Church seems short compared to...

[MikeWaters]

So it's about 10:30 at night, already past taps, the asst. Scoutmaster of the other LDS troop has made cobbler. Everyone is assembled and we are ready to eat.

My SPL calls on one of the older boys from the other troop to say the prayer. This guy, let's call him John....is a really Napoleon Dynamite character. He's 16 and at scout camp. He came directly from high adventure with the older boys. He's an Eagle Scout and this is his umpteenth time at camp. The next oldest boy in his troop is 13.

He's very smart, his dad is the Stake Pres., and he's homeschooled. But terribly weird and awkward like ND.

Anyway, so he is called on to say the prayer. He starts off by saying "we are thankful for the opportunity to audition for the skit, we ask that we might be selected to participate." I swear, he then went onto about 50 other subjects. It was a sincere prayer, but there was no topic not covered in that prayer. It was literally 10 minutes long. I was having trouble not laughing during the prayer (which I desperately stifled, because the bishop of the other ward was there). When he finished, the other scouts all groaned, "that's the longest prayer I've ever heard!" "thanks for the talk" "you blessed the food 3 times". Me and another asst. scoutmaster could not contain ourselves any longer. We were ROTFLMAO.

So after cobbler, the bishop decides he better give a little speech. He went through every phrase of the scout oath, every word in the scout law, asking questions and explaining each facet, in addition to explaining the "on my honor" award. It was about 20 minutes. And very painful.

He is a former scoutmaster, and should remember that such times are called "the scoutmaster minute." MINUTE.

....

It has struck me how very unironic scouting is. It is touching in a way. All these leaders, all these boys, learning skills, emphasis on morals. Learning to be men. The many young boys who look you in the eye, greet you with a "sir" tacked on the end.

To be involved in scouting as an adult is optimism at its best. You cannot be a cynic as to the future, and be in scouting. You cannot be a post-modern cynic lobbing grenades from the nose-bleeds. You are on the ground, building the future. It is refreshing to see and be a part of.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Ah, good times. You wouldn't believe how many stories I have from scout camp. Here are a couple:

We did a backpacking trip in the Uintahs and our SPL was giddy with excitement on the way in. He loved to fish and we were going to a prime spot. The fishing ended up being outstanding that year, but the poor kid got homesick and spent the entire week in his tent. He would come out occasionally to throw up or go to the can, but that was about it. Then on Friday night he started to show some life since we were going home the next morning. We were having our Friday night campfire and my assistant says "Well, boys. We have an exciting announcement to make. Earlier today we found a spot where we could get cell phone reception and we had a chat with the bishop and he gave us permission to stay another three days. Woohoo!". It was a cruel trick, but we just couldn't resist. The poor kid looked like he just got kicked in the crotch. Just as the tears were about to come out we let him know that we were just kidding.

On another year, we had a kid eat all kinds of junk food on the way to camp. He literally ate his entire stash of candy on the first day (that's pretty common, actually). We put most of the scouts into a great big ten-man tent that night. At about 3 am, this scout stood up and did a projectile vomit over all of the other scouts (picture a rotating sprinkler head). Then as we were cleaning up, he kicked over a lantern and fried another scouts sleeping bag. I was pretty proud of my boys for not lynching the kid on the spot.

I could go on like this for days. Kids do the darnedest things. Have fun, Mike.

[MikeWaters]

it's amazing how fast those kids go thru their spending money at the trading post.

one interesting tidbit about our group is that the boys are only about 10% white. We are the "ghetto" troop, in a sea of lilly white. We are mostly hispanic, a few whites, a few blacks.

A couple of the kids are from Sierra Leone. How weird is that? To be in civil war in Africa two years ago, and then to be in a LDS troop at scout camp in Oklahoma. The one kid whom I've got to know a bit bit, Mohammed....good kid.

Despite the fact he got a corner ripped of his Tote-n-Chip two days ago.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

So it's about 10:30 at night, already past taps, the asst. Scoutmaster of the other LDS troop has made cobbler. Everyone is assembled and we are ready to eat.

My SPL calls on one of the older boys from the other troop to say the prayer. This guy, let's call him John....is a really Napoleon Dynamite character. He's 16 and at scout camp. He came directly from high adventure with the older boys. He's an Eagle Scout and this is his umpteenth time at camp. The next oldest boy in his troop is 13.

He's very smart, his dad is the Stake Pres., and he's homeschooled. But terribly weird and awkward like ND.

Anyway, so he is called on to say the prayer. He starts off by saying "we are thankful for the opportunity to audition for the skit, we ask that we might be selected to participate." I swear, he then went onto about 50 other subjects. It was a sincere prayer, but there was no topic not covered in that prayer. It was literally 10 minutes long. I was having trouble not laughing during the prayer (which I desperately stifled, because the bishop of the other ward was there). When he finished, the other scouts all groaned, "that's the longest prayer I've ever heard!" "thanks for the talk" "you blessed the food 3 times". Me and another asst. scoutmaster could not contain ourselves any longer. We were ROTFLMAO.

So after cobbler, the bishop decides he better give a little speech. He went through every phrase of the scout oath, every word in the scout law, asking questions and explaining each facet, in addition to explaining the "on my honor" award. It was about 20 minutes. And very painful.

He is a former scoutmaster, and should remember that such times are called "the scoutmaster minute." MINUTE.

....

It has struck me how very unironic scouting is. It is touching in a way. All these leaders, all these boys, learning skills, emphasis on morals. Learning to be men. The many young boys who look you in the eye, greet you with a "sir" tacked on the end.

