That dumb scout thing.

 While this buffalo tends to hold his breath

Relax, it certainly is not unto death

Schoolwork has buried for a time

And now I am finally done with this rhyme.

Intrigued by the title? I will be honest. I am borrowing it, but once I explain it you will find that it does have universal application.

I was on our Roundtable Zoom for the month of December, and there certainly was one point that I definitely wanted to remember. oy, another rhyme. But it was an excellent point, as to what are responsibilities are as Scout leaders. One leader put it very eloquently. I couldn't see her name, and there was no picture, but her point was this.

The key is to have an activity that 20 years from now the guys (or girls) will say to each other, "remember that dumb scout thing we did when we were dealing with the pandemic?"

If you are like me, it is quite possible that right now you may be taking a walk down memory lane, and something will stand out. For some, there may be whole mine fields of "those dumb scout things" or activities. Let me tell you what I first thought of, as a reminder, I was in that world of being a new adult, and, as it turns out, it was at Camp Geiger.

Most know that the Training Center was the Dining Hall sometime ago. Before it was time to clear the tables, the boys were starting to act up a little. Oh, did I mention that this is probably not something that would be allowed today? You decide. It was actually harmless, but you never know. You know how it is, right? Kids start dumping drinks and other things into other cups, and maybe even try to trick someone into drinking it. The term, I think, was Tini-mar. As it turned out, my brother, who has less tolerance about pranks and teasing than I have, had enough, and he instituted a you make it you drink it policy. Thus Tini-mars were served. Though truthfully they didn't last long. The boys were generally good sports, and even made it into a game. I can still hear it "TINI-MAR!". 

A small thing, right? Accidental. But fit the moment. And I will post this on my Facebook, along with the Woodbadge site, to see if any of them remember it.

The thing is, any activity that you plan, no matter how whimsical, is critical to the youth interacting with each other. As I am writing this, I am reminded of a commercial last year by FedEx, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwBj92mtjG4  The key line? "I should have just got her the box". 

This year has been hard on kids. Separated, isolated, minimal interaction. We need to have those times together, to do "stuff". Even if it seems really dumb. You never know that 20 years from now, (Tini-mar is about 38 years) those adults will look back and say

"Remember that dumb Scout thing we did?"

And  the answer will likely be "YEA! That was so cool!"

Back to Gilwell, Happy Land 

Not very long, but the best lessons aren't. 

What do you think? Do you have anything you might put in that category?