Leading Scouts September 23, 2008 8:21 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Of Interest, Scouts , 3commentsLast night I took a break from programming to do something important to me. As a Boy Scout Leader, I mentor boys between the ages of 11 and 18 to help them develop life skills and build character. I have skipped the past 3 meetings or so to work as well as the past couple of outings. Scouting is a volunteer organization in which you practically pay to participate. The activities are often expensive and there is enough training and time sinks to turn Scout leadership into a full-time job. There are professional Scouters and I personally think that would be a blast! I derive as much from the Scout program as the boys. My leadership skills stay sharp and grow better. I am reminded of my lessons as a Scout in wilderness survival, first aid, and just being a good person. I also learn new skills, particularly cooking. I work with a great group of intelligent, achieved adults and the boys in the program are outstanding. These are our future leaders!
Cliff Stoll implored us to "teach a class" and he was meaning to take 4-5 days a week and teach children in a classroom setting. Scouts does not meet his 4-5 day request but is still teaching. I relate to Clifford Stoll’s meaning. I hope you too teach children in some way be it Scouts, Boys and Girls Club, a church, or just interacting with them in your neighborhood. Be a mentor!
3commentsI slept with alligators. March 20, 2008 1:14 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Noah, Of Being Dad, Of Interest, Scouts, Tommy , 3commentsI have made a commitment to my children, the Boy Scouts of America, and myself to get out in the wilderness periodically. Often these are weekend trips. Occasionally these are longer. Noah, Tommy, and myself, along with fifteen other people, just spent 5 days in the Okefenokee Swamp. We camped on Mixons Hammock. We canoed upstream into strong head winds for 3 miles to Billys Island to see the ghost town (complete with a school, church, theater and more) where 600-800 people lived while the swamp was logged from 1909 to 1927. Billy’s Island showed the most evidence of the fire that began on May 5, 2007. We also canoed The Narrows to see the head waters of the Suwannee River. (see the canoe map of Okefenokee Swamp).
The mosquitoes were horrible. Noah came within 2 feet of absentmindedly stepping on an alligator as he ran toward his friends yelling, "whatcha lookin’ at?" The raccoons were bold coming within 10 feet of people. A snake visited the camp and decided to nap under Tommy’s tent. We saw alligators, vultures, woodpeckers, red tailed hawks, frogs, frogs, and more frogs, lizards, snake, raccoons, turtles, fire ants, red ants, a mouse (canoed down the Narrows with us), and plenty of mosquitoes. Meals were delicious. The company was excellent with stories and guffaws. Burn cream was administered for bare feet near the fire and sunburn on the skin. Cuts were mended and headaches treated. Overall, no one sustained any substantial injury. I think everyone had a great time. This was my second year in the Okefenokee. I look forward to more!
Now I have to compress 3 work days worth of work as well as administrative duties into a single afternoon. It was worth it!
3commentsImmediate Knoxville Referral Needed: Climbing Instructor March 7, 2008 9:30 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Scouts , add a commentOur Boy Scout troop meets Monday nights. This coming Monday, we had an instructor arranged to come in, show the boys some equipment, talk about safety, and so forth for 20-30 minutes. Our meetings in March are supposed to be focused on climbing so that our camping trip in April can be to do some outdoor rock climbing. Our instructor has a conflict. So on 2 days notice, I need to find someone that could talk about rock climbing, equipment, and safety for 20-30 minutes. Any suggestions? Email or call.
add a commentYour children will do mortifyingly stupid acts November 29, 2007 2:28 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Noah, Of Being Dad, Scouts, Sex, Touchy Subjects , 1 comment so farLife is a comedy; And your children are the comedians!
Several years ago we stood on a cold soccer field to watch our child play a team sport. The parents lined one side of the rectangular field and the coaches and children, who were not currently on the field, lined the other side of the field. There was a port-a-potty in the parking lot but the children found it easier to slip into the woods behind them when their tiny bladders needed relief. You would see a constant stream (pun intended) of traffic in and out of the woods. Now I have a child who excels at minimal effort. This child has taken, not laziness, but using the path of least resistance to an art form! So there we sit on the sidelines with the grandparents, our friends, neighbors, and strangers–perhaps 50-60 in all. My son is on the sidelines at exactly the halfway point of the field. He spins around and without taking a step whizzes into the weeds. Everyone on our side of the field is staring at him simply by nature of watching the game! They’d have to turn their chairs around to not see the golden arch emanating from my child’s crotch. Girls don’t do this! Or perhaps they do and are simply more subtle or I’m oblivious.
You would think over the years either my child or I would have learned. He continues to hone his least resistance skills constantly finding new ways to make the minimal effort. Mind you, that does not mean he does poor work.
Some people see Boy Scouts as a paramilitary, religious organization; I see Boy Scouts as a character building, skill teaching, adventure seeking organization. During our open and closings of our meetings, the adults line one wall and the scouts line another wall. That puts roughly 17-24 boys ranging from 11 to 18 years old facing 6-15 adults. We had good numbers at this last meeting and there is my son, on the fifty.
