Cub Scout Camp

In the past couple weeks I got slammed with CRDAMC’s favorite details: the back to back guard force/lawn detail. This is two weeks of the first being superfluous and the second mundane. Both consume the vast bulk of your time and entail about 72 hours a week of work. In the midst of all this, was Liam’s Cub Scout Camp at CTC.

  (Here is Liam holding the guidon.)

Since I am a scout leader for the ward, I had been to the one last year and planned on helping out this year. I managed to get a schedule for guard force that would allow me the most amount of time there with Lisa supplementing the times where I was late. We got a couple girls in the ward to babysit Miles and Ian so she didn’t have to supervise them as well as Liam. Looking back, I can’t believe we managed it.

 (Here is a group shot with all the boys we were responsible for and two of the leaders. Liam is in the back row, the fourth from the right.)

Now as a leader, the majority of your time is spent shuffling the kids to all the different stations and preventing fights from breaking out amongst the boys in the 90 degree heat. There is always a theme at scout camp too. The one last year focused on science (it happened during the transit of Venus) and dinosaurs. Something that would probably have been more interesting to Liam. This year’s theme was heroes and focused on modern heroes that serve as policeman, EMT’s and firefighters. The unfortunate part is that most of the workshops involved the kids sitting and listening. Liam was a trooper and sat quietly during most of them. (Let me emphasize this was the entire week, 5 hours a day.)

The best thing is that no matter how hot or bored he got, he never really wanted to leave. He enjoyed being with kids his own age, and some of the activities were things he REALLY enjoyed doing. They had the kids swim at the pool in the gym at CTC to help cool off each day, and he had a blast, (when asked, he always said that was his favorite part of the day).  He also had a great time with shooting BB guns (under close supervision by me) but even more than that, he enjoyed the archery section. Here are a few pictures of him:

 These were the best shots he made in one go. Pretty impressive since it was his second day using a bow and arrow.

As a side note, it is amazing how closely aligned scouting and the military are. I found myself lapsing into military terminology when organizing the boys and giving orders. (The other leaders that attended, and who are also military, did the same thing.) I remember finding it laughable when a coworker told me his wife didn't want their sons doing scouts as it brainwashes them into joining the military. There are huge similarities, however. From the rank and badge system, to the memorization of oaths and laws, to the fact that we are divided into units with our unit numbers on one shoulder and the U.S. flag on the other is no coincidence. Lord Baden Powell and his American counterpart really had every intention of having the scout program be a prep course for the military.

This last picture was the EMT's demonstrating how to move an injured individual with a board and C-collar.  The EMT's asked the boys which of their leaders they wanted to be the demonstration and they all volunteered me. Whether it was out of appreciation or revenge is debatable.

I have shot a lot of x-rays for people they bring in trussed up like this, never having had it done to me myself. It gave me a better appreciation of the patients they bring in.

The end result of this week is that Liam and I forged a stronger bond than ever. I was so proud of him for being so compliant. I enjoyed our little packed dinners and his insight into what we did. Poor little Ian took it hard not being able to go, but was reassured that when he got old enough to join scouts, he could. It was a great experience, made more enjoyable that I got to spend it with Liam.