Divine Lunacy

I had originally planned to postpone this entry indefinitely, but I’ve just realized that my keys are stuck in the truck. Now that I can’t go anywhere, I have some free time to blog. (As if I didn’t have time before…)

As many of you may already know, I attend Camp Yawgoog during their fifth week of operation every summer. As most of you are also probably aware, the camp was shutdown due to a norovirus outbreak that week. After being at camp for less than a day, I was sent home with hopes of returning week 7 or 8. My dream was finally realized last week. I returned to Camp Yawgoog for my 8th and final year at camp. (As a scout.).

Before I go into the events of last week, I find it necessary to waste a paragraph summarizing my previous two years at Yawgoog. In the fall of 2002 I was elected Senior Patrol Leader of My troop. I was then reelected For the spring-summer term in April of 2003. As SPL at Yawgoog, I had to take on a great many responsibilities that I wasn’t quite ready for. The week went kind of poorly for me. As I look back on that week, I think SPL’s have it easier these days, but perhaps this is just the result of greater experience. I was a life scout at the time, and nearly Eagle… Being such a high rank, I was under the impression that I didn’t need to take any merit badges. I now realize the stupidity of this assumption, and wish I could change things… The next year, I again didn’t take any scheduled merit badges, but I did complete wood carving and orienteering, which gave me enough merit badges for a bronze palm. I had been eagle for about 7 months at the time. If I had enough Merit badges, I could have earned a bronze palm four months earlier. If I had taken just two merit badges in 2002, I would have been eligible for a bronze palm exactly three months after my Eagle Scout board of review. These four months would have enabled me to get a second bronze palm, and perhaps even a second gold. Now I will have to settle with one silver. The morale of the story is: Lethargy Kills.

I think you get the point. I have seen the error of my ways. I took, and passed both Wilderness Survival and Forestry this year. By this year, I was accustomed to doing nothing all day. I could not bear to fill all of my free time with merit badge classes. As a result, I left my two afternoon classes free. I regret this even now. had I taken two more merit badges, I would be only one merit badge away from a silver palm now. As you can clearly see, I am full of regret.

As my Scouting Career comes to an end, I feel myself rushing to become even more decorated than I already am. By my eighteenth birthday, I WILL have attained the rank of Eagle Scout, Silver Palm, thus having thirty-six merit badges, including both life saving and Emergency Preparedness’s. I spent twenty minutes looking over the Yawgoog leadership handbook this past week. Again with the regret… I have this sudden affinity for Yawgoog Segments. I WANT MORE!… had I shot just one round at the trap range, I would have a segment. Were I not too cheap to join the YAA, I’d have another. Damned order of the arrow segment. There’s an OA ordeal in September or something… Perhaps I should get myself voted in and go. I’m rambling…

Yawgoog was weird this year. John could not make week eight. My mom was there all week. I’m too lazy to go into the evils of Women in Boy Scouting at the moment, but I’ve surely posted something to that effect in the past. Most of the Philmont crew decided not to come. I was left with Tim, Kevin, and a bunch of eleven-year-olds. Monday went about the same as usual. Jerry was once again the Sandy Beach Waterfront Director. YAY JERRY! (He hails from my troop.) Those scouts who attend Yawgoog during week eight seem to be perfectly content with it. Perhaps they’ve never been during one of the better weeks. Week eight seems to be the least tradition filled, the least spirit filled, and the least exciting week of camp. On top of all of the rag tag troops like 28 Primrose, and 102 Chopmist, the process of breaking camp for the winter begins during week eight. In week five when the staff starts a song, all of the troops stand and participate. We have all been coming to Yawgoog for years; we know the routine. Such is not true with week eight. They seem to lack the brains to sing, and furthermore, they fail to comprehend the idea of a Moo-moo. Even the staff seemed to sing a bit slower. (though I am now told that we sing too fast.) On a final note, I can’t imagine any troop in week five toilet-papering all the shooting ranges. I lied, here’s the real final note: There was a week six Three Point troop staying with us. They actually had the audacity to start Three Point cheers in the Sandy Beach dining Hall. This would not have gone unstopped in week five. But alas, the staff alone could not overpower this enormous troop.

If you’re a good Blog reader, you’ve already read last year’s post about camp. This means that you know all about the cargo net, right? I decided to make something this year as well, but more of a web than a net. I made it exactly like a spider web. (using three trees.) if came out perfectly, but the holes were too large for people to sit in without the fear of falling through. My work around for the large holes turned the web into a net, but it was still a web at heart…

This entry was posted on Monday, August 22nd, 2005 at 1240:06 and is filed under Scouting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.