I saw a Cub Scout the other day. Seeing him made me remember back to my days of scouting...it also made me realize something else.
When I was in Cub Scouts and Webelos, I had a lot of fun. I'm not sure if it was because we were younger and I had fun with the other kids, or because I did a lot of stuff with my dad. When I joined Boy Scouts, I really didn't like it. Half the time, the scout meeting was spent playing video games (yes, they had them back in the 80's).
My father was an Eagle Scout. It's one of the highest ranks you can obtain in the Boy Scouts. In scouting, you go from the Cub Scouts, to Webelos, to the Boy Scouts....or, well, that's the way it flowed back then. You go from Webelo to Tenderfoot when you join Boy Scouts. I think I made it to the next level of Second Class or something before I cautiously and very frighteningly told my dad that I no longer wanted to be in scouts. In a response that caught me off guard, my parents, even my dad, expressed no disappointment in my decision.
Now that I look back, though, I realize the only time I had fun in Boy Scouts was when my dad was around. He made the whole experience fun. I enjoyed spending time with him on the different activities.
I was never much of a fisherman. I don't know what it is, but touching a fish is just kinda yucky for me. I could put a worm on a hook, but any time I caught a yucky fish, my dad was there to take it off the line.
5 comments:
I love reading your blog. It's probably the only place in the world I can admit to being in the boy scouts too at one time and not worrying about the look on people's faces' afterwards. I like you had fun at least half the time anyway. My parents were though a little more "unimpressed" with my announcement one day that I was going to leave, particularly since at that time I didn't seem able to explain why very well....
The best times I had with my son are the times I spent in the outdoors with him I never expected him to make eagle scout . I just wanted to expose him to the outdoors instead of him spending all his time playing video game indoors , thanks for the reminder
nice to have you back.
i used to go hunting/fishing with my dad. i finally quit when i realized i didn't particularly like eating what we caught or shot. that was probably the only thing we ever did much together. I wonder if your dad felt like he had to make Eagle to keep his dad happy, and didn't want to inflict that on you?
take care, and again, nice to have you back
-Jude
The cub scouts are where I first found myself wearing a dress-Halloween!
I still like to fish, though not as much. When I learned my daughter's boyfriend was into U-boat lore (an area where I once had some expertise) I got to talking with him ... she kicked me under the table. "What?" "Girls don't do sumbmarine talk." "This girl does!"
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