Anecdotes/Scouting Nicknames
Rodger Morris (rodger@FISHNET.NET)
Thu, 24 Aug 1995 09:30:46 GMT
>On Fri, 18 Aug 1995, Brenda Hunter wrote:
>
>> Does anyone have a humorous story to share about the Scout who came to camp
>> unprepared?
>> their child to camp with no raingear, or worse yet, to a winter camp
>>with only
>> one pair of mittens, and rubber boots!
>> ^^^^^^
These two anecdotes do not quite answer Brenda Hunter's call, but
here are two incidents that occurred in the month of July of 1995 on Troop
852 activities that earned Scouting nicknames for two of our Scouts:
ANECDOTE #1
I was one of two Scouters who took 8 Scouts of our 16 boy Troop up to
summer camp at Camp Three Falls, in southern California. Three Falls
is adjacent to a rather large turkey farm.
Now, one of our 12 year old Scouts was working on Environmental Science
merit badge. He decided that one of his 4, two-hour observation periods
for the badge would be from 4am to 6am on Wednesday. He asked his father
to wake him up in case he failed to respond to his wristwatch alarm.
Josh has a tendency to sleep through earthquakes, alarm sirens,
thunderstorms and other manner of minor disturbances, a characteristic
which I have in common with him. But I digress...
Josh's Dad went to wake him up at about 3:45am and found him awake,
albeit semicomatose and attempting to slip his right shoe on his left
foot and vice versa. Josh went up the "Chapel Hill" trail at camp to
"observe" his plot. He got more than he bargained for.
About 4:25am, Josh came tearing back into camp at about Warp Factor 9.
He shook his father awake, and said something like:
"Dad! Dad!! There's something big up there! It went ripping through
the brush about 10 feet from me!" Dad was about 9/10 asleep. He said
something like:
"What are you doing back down here?! You're supposed to be up on Chapel
Hill doing your observations. Get back up there." As soon as he said
this, some coyotes started howling up on Chapel Hill. Josh had probably
heard a coyote chasing a small animal through the brush.
When I heard about this one, I grinned and told him that he sounded like
the answer to the riddle, "What does a coyote call a running house cat?"
Answer: Fast food.
Ergo, we now have "Fast Food" Malmquist in our troop.
ANECDOTE #2
Two weeks later, Troop 852 did a 16 mile backpack trip in the Los Padres
National Forest. There were places where the trail was not well marked.
At one of these places in some mountain grassland, one of our 12 year
old Scouts stepped right over the top of a 4 foot rattlesnake that was
coiled up in the sunlight. He did not see the snake.
Adam's mother Donna was backpacking with us. So was "Fast Food". Donna
saw the snake and gasped, "Oh, Adam!!!" Adam stopped about 4 inches away
from the rattlesnake, who was now aware of him.
Adam replied, "What!!??"
His mother said, fast and fervantly, "Adam, walk down the trail!!"
Adam replied, "I am. Why'd you stop me to tell me to do something I was
already doing?"
The rattlesnake looked up at Adam, then looked at Donna and "Fast Food".
"Fast Food" and Donna both said simultaneously, "Adam, just _do_ it!!!!!"
Adam just stood there, looking at them as though they were demented. The
rattlesnake just looked at Adam and flicked his tongue out of his mouth
a few times in the direction of Adam's ankle. Finally, Adam shrugged,
turned and walked down the trail.
The rattlesnake settled back in for a nap. Donna and "Fast Food" swung wide
around the rattlesnake and caught up to Adam, then told him what had just
happened and pointed the rattlesnake out to him. Adam was suitably impressed.
In talking about this one after the trip, I opined that the rattlesnake
was either on Valium or one of the most even-tempered rattlesnakes on
the face of the earth. ;-)
Adam is now known as "Snake Charmer" Haverstock; "Snake" for short.
I trust you have all enjoyed these true stories of, "Scouts in Action".
Yours in Scouting,
Rodger
Rodger Morris <rodger@fishnet.net>
Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 852, Camarillo, CA
Ventura County Council, Boy Scouts of America
National Woodbadge 416-18, Philmont, 1973
"I used to be a Beaver..."
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
