Category: Scouting

Last week, I was able to spend a few days at Flaming Gorge with both of my sons.  It was the only "high adventure" camp that I was able to attend with both of my sons.  We had a really good time.  We floated a bit of the Green River on rubber rafts.  We toured the Flaming Gorge dam.  I was able to cook some amazingly awesome dutch oven food for the group.  It was generally a really good time.

It was also a learning experience for me.  I don't really like what I learned.

Since I had volunteered to help with the food for this campout, I accompanied my son's (only one son is a scout now--the other is an adult) leaders to the grocery store to pick up some food.  The Varsity Coach (whom I shall refer to as B.B.) said that the had a confession--that he had not completed the required BSA medical form.  The Venturing Advisor (whom I shall refer to as C.B.) said that he hadn't done it either.  There was no reason given, but it was made pretty clear by their comments that they didn't feel as if it were important enough.  C.B. said that he might be leaving early, and that he wouldn't be on the activity for 72 hours.  I reminded him of BSA policy that it doesn't matter how long any individual attendee would be at the activity.  If the activity itself is longer than 72 hours, then all participants, youth and adult, would be required to have a completed BSA medical form.

This "do as I say, not as I do" attitude displayed to me by my son's current and future scout leaders upset me a little bit.  It made me feel as if, for them, convenience trumped obedience to BSA guidelines designed for the safety and protection of both youth and adults participating in a high adventure camp.

The evening that we arrived at camp, the leaders mentioned some of the activities that we would be doing at this camp.  One of the activities mentioned was cliff jumping.  I mentioned that I didn't believe that cliff jumping was an approved BSA activity.  My comment was completely ignored.  After we returned home, I read the following in the Guide to Safe Scouting:

Diving and Elevated Entry: Diving is permitted only into clear, unobstructed water from heights no greater than 40 inches. Water depth must be at least 7 feet. Bottom depth contours below diving boards and elevated surfaces require greater water depths and must conform to state regulations. Persons should not jump into water from heights greater than they are tall, and should jump only into water chest deep or greater with minimal risk from contact with the bottom. No elevated entry is permitted where the person must clear any obstacle, including land.

Scouts were jumping into the water from heights much greater than they are tall.  One leader jumped from a cliff estimated to be about 90 feet above the water.  This is obviously contrary to the guide to safe scouting.  This point is also emphasized in the safe swim training that B.B. said he completed just before we left on this trip.

I don't expect that leaders to completely know every regulation and guideline in the Guide to Safe Scouting.  However, I doubt that either B.B. or C.B. has read the Guide to Safe Scouting or they would have questioned the wisdom of cliff jumping.  Additionally, the scouting unit is required to file a Tour Plan with the district BSA office before a campout like the one at Flaming Gorge.  The Tour Plan application says the following:

We certify that appropriate planning has been conducted using the Sweet 16 of BSA Safety, qualified and trained supervision is in place, permissions are secured, health records have been reviewed, and adult leaders have read and are in possession of a current copy of  Guide to Safe Scouting and other appropriate resources.

If these leaders had read the Guide to Safe Scouting and if they had a copy of the Guide to Safe Scouting in their possession (which I am 100% sure they did not), we could have consulted the guide about the wisdom of cliff jumping during this activity.  In this case, even with someone (me) questioning the appropriateness of this activity, fun seemed to me to trump safety.

As we floated the Green River, the leaders emphasized the importance of wearing life jackets (thank heavens) during the entire float trip.  However, at one point on this float trip, I was sitting on the back of my raft next to another gentleman.  C.B. and one of the other adult leaders (J.L.) came up with the idea that it would be funny to have one of the youth jump from their raft, grab the back of the life jackets of the two of us on the back of the raft, and pull us into the river.  This is obviously not something anyone would consider safe--think of a horse collar tackle in Football.  It's a penalty because of a safety issue of being dragged down from behind.  C.B. offered the young man $20 if he would do it, and both C.B. and J.L. continued to egg him on until he did so.  It tweaked my left shoulder (which has been hurting for a couple of weeks now) pretty badly, and now when I move it, there's a sickening clicking inside my shoulder that I hope won't require surgery.  But the leaders again showed me that fun (or funny) trumps safety.

Incidentally, J.L. apologized profusely when he heard that this had tweaked my shoulder.  The young man apologized profusely.  The young man's father apologized.  C.B., who had egged the young man on--even offering him $20--never said a word.  I know it's petty of me to expect something, and I'm still pretty ticked off at C.B.  I'm working on learning to forgive right now.  I'm not learning that lesson very quickly.

So what did I learn from this?  I can't trust my son to go on activities with his scout leaders.  Even when I go along, I can't let my sons out of my sight.  My older son jumped from a 12-ish foot cliff since I wasn't there at the moment to yet again question the wisdom of cliff jumping.  I learned that convenience trumps obedience; that fun trumps safety.  I learned that these leaders have a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude about rules or guidelines that seem inconvenient.