To be involved in scouting as an adult is optimism at its best. You cannot be a cynic as to the future, and be in scouting. You cannot be a post-modern cynic lobbing grenades from the nose-bleeds. You are on the ground, building the future. It is refreshing to see and be a part of.

This is a first rate essay, Mike. And something that should attract interest given scouting's somewhat controversial image these days. You should try to publish maybe a little more extended version of it someplace. I recall reading a very roughly similar piece by a NY Times reporter, this foot soldier of the liberal media's most hallowed organ. He almost sheepishly began writing that his son drug him off to Boy Scouts camp. He wound up telling about how touched and impressed he was in much the same way you have done.

[Robin]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

It has struck me how very unironic scouting is. It is touching in a way. All these leaders, all these boys, learning skills, emphasis on morals. Learning to be men. The many young boys who look you in the eye, greet you with a "sir" tacked on the end.

To be involved in scouting as an adult is optimism at its best. You cannot be a cynic as to the future, and be in scouting. You cannot be a post-modern cynic lobbing grenades from the nose-bleeds. You are on the ground, building the future. It is refreshing to see and be a part of.

Three weeks ago Faith and I took a group of kids from the inner-city school up for some fresh air and a high ropes leadership course Several of the kids were gay. As much as I appreciate the IDEA of scouting and what it is supposed to teach, I worry that it is a wolf in sheep's clothing... teaching kids homophobic bigotry before they are old enough to think through the issues. Even if the gay kidss had WANTED to go to scout camp and have the great experiences that you described, the BSA would have prevented it. I am happy to put my optimism elsewhere. Faith is the teaching coordinator of the Gay Straight Alliance. SHE epitomizes optimism at its best, imo.

Is that a grenade lob from the nose-bleeds? Sorry to be so negative. I have so many positive memories of scouting as a young man that I find the recent shift in the BSA interpretation of 'morally straight' to be particulary sad, particulary in light of so many kids that Faith and I know who could otherwise benefit from scouting. Even if I wanted to recommend scouting to some of these kids, the BSA would turn them away.

Keep up the good work, and try not to do more damage than good (I'm sure you will be better than most LDS scout leaders in that department).

[Zulu451]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

So it's about 10:30 at night, already past taps, the asst. Scoutmaster of the other LDS troop has made cobbler. Everyone is assembled and we are ready to eat.

My SPL calls on one of the older boys from the other troop to say the prayer. This guy, let's call him John....is a really Napoleon Dynamite character. He's 16 and at scout camp. He came directly from high adventure with the older boys. He's an Eagle Scout and this is his umpteenth time at camp. The next oldest boy in his troop is 13.

He's very smart, his dad is the Stake Pres., and he's homeschooled. But terribly weird and awkward like ND.

Anyway, so he is called on to say the prayer. He starts off by saying "we are thankful for the opportunity to audition for the skit, we ask that we might be selected to participate." I swear, he then went onto about 50 other subjects. It was a sincere prayer, but there was no topic not covered in that prayer. It was literally 10 minutes long. I was having trouble not laughing during the prayer (which I desperately stifled, because the bishop of the other ward was there). When he finished, the other scouts all groaned, "that's the longest prayer I've ever heard!" "thanks for the talk" "you blessed the food 3 times". Me and another asst. scoutmaster could not contain ourselves any longer. We were ROTFLMAO.

So after cobbler, the bishop decides he better give a little speech. He went through every phrase of the scout oath, every word in the scout law, asking questions and explaining each facet, in addition to explaining the "on my honor" award. It was about 20 minutes. And very painful.

He is a former scoutmaster, and should remember that such times are called "the scoutmaster minute." MINUTE.

....

It has struck me how very unironic scouting is. It is touching in a way. All these leaders, all these boys, learning skills, emphasis on morals. Learning to be men. The many young boys who look you in the eye, greet you with a "sir" tacked on the end.

To be involved in scouting as an adult is optimism at its best. You cannot be a cynic as to the future, and be in scouting. You cannot be a post-modern cynic lobbing grenades from the nose-bleeds. You are on the ground, building the future. It is refreshing to see and be a part of.

Wonders never cease...

My scouting experience was great when I was growing up. My last scout campout, ever, was when I was 14 and the other guys in the troop busted out their stash of cocaine and started getting loaded. It was at that point that enough was enough and I never went back.

[il Padrino Ute]

Robin -

The BSA is a private organization and if they don't want gay leaders, they don't have to have any gay leaders. They teach kids to be morally straight and because their definition of "morally straight" is different than yours, it doesn't make them wrong.

So I ask -other than your opinion, what proof do you have that the BSA is homophobic?

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

So I ask -other than your opinion, what proof do you have that the BSA is homophobic?

You mean other than that it won't allow gay leaders? That seems to be the very definition of it to me.

[il Padrino Ute]

Again, it's a private organization. It doesn't have to allow anybody to be leaders. And what legitimate proof is there that it's based on homophobia?

[Robin]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Robin -

The BSA is a private organization and if they don't want gay leaders, they don't have to have any gay leaders. They teach kids to be morally straight and because their definition of "morally straight" is different than yours, it doesn't make them wrong.

So I ask -other than your opinion, what proof do you have that the BSA is homophobic?

They won't take gay kids either. If I wanted to recommend scouting to the kids that I took to the ropes course, they would show up, and if they were 'honest and obedient' they would admit that they were openly gay, and then, whether they were sexually active or not, the BSA would bar them from scouting.

The meaning of 'morally straight' has changed over the years. Do you really think that Baden-Powel, who was probably gay himself, interpreted 'morally straight' in the LDS-centric way that that BSA interprets the term today? It is one of the quirky aspects of Mormonism -- morality = sexual morality.l