As we have seen, the rumors about the dishes throughout the week as punishment for the delay was not true, and soon we found ourselves in Ugwam Mess Hall, which is certainly an appropriate name. The camaraderie of a dining room full of enthusiastic scouts, the conviviality of the Lodge, with its cheerful fireplace crackling rock solid, and the comfort that came to eat our first (and best) meal of the week quickly erased memories of the bus travel and our concern for the rest ofweek.
Guys, we were always wrong.
Penetrating the bleat of a trumpet raw flash into our little tent 4-Scout sleep 6:30 sharp, abruptly ending our first hot night. We do not know that this is the only boring night of the week. Rock, the ex-tent with our leader, sniffed and muttered that he had gone to sleep inside We left and went for breakfast. We knew from the stern ads the night before, during breakfast each tent would be checked for cleanliness,cleaning and, of course, beds are made in the prescribed manner Scout. We giggled about how Rock was about to do so.
We underestimate Rock.
After breakfast we all made for personal inspection of our uniforms, hair, teeth and sections of other scouts. To our surprise, there was Rock, looking spiffy in her new dress Scout. The captain in charge of the inspection team has announced that all the tents tents were approved, except Teepee # 34 and Scout would come Shinnforward.
"Scout Shinn, why not get out of bed?" The captain asked Stern.
"It 's been - it was ages I did it for breakfast - Fair" I prayed in wide-eyed innocence.
"Then why do you feel like you just left? Some effort was made to straighten out."
"But I did it! Perhaps .........." Suddenly I remembered to stay in Rock, and began to explain. But Rock was on the line of scouts behind me, and then I rememberedswitch beds with me the night before. My stomach sank.
"Scout Shinn, are you a scout?" questioned the captain gruffly. It sounded like a stupid question from a scout, but I thought I had better answer.
"Yes, sir."
"Well, Scout Shinn, have you ever heard that the Scouts are clean, tidy and follow directions?"
"Sir Yes Sir,"
"And did you find our information to make your bed and tidy your tent?"
"Well, I .........."
"Ademerit. Report to the Scoutmaster Seaverson in the kitchen immediately. And to see that happen again. Who else is in Teepee # 34? "
Rock put his right hand.
"Scout Riggotoni, you would be responsible for Test # 34, and make sure that Shinn Scout does his duty?"
"Yes sir!" Rock beamed.
My stomach dropped a notch further. Now he was not only the ad hoc boss, the boss was allowed.
The thing I remember most of the dishes that first morninghot water. It was hot, and I was miserable. I missed the first morning of work, and I knew that tomorrow would be a day behind everyone.
At lunch, Scout Riggotoni hit his arm around me and said, "Okay, Shinn. It 's your first year at camp. We all have to learn." That was sweet of him, I thought, and the master head, apparently thought so too because then I saw him rock pat on the back in a gesture of apparent praise for helping a young, rebellious Scoutas I.
The bathroom in Camp Ugwam - at least the only one who could use - it was a long outbuilding, perhaps with 20 holes on a long bench, with no partitions between each "station". I took a long look at the door, saw some older boys gathered in a group on the other side to look at something and laugh out loud, and I decided I could wait until I got home.
It 'been a long week.
After lunch we were running drills, and we went left and we were good and we marchedthrough the trees and most of the world. This was probably the easiest part of the field for me, because I had joined the school band from a year earlier as a trombone player, and knew my left foot from my right, and what 'About Face' to say. Some of the other scouts apparently not, because there have been several head-on collisions before the drill was over.
After drilling we were excused for the afternoon to go with all the necessary recreation. I wanted to go home, and wonderedwhat was over the hill and down to Soda Springs. I thought I could use the phone, and had visions of my father and my mother and my brother's large collection of me and calls me "Duane" instead of Scout Shinn. But the warnings early evening on the bears in the mountains outside of the field sufficiently discouraged me from my vision.
Willie wanted to go swimming, and I thought it sounded too good. We have moved our suitcases, heading for the lake located directly behind the lodge,and took a leap of faith directly in the fresh waters of Lake Ugwam. If I hit the water I am reminded that sometimes I have cramps in my legs at night in bed, and sure enough, in the thin air of 6,000 feet and the icy water of Lake Ugwam, my hamstrings cramps in both legs as the unauthorized Scout knot I always wanted to be able to commit. If you've ever had the glorious experience cramps in both hamstrings at once, is that I was very happy to bringshore at all, even thought it was just a few meters away. That ended my swimming for the week and for the next five afternoons were spent trying to get some sleep ', because the cramps, which started with 33 degree water, then continued every night, probably because height to work on fresh muscle stiffness.
