A Scoutmaster's Paycheck
Dan O'Canna (ocanna@ALPHA.CAER.UKY.EDU)
Tue, 6 Jul 1999 15:08:48 -0400
I'm fresh back from Summer Camp at good ol' Camp McKee. Of course when
I say OLD I mean it in the fondest sense. The camp is getting a bit
frayed about the edges, but plans are afoot to bring the camp into
the next century with some significant improvements.
Of course it is not so much the place as what goes on there, and last
week I had one of those moments that make the "hour a week" I spend
Scouting even more worthwhile.
Our new OA Lodge Chief pulled me aside early in the week and reminded
me that when he earned his Brotherhood he and I had worked all day
together. Our job was to clean every bathroom on the camp. A full
day of mopping floors and scrubbing porcelain fixtures. All of which
sorely needed the attention.
I worked with a crew of 3 young men who were Brotherhood candidates.
One obviously had never done much work in his life and was not too
enthusiastic. The second was slightly better, but the third worked
hard all day at a task that was none too pleasant.
After the day's work was done I helped the boys study for their
Brotherhood test and had a chance to complement the hard worker on
his performance that day and encourage him to continue his association
with Scouting and the Order of the Arrow.
All of this I had fogotten until he reminded me of that day a few years
past. He told me that our conversation had influenced him to keep
active in Scouting and the Order. "And now here I am, the Lodge Chief.
Thanks for spending that time with me," he concluded.
Once in a while, when we least expect it, a "Scoutmaster's paycheck"
comes our way.
Cha-ching!
Yours in the spirit of Scouting,
Dan O'Canna Lexington, Kentucky
mailto:ocanna@alpha.caer.uky.edu