Fortunately, my younger son now has enough camping nights to earn his camping merit badge, because I can't send him camping with these leaders ever again, and I certainly don't want to go along on campouts with these leaders any more.

In the end, there really is no excuse.  The rules that were broken, regardless of importance, are spelled out in black and white.  There is nothing ambiguous about these rules.  This is why the scouting leaders in my unit have lost my trust and will no longer have my support (or my son) on outdoor activities.

They have lost my trust and I don't know how or if they can gain it back again.

On Friday, I took a bunch of scouts, leaders, and dads to the cross-country ski camp at Camp Maple Dell up Payson Canyon.

BOY am I sore!

It was a ton of fun.  They cross-country ski camp is set up so that you only have to worry about learning to ski.  They let us sleep in a nice, heated lodge.  They prepared all of our meals for us.  They had people on staff to make sure we were properly equipped.  The staff guided us on a couple of fun ski trips.

On Friday night, we didn't start out until around 9:00 pm and we skied in the dark for a couple of hours.  This was probably pretty good, because I'm pretty sure we all looked much less than graceful as we were figuring out what we were doing.  I think I pulled a lot more muscles trying NOT to fall than I did by actually falling.

On Saturday morning, we headed out from Camp Maple Dell to Maple Lake, which is 2.5 miles away from the camp.  It's uphill pretty much the whole way there, which means that it's downhill pretty much the whole way back.  The temperature had climbed above freezing, so the snow was pretty sticky.  I kept having to knock the snow off the bottom of my skis so I didn't feel like I was going to roll my ankle the whole time.

It was a really good workout.  And now I'm really REALLY sore.  My calves, hips, and triceps HATE me today.

Though I DID burn almost 2200 calories on Saturday.  That's more calories than I usually get to eat in a day.

So what did I do in 2010?

• I tried playing racquetball again.  My elbow didn't like it much, so I realized that racquetball is probably out for the rest of my life--at least, right-handed racquetball
• I slept in a burrito during another "Klondike Derby" with my younger son, then slept in a burrito yet again for my older son's "Denali Base Camp."
• I performed in a benefit concert for the Syd Riggs Scholarship Foundation.
• I earned my Wood Badge beads.
• I left Symantec and started working for the LDS Church
• My older son turned 16 and started driving, causing a spike in both blood pressure and insurance premium.
• I spent a few days on the Green River, canoeing 68 miles.
• I spent a week in San Diego with my family--a very fun family vacation.
• I camped with my scouts at Camp Bartlett near Montpelier, Idaho
• My younger son got a full set of braces
• I was made a development lead at my new job and was given a new project to work on
• I sold the last Saturn I will likely ever own and I purchased my third Subaru.
• I took the scouts to a "Centennial Camporall" in commemoration of 100 years of Scouting in the United States.  Early morning temperatures were lower than the winter campout in January.
• I shunned NaBloPoMo
• I cooked the perfect Thanksgiving turkey.
• I took up smoking--I smoked a couple of chickens.

What am I planning on for 2011?  A lot more of the same.  Scouting will continue to take up a lot of time.  I'm still enjoying it a lot.  However, tomorrow is younger son's Birthday, and he won't be in my troop any more.  I wonder if it will be the same without him.  I'm planning on doing a lot more cycling this year.  I need to get in shape or I'm going to end up on The Biggest Loser someday soon.  So I have several long rides planned, starting in February.  I'm also planning on playing my guitar more in 2011.  I miss making music when I get away from it.

I'm also hoping to learn how to smoke lots of things this year.  Before 2011 is over, I want to feel confident in smoking ribs, turkeys, brisket, and pork shoulder.

This June will be my 20th wedding anniversary.  20 years??  It's crazy.  I was married shortly after my parents' 25th anniversary.  There are a couple of family things that I need to focus on this year too.  I only have a couple more years left and my older son will be heading out on his own.  If I don't focus on the family things now, the opportunity will pass me by completely.

My life is good and I'm looking forward to the opportunities this year will bring.

Disclaimer – The views expressed here are the opinions of DeShawn Smith and do not necessarily reflect the views of Employer Solutions Group or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The position of Scoutmaster is a volunteer position.  In most troops, an adult is selected by a troop committee, or in the case of a troop that is being newly-formed, a steering committee.  They look to members of the community who can be responsible for training and guiding youth leaders in the operation of a scout troop and for managing, training, and supporting his assistant Scoutmasters in their role.  In troops that are chartered by congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Scoutmaster and his assistant Scoutmasters are chosen by a Bishop who prayerfully considers who would serve well as a Scoutmaster.  After receiving spiritual approval, the Bishop (or one of his counselors) extends the “calling” of Scoutmaster to the person they have chosen.

