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- Story Listed as: True Life For Teens
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Survival / Healing / Renewal
- Published: 09/15/2014
Scout’s Honor Reversed
When I was a boy scout back in the 40’s, we used to go on overnight camping trips to a campsite not far from where the boys in our troop lived. It was an area about 40 or 50 acres of dense woods that the local government established just for boy and girl scouts. They also cleared little plots and built cabins with bunks in them for overnight campers.
I remember our scoutmaster scheduling our first camping trip for our troop one weekend. This made us all pretty excited since many of us had never been away from home for even one night, let alone a weekend. He told us that it would be a good chance to practice what we had read in our “Boy Scout Manual.” It would mean hiking, campfire building and generally living in the rough, so to speak. All of us were born and raised in the big city and lived in the same neighborhood so camping in the wild was foreign to us. He said it would be good training for us. He was an ex-marine himself.
All seven of us were about the same age, 10 to 12 years old but there were a couple of “big boys.” At least that’s what they thought they were. They were a couple of years older than most of us. “Bullies,” if you will. These smart Alecs were always trying to make us their scapegoats or look bad whenever we played games or tried to outdo one another. All of us “younger kids” wondered what kind of nonsense these two were cooking up for our camping trip when I overheard them talking one day. It seemed that they planned to take us on a night hike and lose us in the woods. They had evidently been at the campsite previously, so they had knowledge of the area. I got together with some of the other younger boys and we devised an idea to thwart their so-called “let’s lose them in the woods” plan.
That Friday evening as we all loaded into the vehicles that would take us to the campsite, all of us younger boys knew of the plan, and made sure the “big boys” had no inkling of what we were going to do. We also let the scoutmaster know of our intentions. At first, he wanted to scuttle the big boy’s plan but when he thought about it, he said for us to go ahead and follow our own plan.
When we got to the campsite and piled into our cabin, picking out our respective bunks, we started to “scout.”
I was chosen to round up some firewood for a campfire and the other boys each had their chores to do. In the manual, it says that when hiking in unfamiliar territory, that you try marking out your trail so that returning to your starting point will be easier. It can be done with rocks or twigs or anything that doesn’t look like nature put it there. The other boys also knew these tactics. I dutifully did my chore gathering lots of dead wood and even cut down some dead tree trunks, and brought them back for the scoutmaster to use in the fire. Then I went back out with my compass on the various trails leading away from our cabin. I made mental notes as to directions in the woods and in a few hours, I had made a mental map of the entire area. The compass I had with me was invaluable in the “expedition.” I felt I could find my way back to the cabin using only the compass but I also marked the trails with green twigs stuck into short stumps. That way I could find my way in the dark by using a flashlight and searching for the stumps. I had figured the big boys wouldn’t let us take our flashlights so I made sure I had my little penlight with me when we went out. I also came across a 4 foot drop off the edge of one of the trails and knew that this was where they would disappear from us in the woods. I looked it over once I dropped down and there even was a sort of cave dug out under the trail. I also found a few cigarette butts there and knew that this was to be their hiding place that night.
After eating by the campfire, the “Big Boys” suggested a “night hike” to help digest our dinner. We all agreed happily and noticed the scoutmaster giving me a little nod of approval, so we set off with the big boys leading the way. I must say that once out of sight of the campfire, the woods were so dark that you literally could not see your hand in front of your face. I told the other younger scouts to hold each other’s hands so they didn’t wander off in the night.
After hiking for about 20 minutes, the two older scouts turned off their flashlights and went silent. This, of course left us in total darkness and we started screaming, “Where are you guys. We can’t see a thing. We’re scared!!!" This of course was our plan. After a few minutes of feigned terror we went silent. I took out my penlight and recognized the trail as the one I followed with the cave under it. I told the rest of the younger scouts that it was time we headed back to the cabin, so I looked for the trail markings I left earlier in the day and in about ten minutes we arrived at the cabin with the scoutmaster asking, “What happened to the big guys?”. We laughed and told him everything and he said he would fix them for leaving us in the dark. He told us to go into the cabin and be very quiet. I think we all knew what he had planned for the older boys.
We all stayed awake because we wanted to see what would happen when the “Big Boys” came back after not finding us in the woods.
We didn’t need to wait long. After about thirty minutes, the two of them came back complaining that they couldn’t find us and that they were tired and wanted to rest. This infuriated the scoutmaster and he screamed at them saying, “You should’ve never left them alone out there to find their way in the woods, now you two get your butts out there and you’d better find them or you’ll be looking until morning.”
That must’ve really scared them because they went back towards the woods grumbling that they’ll never get to bed if they don’t find us young kids.
After they went about fifty feet, the scoutmaster yelled for them to come back. When they got back, he screamed at them again and told them, “Now let that be a lesson to you. When you’re given a task and you’re entrusted to carry it through, don’t go thinking up stupid pranks. Now get inside the cabin and join your fellow scouts that came back on their own an hour ago and let’s get some sleep.”
I think the Baron Baden Powell would have approved.
