a grand ol' time or whatnot, but it was fun nevertheless. However, it seemed like it was just a prelude to Boy Scouts, sort of like how they want to sucker you into thinking or buying something by letting you try it out for free or only showing you the fun parts. That is my only guess as to what the true purpose of Cub Scouts is simply because there seemed to be no organized effort at anything other than the fun aspect.
Comparing Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts is almost like comparing apples and oranges; they are similar but they are also very different. Apples and oranges are both fruits but they taste very different by comparison; Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are both organizations based upon similar principles but are entirely different when it comes down to what actually goes on. For example, Cub Scouts is child's play to say the least because everything is oriented towards children and it feels more like one big babysitting organization. On the other hand, Boy Scouts is the exact opposite because the scouts make shit happen, not the adults. Yeah, adults have to come along on campouts and hikes and all of those cute things, but they are not usually running the show (Okay, they do all of the financial stuff). It seems similar to the situation depicted in Robert Graves' Good-Bye To All That in the fact that the grunts (Scouts) are in the trenches doing all of the work while the officer and logistics staffs (Adults) sit in the back and try to make sure that things happen somewhat according to a designated plan.
As much as it seemed like Cub Scouts was trying to sucker me into joining Boy Scouts (Almost in a fashion that made it seem like "Oh no! Boy Scouts sucks a monster cock!"), there was no suckering because...
... Boy Scouts was even more fun.
Okay, I will admit that when I first joined Troop 108, I was picked on most of the time by the older scouts, but this seemed like a weeding-out process. Separating the chaff from the wheat, so to say. In short order, I earned the nickname Sox because I always wore these long white socks with stripes on them that I would pull up to my knees (And sometimes past my knees), and I earned the nickname while it was still summer. Everyone would laugh about them and make fun of me for it, and I eventually decided that shorter socks might be better. Another thing is that there were some other scouts in my troop who were just fucked in the head, and there is no other way to put it. As I look back and remember these people who were just screwed up, it does seem as if their only real purpose was to separate the willing from the weak, a "natural selection" like process (I could probably go on for the rest of the day with naming this process). However, as I became older and gradually began going up in the ranks, this process died off. This happened partially because I was just getting older and was not taking much more shit from these people, and part of it had to do with the fact that my troop was losing many of the older scouts who had originally been picking on me. Some of the older scouts had dropped out, but most of then became Eagle. This is a bit surprising because only 2% of all scouts ever become Eagle.
Anyways, Boy Scouts was a blast. There was no partying, drinking, or anything like that; just pure, clean fun. Hell, I gave up three summers to work (Read: volunteer) at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation just because it was fun. There was work involved in all of that, but most of the time, it was just raw fun. I gave up almost a month of the summers of 1998 and 2000 in order to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico (Many miles of hiking, eating freeze-dried food, and running around where no trace of civilization existed with 80 lbs. of gear on my back). Even after all of that blood, sweat, and tears, I can still say that it was a damn fun time.
Somewhere along the line though, the line between fun and duty was blurred, and I am not sure if this is good or bad. The good thing is that when you combine fun and duty, you are more willing to perform your responsibilities because you want to. However, the bad thing is that you could possibly lose sight of your duties because you think that whatever is fun is your duty. Both are separate elements and can be combined, but even with the line blurred, you must be able to see through it all to know when to divide them.
I technically became an Eagle Scout on February 22, 2001, although my Eagle Ceremony was a month or two afterwards. As I stood at the podium to give my acceptance speech, I could not find the proper words to say. I kept saying "Scouts is fun" multiple times in various ways, but I never pinned down a specific reason. I had so many thoughts and memories rushing through my head that I just could not pick a specific instance to talk about to expand on the "Scouts is fun" idea. I think my parents have it on video, and I laugh about it as I think about it even now. It makes me feel silly because I was trying to make up my speech on the spot even though I had one written down in my pocket.
In my life, I have been to at least a dozen Eagle Ceremonies for people that I know in the central Pennsylvania area; however, I have been invited to many more. The main reason I did not go to any of those other Eagle Ceremonies was not because of time constraints or anything like that, but simply because of who the person was and how they "achieved" their Eagle. If I ever received an invitation from someone, it was because I was friends with them to some degree, but being friends with them does not mean that I should deny the fact that they may have fudged part of the "road" to becoming an Eagle Scout. While working at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation, I saw at least four or five kids per summer who would have their Eagle before they were even 14 years old. I never agreed with this because all of these kids were immature and did not understand what they were getting into. To them, it was merely a game; beat it as fast as possible and move onto the next big thing.
The most heart-wrenching part of all of this is seeing people not earn Eagle Scout when you know that they do deserve it. I am talking about those people who just put so much time and effort towards Boy Scouts that they lose sight of their personal objectives in it all or those people who have so much potential but squander it by quitting/never really taking advantage of what they can exploit from within themselves. I have seen many of these people go through Boy Scouts, and it truly pained me to see it going on around me all the time. While preppy kids would practically buy their Eagle Scout, there were other people who never got Eagle Scout but deserved it far more. On my Philmont 2000 Trek, there was a kid in my crew named AJ who openly admitted that his father (Who was also apart of the crew) pretty much did his entire Eagle project so that all that AJ had to do was "earn" merit badges at summer camp. After talking to a number of people from his troop, I got the impression that AJ never worked on any merit badges and had just forged the papers for all of them.
Becoming an Eagle Scout is something special to me; I even had an eagle tattooed onto my left shoulder blade to symbolize what I had become and so I could never forget who I am (Although other factors contributed to my desire to get a tattoo). I honestly believe that Boy Scouts made me a better person in many ways, and it does for many other young men as well, but I cannot deny that it loses its potency as people take advantage of the system. As I came back to Hershey for this summer, the "Professor" informed me that there was a new man in my troop who basically took control; since there is a relative lack of scouts, this man has gained leverage over my troop's leaders by pointing out that he has a strong sway over many of the parents and their decisions to continue supporting the troop (Monetarily and with their sons). I have no clue why this man wants control over a Boy Scout troop, but I cannot deny the "air" that he had around him the last time I went to a troop meeting.
Since then, neither the "Professor" or I have gone to a troop meeting; the troop we once knew is dead.
Despite all of that, I cannot forget all of the lessons that Boy Scouts has taught me, nor can I forget all of the people that I was friends with for those short seven years. At the very least, I got a "Get out of Jail Free" card from a Federal "mail cop" who happened to be my assistant scoutmaster. It was there to have fun, but if you dug only a little bit, it was there to help you mature and become a better person.
posted by Eric Joseph at 4:37 AM
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