I’ll let you in on a male secret. Things shift. They shrink. They grow. They move around. They get pinched in the folds of underwear or find themselves in other uncomfortable places. Re-adjustment becomes necessary! And if pain is involved, sometimes, hastily. Just because "he" dresses right doesn’t mean he’s always dressed. Guys have developed techniques for dealing with these situations. Some blatantly grab the outside of their pants and adjust but try to cover by making a mafiosi, Eddie Murphy, or Michael Jackson reference. Most guys start of by trying some hands off, Elvis style hip shaking to see if things will naturally fall back into place. If both of these fail, we resort to using the pockets. The one pocket approach is typically fine but to be certain that the issue is resolved and resolved quickly, the two pocket approach is preferred. Both hands are shoved deeply into the pants pockets. This looks like we are simply cold and trying to warm our hands, and perhaps our elbows. Search and rescue teams are sent out and our friend in need is located. The hand who finds our friend quickly sets to work repositioning using a backboard if necessary. Typically we shoot for a centering then let gravity find the perfect resting place. The other hand lay in wait in case we overshoot or gravity finds us in another pinch. The whole process is about as subtle as Mark Roberts at Wembley. However, when done correctly, to an observer it should look like we’ve simply lost our keys.
During our Boy Scout meeting closing, solemn things are being said and I see my son do the double dive. Both hands in pockets. Bulging knuckles clearly removed from anywhere keys would fall. Oh no! He’s picked up the bat and is playing pocket ball with all adult eyes in his direction! Puberty has turned off his brain! Get the crash cart! I am fairly certain that when the Scout Master said to stand at attention that is not what he meant! What to do? Talk to all the Scouts about the 12 laws and how grabbing yourself in public probably breaks all of them? No. Must be more subtle. Telepathy! I give him a quick stare down and remarkably his eyes meet mine. It worked! My lecture about "happy time" being private silently permeated the air and he got the message. He removes his hands from his pockets and Dad pockets a story to pull out at dinner time which is guaranteed to have milk squirting from noses. Now how’s that lesson go? Oh yes, "if you shake it more than twice, you’re playing with it."
1 comment so farGauntlet Thrown Down on Scouts October 19, 2007 8:41 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Interest, Scouts, Touchy Subjects , 2commentsLooks like Philadelphia is pressuring the Boy Scouts of America to accept gay scouts. This will be interesting to see how it pans out.
2commentsPHILADELPHIA - The city has decided that the Boy Scouts chapter here must pay fair-market rent of $200,000 a year for its city-owned headquarters because it refuses to permit gay Scouts.
The organization’s Cradle of Liberty Council, which currently pays $1 a year in rent, must pay the increased amount to remain in its downtown building past May 31
…
The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that Scouts, as a private group, have a First Amendment right to bar gays from membership.
The Boy Scouts tried to kill me today August 25, 2007 1:48 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Of Being Dad, Of Interest, Scouts , add a comment
I was debating not going on next month’s boyscout outing. I enjoy the outings very much! But they can be expensive and money is heavy on my mind right now. I came to my senses and decided not to deny the boys. As a matter of fact, I’ve offered to include Sarah in the weekend’s activities. So next month, Tommy, Noah, Sarah and I will go to Camp Pellissippi for a canoe derby. We will have canoe racing and see how many people we can fit into a single boat and so forth. It should be much fun.
Scouting is very safety conscious. To do activities like this in scouting requires a medical form stating one is in good health. Water activities require a swim test within the past 6 months. My test was this morning. Just before I got in the water I slammed down my last swig of coffee. I had to do 6 laps with power strokes and then 2 laps with a resting backstroke. I was doing fine and had the lungs and strength to do a lap without even raising my head although my 2nd and 3rd lap included taking breaths just to not wear myself out. At the end of my 3rd lap, it hit me! A feeling like indigestion! I couldn’t get a full lung of air! What I wanted to do more than anything in the world was a world class belch! Have you ever had one of those? Maybe you just chugged a carbonated beverage and then you feel the need to burp but its stuck in your chest just below your sternum? If you can only work it out, the reverberating bass tones emanating from your mouth surely would shake walls and register on the Richter scale. Those last 3 laps were horrible. I wanted to be polite and not burp but I wanted to be able to get some air and not look like I was struggling to do a simple swim. What a terribly uncomfortable feeling!
I passed. I blame the coffee for the tough moment!
add a commentEvening Gone Awry July 2, 2007 11:24 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad, Scouts , 2commentsSince I did not get my work finished this weekend, I did not get to take time today to fix up my bike (which looks like a pile of rust anyway). We rushed to get dinner made and for some odd reason the taquitoes didn’t cook so no one ate. We get down to the head of the bike trail at 7pm, the normal scout meeting time, and we see evidence of our Scouts but no Scouts. Obviously they met earlier. We just never saw an email. Turns out they met at 6 and rolled out at 6:15. We arrived at 6:55. We drove for 30 minutes searching the trail and finally returned to the finish line to let Noah, Amy and Evan ride the trail. We got to see a train and wave at the engineer. They had a blast and eventually the Scouts returned. Molly wrenched my arm out of socket but we also got some good sprinting in. I need more regular exercise like that. Unfortunately, I’d planned the evening to be coding. Now I’m just tired and sore.
Can I possibly correct the mistakes I have made within this lifetime?
2commentsOff to kill some birds June 30, 2007 10:33 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Of Interest, Sarah, Scouts , add a commentKill some birds?! From 11am to 2pm we will be at the Bearden Middle School courtyard cleaning out the gardens, washing walls, and bashing cement with sledge hammers. Feel free to join us!
add a commentI lead, er, herd, some scouts April 27, 2006 7:54 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Noah, Of Being Dad, Scouts , add a commentTonight’s den meeting was a blast! I really enjoy watching the scouts have a good time. We made 2 liter bottle rockets! They worked great.
We used this design (may have to view it via Google Cache). Another good link and a variation (check out the launch mechanism on that one!). You can even add a parachute. I want to build the pvc launch pad.
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