A Scoutmaster serves voluntarily and receives no monetary remuneration for his service.  He spends  much of his volunteer time training and guiding the youth leaders in the troop, helping them to successfully conduct troop meetings and “outdoor experiences,” also known as “camp-outs.”  In my experience, he often ends up spending not only many hours of his time, but also some of his own money in fulfilling the responsibilities associated with being a Scoutmaster for his troop.

As Scoutmaster of Troop 770, I have watched young men—usually only thirteen years old—step into leadership positions and learn how to lead.  I have watched several boys take their first tentative steps into leadership.  They don’t always succeed, especially at first.  I have watched Senior Patrol Leaders that have blinked back tears of frustration as things didn’t go as well as they had envisioned.  Then it is the Scoutmaster’s job to offer encouragement, pointing out what DID go well, helping them figure out how to make it go better the next time.  I have watched timid and inexperienced leaders slowly grow to fill the shoes of the great leaders who came before them.  As they grow, their confidence grows and they begin to take pride in the accomplishments of their troop.  As they grow, the quiet confidence of leadership replaces the timid countenance that they had in the beginning.

A good Scoutmaster works in the background, giving the boys the opportunity to lead and learn leadership and gain confidence.  This is something I'm working on, slowly getting better and better at letting the boys lead the troop.

The best leader is one that the people are barely aware of.
The next best is one who is loved and praised by the people.
Next comes one who is feared.
Worst is one who is despised.
If the leader does not have enough faith in his people,
They will not have faith in him.
The best leader puts great value in words and says little
So that when his work is finished
The people all say, “We did it ourselves!”
--Lao Tzu from the Tao Te Ching

Despite the volunteer service, there is a “pay” from being a Scoutmaster that is, in my estimation, unequaled in other volunteer service.  My “pay” as Scoutmaster comes through the feelings I have as I watch inexperienced boys grow into young men who understand leadership because they have become leaders.

Last week at scout camp, I received a lot of this “pay” that makes my time and effort as Scoutmaster really pay off.

I watched a scout stress and fret as he committed to memory a closing flag ceremony in only a few short hours.  My pay was found in the pride that I felt as he stepped forward and brought a hush to the assembled camp, his commanding and confident voice calling hundreds of youth and adults to attention in respect of the flag of the United States of America.

I watched my own Senior Patrol Leader son struggle to find his role as a leader.  As the week wore on, I could sense the extra burden he felt in leading his troop.  I asked him to do things that he had never done before.  He stepped forward time and time again, calling his troop to order and asking them to perform, and they performed according to his instructions.  Each time, he stepped forward with a little more confidence than the last.  By the end of the week, he was confident enough to lead his patrol in a cheer that won his troop their second “cheer award” at opening flag ceremony.  There were times I wanted to step in and lift this burden from his shoulders, especially a couple of times when things weren’t going well.  But by holding back and watching him struggle, I saw him learn and grow.  At the end of the week, I talked with him about his experience and he beamed at me as he realized that he did it himself.

The feelings I had as I saw the confidence he gained and the satisfaction that he was obviously feeling—that is the Scoutmaster’s pay.

I survived another year of scout camp.

The scouts THRIVED.

Here is my quick report of Troop 770's experience at Bartlett Scout Camp near Montpelier, ID:

• There were about 45 troops at camp.  My scouts won half of the prizes for best cheer.
• My scouts conducted the best flag ceremony at camp--even better than the camp staff.
• My scouts earned 54 merit badges and a handful of rank advancements.
• My scouts--13 of them--spent a week at camp and there wasn't a single serious discipline issue.
• My scouts worked extra hard and earned the "Honor Troop" award.
• My scouts learned a practical lesson on the power of prayer.
• My scouts all came home with all limbs and digits fully intact--not a single stitch!
• My troop's scoutmasters all made it to the final round of the shotgun shooting competition for leaders, and my assistant scoutmaster took third place.
• My scouts actually took showers at camp and only had a couple of layers of dirt on them when we returned home.
• I lost neither my marbles nor my mind.

It was a great week, and I couldn't be more proud of the young men that attended.

Now I'll take a couple of months off of thinking about scout camp.  I'll get to start the whole process over again in October.

Miles driven: just under 1700 round trip

Days of vacation: 8

Hours spent on the USS Midway: 5

Books read: 4 or 5

Times we ate at Harbor Fish & Chips in Oceanside: 2

High and low temperatures: about 70 degrees and 60 degrees respectively

Days at SeaWorld San Diego: 1

Kites flown on the beach: 2

Number of comments about my REALLY COOL kite: 2 dozen

Number of car problems: 1

Number of States driven: 4

Days we played on the beach: 8

Number of days that older son would have liked to stay on the beach: infinity

Number of "Burger Dogs" consumed: 6

Number of times we passed the San Diego LDS Temple: 4

Number of happy vacationers that WANT TO GO BACK: 4

It was a fantastic time.  We didn't over-schedule our time.  We just did what we felt like when we felt like doing it, which makes it the BEST kind of vacation.

