Paycheck or payback? You decide.

[qwazse]

So one of the fun things about being a scouter is watching young men follow in your footsteps, or maybe not ...

I've told you all about how some times we wanted to grab the "Eagle Project of Troop ###" banner that often hang by some of our more public works, grab some spray paint, and add a footnote: "we take bad kids."

Just like can happen in land navigation, a scout can choose to take "the long cut" into adulthood and all you can do is watch. Especially thanks to social media, there are a few moments you wish you could unsee, but there they are. And there you (or your wife, or your kids) are helping a young adult and his wife and kids make his new "patrol" to the next mile marker, then the next, etc ...

But, when your family is wondering how some furniture is gonna get hauled to your lake house, you tell them to ask their friends with trucks, and they say, "but we don't have friends with trucks", and you say, "Um that interweb thing on your handhelds?", and they give you blank looks, then say "Why don't you FB your friends and see if that actually works?", so I do. Guess which former scout actually responds?

Anyway, he was happy to take that odd job in exchange for a day by a Great Lake with the family. I had to also try and fix our grey-water tank. (Which he had never seen, but having worked a couple of fraking platforms, he grasped the concept right quick.) So he helped me pop the concrete lid and jimmy the pump, and when we saw that the check valve was shot, Mrs. Q offered 50 bucks to help fix it. He went with her to get the replacement pump while I mowed the lawn. When they got back, he jumped right in, and between the two of us, we got ourselves a septic system that had 90% less stink.

The moral of the story is two-fold:

1. Those scouts who try your patience may be the first to lend a hand in a pinch.

2. If you try your SM's patience don't take his forbearance for granted, it may not be tomorrow or even next year. But, sooner or later you may find yourself at the bottom of his latrine.

Revenge is best served cold.