Scoutmaster Minute, 30 April 2024

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." We know this quote, as it is from our Nation's Declaration of Independence. What is less known is the next line, "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Now this is an important next line because it puts liberty into perspective. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines liberty as "the power to do as one pleases." Yet, what happens when the pleasures of one take away the rights of another? This is why we have laws. Some examples of laws aimed at life and pursuit of happiness: It is illegal to take away something that belongs to another. It is illegal to commit murder. It is illegal to drive through red lights. It is illegal to produce loud noises that are such a volume that they infringe on the rights of others. One must pay taxes to contribute to the infrastructure needed to have a productive community, fund necessary public education and safety resources, and to provide for national defense. These and many other laws are things decided through the officials we elect, so all can have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Consider your obligation as a citizen to follow the laws of the land.

A Scout is Obedient.

Scoutmaster Minute -- 23 April 2024

The team takes the field together as one body. It is united in a singular purpose – to achieve and win. Led by its team captain, the members of the team follow the direction of the one they elected to direct the body and they support his vision. Each member of the team is valued – tall, short, thin, and thick – each plays a critical role with unique talents that contribute to the soul of the team. All are playmakers but none are ball hogs – members of the team know they must act in unison to prevail. Members of the team show up in uniform because they are proud to be part of the team and do not want to disappoint the team by showing up looking less than their best. The team is successful because it is not made up of free radicals, but individual pieces that are committed to the well-being and performance of the body. Because there is no 'I' in team, the team conquers what one single individual cannot because it has unlocked the power of teamwork. This is the essence of a team. This is the essence of the Patrol Method.

To paraphrase Roland Philipps, the author of The Patrol System – the Patrol Method is not a method, it is the method.

Scoutmaster Minute -- 16 April 2024

We have often talked about how Sir Robert Baden-Powell wrote Scouting for Boys in 1908 when London boys started reading his 1899 military book on reconnaissance and surveillance called Aids to Scouting for Non-Commissioned Officers and Men. You may not know that Baden-Powell published many books and was an accomplished artist. He wrote and sketched to make extra money to supplement his military pay. His sixth book is called Adventures of a Spy. It chronicles his time as an intelligence officer for the British Empire. During one of his missions, he pretended to be an entomologist (an insect expert) and was sneaking around Dalmatia with a butterfly net and a sketch book drawing pictures of fortifications and gun emplacements. Stopped and searched numerous times by foreign military and officials, all they could find was a notebook full of pictures of butterflies and leaves, an believed him to be an entomologist. If they had looked closer, they would have found that he had hidden in the patterns of the butterfly wings and veins of the leaves detailed maps of their military strong points.

Those officials missed what was hidden in plain sight; they showed poor attention to detail. If they had looked closer, they would have recognized the patterns and taken Baden-Powell into custody. Fortunately for Scouting, that was not the case.

If you read his works, you will find that many of Baden-Powell's early instruction was games to improve attention to detail. If you have ever played Kim's Game, where you are shown a collection of items for a few moments, then are led away to recount what you saw, then you are playing a game designed by Baden-Powell. It is interesting to note that Scouts are not the only one who plays this game – the US Marine Corps Sniper School and British Royal Marines Commandos also practice this memory test to improve attention to detail.

Attention to detail is invaluable in life. It helps us Be Prepared. It provides an advantage to the person that possesses attention to details and it is a trait that many employers treasure. I encourage you to pursue how closely you pay to details. Having superior attention to detail can change your life.

I will keep myself mentally sharp.

Scoutmaster Minute -- 9 April 2024

It seems that a good portion of movies these days are remakes. One genre that is typically not rebooted is animation. Because it is an untapped market, I thought I would take a stab at a few concepts for remakes:

Happy Feet – A Scout discovers the joy of a fresh pair of socks after a long hike.

Tangled – The Knots and Lashings Instructor tries to make some sense out of the Troop's rope bag.

Frozen – A Scout does not follow the campout packing list and finds out what it is like to be cold. Real cold.

Beauty and the Beast – A patrol makes an amazing Dutch oven meal, but the dessert, well, not so much.

Alladin – After centuries of it being lost, the Quartermaster finds the missing troop lantern and is granted three wishes.

Hercules – A Scout does 100 push-ups for his Tenderfoot physical fitness test, earning admiration across the troop.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron – An ode to joy as a Scout finishes a Phimont trek.

The Lion King – A senior Scout decides to become a Den Chief for the youngest den of Cub Scouts.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice – The new Assistant Scoutmaster attempts to make the Mystery Drink of the Day at Summer Camp.

It is doubtful that Disney, Pixar or Warner Brothers will jump on any of my ideas for remakes, yet it is okay to be silly sometimes. Good humor can turn tragedy to comedy. Keep a good attitude and it will take you far.

A Scout is Cheerful.

Scoutmaster Minute -- 2 April 2024

Baby horses, or foals, walk within hours of birth. Baby whales, or calves, swim shortly after birth – a must because the first thing they have to do is surface to breathe. Yet here we are as humans sometimes taking over a year to learn how to walk. An article from Scientific American said that this is because we are born with such a large brain, and it takes it a while to mature. Mature it does, gaining the ability not just to walk, but to do other things like build machines to fly to the moon. Powered with the ability to employ and understand speech and writing, the human brain can process endless amounts of information, with much of it handed down from generation to generation in lessons, lectures, instruction, and books. To that end, as Scouts we have a solemn obligation to pass our Scout Skills to new generations of Scouts. This coming campout begins a learning journey for some, as well as a way for others to pay back the efforts of those who came before them who taught them the same skills. Train one another well, for your lessons could save a life, or at the very least enhance the life of the learner.

A Scout is Kind.