In any case, I knew that I was not cut out for a scout, and dreamed a lot about baseball fields at low elevation, beds with firm mattresses and a bathroom withdoors on them. Willie, the exchange of data occupied in the meantime taken every baseball fan, he could bring to light, the head cook, a widow whose husband had once played third base for the Portland Beavers of the old Pacific Coast League included. Willie not only a series of charming shops baseball got from old times, but also a nice preview of sweets prepared for dinner, because the widow, she was happy that someone was interested enough to listen to his stories of baseballhusband's career. Willie curiosity was surpassed only by his energy level, and many nights when I was struggling to get my legs stretched out, I hear this "knock - crack - Swoosh -. Whack 'Teepee outside noise # 34 E' sideline was a night week, and Willie has some practical joke in extra throwing stones and hitting them with his club. Scoutmaster Why are some not the end, I will never understand, but nobody ever said anything about it. Perhaps the othercampers and counselors thought it was a bear breaking branches, or the spirit of some Indian warrior haunt the battlefield where he died 100 years ago. Perhaps it is added to the mystery field. If my cramps gradually disappeared, I fell asleep on.
The last night of camp was the culmination of our training scout, when we all were needed for the mysterious "Midnight March Manhood" go through the forest. Only the sound gave me chills, and the conversation aroundfield, more than all but the very oldest scout felt the same. The scout leaders have done their best all week to build this event in our thoughts, and make it the most frightening sound as possible. I am sure that their motives were good, but in the spirit of fancy pictures of 9 years of the paths of darkness at midnight and the spirits of Indian warriors and bears and mountain lions and lost forever in the High Sierra was enough to force us to do home security andcivilization. But that night was feared fast approaching, and the only thing that keeps me going was the knowledge that if I survived the night, the dawn, the bus and return to the comfort and warmth and familiarity of home to Bring all represented - as Cooking Mama, the lack of Riggotoni Scout, and a bathroom with a door.
After dinner Friday night we were ordered to retire to our tents, lying motionless on the bed, and prepare mentally and spirituallyThe big test of strength and courage and ingenuity that lay immediately ahead. None of us had no idea that meant - to prepare mentally and spiritually - as we lay on our beds and scared ourselves silly thoughts of the worst would soon come to pass. I remember praying, "Dear God, I know I'm not too well in the past, but if you put me through this night, God I promise to practice my piano lesson days every 30 minutes. Please?"
L 'dreaded event began with a fire of 10 hours. It 'began innocently, with songs and skits, and roast a marshmallow. Then came a story in which every other captain passed on the stories of the Indian tradition, scout forever lost in the woods, and the spirits of Indian warriors who still patrol the hills above Camp Ugwam, looking for a Scout who doesn t 'follow orders and leave the designated route. Eyeballs are grown, and the circle of scouts movedimperceptibly closer to the fire, and away from the darkness behind.
The last captain was the best storyteller of all (who had apparently saved the best for the second), he told a story absolutely horrible Indian warrior spirit that has possessed the body of one of our scouts around the campfire. Without moving your head below the minimum, we have the eye one another suspiciously for any tell-tail sign that the dreaded warrior Indian inhabiting the body of the Scoutnext to us. As the story continues with the stories of raids and scalping, I thought of my father, who was bald rock, and I wondered briefly if I had always been told was true - that he had a high fever as a teenager and had lost its you - or he could have attended a Boy Scout camp when she was nine years in Missouri, and 200-year-old warrior spirit had found wandering a bit 'from the runway and separated from her hair.
Slowly I raised my left hand to feel if my hair stillintact and then find out it was still there - standing in terror Stark.
When the narrator has worked the story of a climax in a barely audible whisper, and every eye and every ear was glued Scout Scout attention to him terrified, the shrill voice of the captain's head broke the silence with "Fast, Scout Follow me ! The ultimate test of your courage began. We need to Midnight Survival Test starting Ugwam and quickly move along the path, as we have justword that has received the dreaded Warrior Spirit is on the warpath, and close behind us! "
Approximately 76 million goosebumps Scout immediately formed a line close behind the captain, with the end of the line to fight for a place down the line. The survival of the fittest is undoubtedly at work, and the youngest of nine soon found themselves at the end of the line, the smallest of the small end.