Scouts Honor Reversed(Len Daniels)
Scout’s Honor Reversed
When I was a boy scout back in the 40’s, we used to go on overnight camping trips to a campsite not far from where the boys in our troop lived. It was an area about 40 or 50 acres of dense woods that the local government established just for boy and girl scouts. They also cleared little plots and built cabins with bunks in them for overnight campers.
I remember our scoutmaster scheduling our first camping trip for our troop one weekend. This made us all pretty excited since many of us had never been away from home for even one night, let alone a weekend. He told us that it would be a good chance to practice what we had read in our “Boy Scout Manual.” It would mean hiking, campfire building and generally living in the rough, so to speak. All of us were born and raised in the big city and lived in the same neighborhood so camping in the wild was foreign to us. He said it would be good training for us. He was an ex-marine himself.
All seven of us were about the same age, 10 to 12 years old but there were a couple of “big boys.” At least that’s what they thought they were. They were a couple of years older than most of us. “Bullies,” if you will. These smart Alecs were always trying to make us their scapegoats or look bad whenever we played games or tried to outdo one another. All of us “younger kids” wondered what kind of nonsense these two were cooking up for our camping trip when I overheard them talking one day. It seemed that they planned to take us on a night hike and lose us in the woods. They had evidently been at the campsite previously, so they had knowledge of the area. I got together with some of the other younger boys and we devised an idea to thwart their so-called “let’s lose them in the woods” plan.
That Friday evening as we all loaded into the vehicles that would take us to the campsite, all of us younger boys knew of the plan, and made sure the “big boys” had no inkling of what we were going to do. We also let the scoutmaster know of our intentions. At first, he wanted to scuttle the big boy’s plan but when he thought about it, he said for us to go ahead and follow our own plan.
When we got to the campsite and piled into our cabin, picking out our respective bunks, we started to “scout.”
I was chosen to round up some firewood for a campfire and the other boys each had their chores to do. In the manual, it says that when hiking in unfamiliar territory, that you try marking out your trail so that returning to your starting point will be easier. It can be done with rocks or twigs or anything that doesn’t look like nature put it there. The other boys also knew these tactics. I dutifully did my chore gathering lots of dead wood and even cut down some dead tree trunks, and brought them back for the scoutmaster to use in the fire. Then I went back out with my compass on the various trails leading away from our cabin. I made mental notes as to directions in the woods and in a few hours, I had made a mental map of the entire area. The compass I had with me was invaluable in the “expedition.” I felt I could find my way back to the cabin using only the compass but I also marked the trails with green twigs stuck into short stumps. That way I could find my way in the dark by using a flashlight and searching for the stumps. I had figured the big boys wouldn’t let us take our flashlights so I made sure I had my little penlight with me when we went out. I also came across a 4 foot drop off the edge of one of the trails and knew that this was where they would disappear from us in the woods. I looked it over once I dropped down and there even was a sort of cave dug out under the trail. I also found a few cigarette butts there and knew that this was to be their hiding place that night.
After eating by the campfire, the “Big Boys” suggested a “night hike” to help digest our dinner. We all agreed happily and noticed the scoutmaster giving me a little nod of approval, so we set off with the big boys leading the way. I must say that once out of sight of the campfire, the woods were so dark that you literally could not see your hand in front of your face. I told the other younger scouts to hold each other’s hands so they didn’t wander off in the night.
After hiking for about 20 minutes, the two older scouts turned off their flashlights and went silent. This, of course left us in total darkness and we started screaming, “Where are you guys. We can’t see a thing. We’re scared!!!" This of course was our plan. After a few minutes of feigned terror we went silent. I took out my penlight and recognized the trail as the one I followed with the cave under it. I told the rest of the younger scouts that it was time we headed back to the cabin, so I looked for the trail markings I left earlier in the day and in about ten minutes we arrived at the cabin with the scoutmaster asking, “What happened to the big guys?”. We laughed and told him everything and he said he would fix them for leaving us in the dark. He told us to go into the cabin and be very quiet. I think we all knew what he had planned for the older boys.
We all stayed awake because we wanted to see what would happen when the “Big Boys” came back after not finding us in the woods.
We didn’t need to wait long. After about thirty minutes, the two of them came back complaining that they couldn’t find us and that they were tired and wanted to rest. This infuriated the scoutmaster and he screamed at them saying, “You should’ve never left them alone out there to find their way in the woods, now you two get your butts out there and you’d better find them or you’ll be looking until morning.”
That must’ve really scared them because they went back towards the woods grumbling that they’ll never get to bed if they don’t find us young kids.
After they went about fifty feet, the scoutmaster yelled for them to come back. When they got back, he screamed at them again and told them, “Now let that be a lesson to you. When you’re given a task and you’re entrusted to carry it through, don’t go thinking up stupid pranks. Now get inside the cabin and join your fellow scouts that came back on their own an hour ago and let’s get some sleep.”
I think the Baron Baden Powell would have approved.
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Kevin Hughes
10/05/2018Len,
I loved every bit of this story. I was never a Boy Scout, but had a lot of experience with bullies (I was the smallest kid in school all the way through 12th grade). But I had a similar experience in the Army, where the bullies got their just rewards because of a Squad Leader who could think like you!
Smiles, Kevin
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