Me
I repeated my prayer quickly, desperate,this time upping the ante. "Make that one hour, O Lord. I really practice my piano lesson hours will be a solid every day if only he put me through this." The darkness behind me was absolutely terrifying, and once I had the courage to look back and saw that the darkness behind every fear I had ever known, I vowed never to look back and kept my vow. I also increased my time to practice the prayer-promise to swap an hour and a half, and threw in the offer to quitpicking my nose as a sweetener.
The route wound through the pines and firs around huge boulders, fallen logs in, along the lake that you could barely make out the light of the quarter moon, and who knows where. The only lights were our little bar of each torch Scout Scout-made problem. The outlines of the trees and branches and rocks and boulders in the dark conjured images of all the stories that we just heard, and dug a few more from the recesses of ourmemories. My imagination is added to the terror, as I see the movie I had seen the week before - Frankenstein Meets Dracula. headless horseman would not have added to my anxiety. It was total.
From the darkness behind me came a quiet hand, around my mouth, taking my screams of terror private, and the next thing I knew was on the ground with his mouth covered and three dark figures held me down. Surprisingly, my fear subsided a bit, 'as I imagineoccurs when one is in danger of death. I would like about the figures bending over me, the spirits of Indian warriors to take my scalp, but instead took my pants. The largest of the three threatened me not to tell the captain if I was a Scout who died. Because I thought I was a scout to die anyway, that was a welcome message for a second chance at life. Maybe I would have survived after all. Maybe my prayers have been heard ad. Practicing the piano sounded veryIn contrast to my current condition.
The three riders of the night he disappeared again into the darkness from whence they came, and I sprint back to the end of the line, which fortunately I could still see in the distance caused by the torches carried out every Scoot. I was so happy to be back, although I'm still at the end of the line and Pantless, I actually have enjoyed the rest of the way - as a person from the dead could enjoy seeing the top half of the cemetery -that has been relatively quiet compared to my recent descent into hell and back.
As we marched to the field, we lined up in front of the lodge for inspection under the light of outdoor lamps that stood on either side of the lodge door. We stood at attention - 299 scouts in full uniform and standing in his underwear.
"Scout Shinn, step forward."
"Yes, sir."
"Scout Shinn, where in the world are my pants?"
"I do not know, sir."
"You do not knowwhere the pants? "
"No, sir."
Snickers roll across the line of the Scouts of attention.
"Why do not you know where your pants?"
"Well, sir, I had about the virility of midnight in March, when I started."
"More giggles from behind me."
"Have you had when you started the Midnight manhood in March, but you should not buy. I give them to a cold beer, perhaps?
Storms of laughter behind me.
"No, sir."
"Then perhaps have been takenwith the spirit of the Indian warrior dead? "
"Yes, sir, I think so."
Scout on the floor, their sides. Adult Scout Master doubled in hysteria.
Apparently the main thought that captain would be a good place to leave the problem, perhaps for fear of being camper Year 'by a voice to infuse the spirit of the dead warrior scalps Indian scout not only selected, but also in-panting Scouts move away from the path. In any case, whenOnce again his composure and the volume of the deceased was a bit 'of rice, said the group, asking them to go directly to their tepee. I was very grateful, and I was the first to leave.
I was frozen then, of course, not having the pants in half an hour or so, so when I went to our tent, I immediately opened the bag mother had so carefully packed for me, on two pairs of pants, three shirts, a sweater and a jacket. What was left of myScout uniform.
I crawled into bed that way, and fell asleep praying: "Lord, if thou me in some way on the bus tomorrow, no one could see me, I promise to practice one hour and forty minutes a day. I really mean, God, and if you somehow make me invisible on the bus, so kids do not laugh at me, I practice two hours a day, including weekends. .... ......... ... E ............................. "
Update: You'll be relieved to know that Scout Shinnindeed survive, and lived with his promise to maintain more or less. He currently teaches piano at PlayPiano.com in Medford, Oregon. Willie McTavish works for the San Francisco Giants in the PR department. Scout Riggotoni Trust and is a respected leader in the block Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California.
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