The car trouble wasn't anything major because we didn't get in an accident.  The Air Bag light stayed on intermittently while we were in San Diego, and I thought it might have just been the humidity, but when we came back, I had it checked out.  They checked all the wiring and reset the codes in the computer, but a couple of days later, the light came back on, so we just spent $611.55 for a new driver's side airbag module--a part that we honestly hope NEVER to use.  The rest of the cost of the repair comes later when they charge us another hundred bucks to install the thing.

It was hard to go back to work this week, but not as hard at my new job as it would have been at my old job.  I didn't feel a sense of rising dread as I came nearer and nearer to home.

*happy sigh*

Now to get ready for Scout Camp...

Last week I spent a few days on the Green River with my son. (And with a few other people... It was the "high adventure" trip for the Varsity Scouts in my Ward.)

It was a REALLY fun trip.  We put in at the State Park in Green River City and we got out at Mineral Bottom.

The river was running high and fast.  There were times when the current approached 6 miles per hour.  Rowing really hard in still water, we might have been able to do 5 miles per hour, so if we needed to, we MIGHT be able to stay still in the water if we worked really hard at it.

We had to take everything we needed with us.  All of our food, all of our water, all of our belongings for the week were tied into our canoes.  We had a thorough check by "Ranger Fife" at the boat ramp at the state park.  He made sure we had all of the required items--extra paddles, life jackets in good repair, a method of packing out our waste (That's another blog entry altogether that you don't want to read, so I won't write it.), whistles, throwable floatation devices, and a lot more.

All-in-all, we had a fantastic time.  We camped wherever we could get out of the river.  That was sometimes difficult because most of the beaches that are available later in the year were under water due to an unusually high spring runoff.  Some fished, some played in the water where it was safer up side channels, we hiked to a point where we could see the river on both sides of us.  Nobody really got a sunburn.  There was very little bickering between the Varsity scouts.  We didn't tip over a single canoe.  We only had to fight mosquitoes on the last night of the trip.

We came out of the river 58 miles downstream, dirty and windblown, but very happy.  I hope I get the opportunity to do it again with my younger son in a couple of years.

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I've only ever lost a significant amount of weight by ignoring what they say.

I'm on the obese side of fat these days. My excuses consist mostly of health and injury stories. I tore a tendon in my elbow more than a year ago and I haven't been able to do the two things I enjoy most that keep me from getting fatter: cycling and racquetball. Racquetball may be out of my life forever now. I'm pretty sad about that. Cycling is fortunately back in. I now have the strength in my right hand to actually brake, so I have less fear in riding all over the place.

My other excuse is that food just tastes do darned good and I'm too darned good at cooking delicious things. I know I've been eating way too much and what I've been eating isn't really that good for me.

So now I've decided to try again to eat a little less and move a little more. I've actually been riding my spinning bike at home somewhat regularly for a couple of months now and I've been trying to cut back on how much stuff I shove into my face. Nothing. No results. I've been weighing in about the same since I started that.

Since I know my own body better than "they" do (you know, the ones that say that breakfast is the most important meal), I've decided to skip breakfast every day until I have dropped the 50 lbs of fat that are making me obese and unhealthy.

Go ahead. Cite studies if you will. I know me better than those studies. Tell me that I'm stupid, but not all of the 50 lbs of disgusting fat is inside my head. Tell me that what I'm doing isn't right, and I'll tell you to mind your own business.

Most of the people that tell me those kinds of things are skinny people that have no idea what fat people like me deal with on a regular basis. Most of them have been cursed with such things as high metabolisms or small appetites or some combination of the two. Most of them probably have the willpower to exercise every day of their lives, or they have some sort of compulsion to do so that I just haven't found in my life, even though I have tried. If you're not a fat person, I really don't think you understand what it's like and what we go through. You may have found that breakfast is the most important meal of the day FOR YOU. You may know what works for you, and that's great.

I know what works for me. I've already shed about 6% of the weight I want to get rid of in a week.

I was presented with my Wood Badge beads tonight at my Ward Court of Honor.  It was a very cool thing.  My Wood Badge Ticket Counselor was there along with the course director, his wife (who was a scribe on the course) and one of the members of my Owl patrol.  It's good to be recognized for a lot of work--the culmination of a lot of effort.

After my ticket counselor talked a bit about Wood Badge and explained the significance of Wood Badge and "working a ticket," I was asked to come forward.  My wife came up with me and they asked her to remove my "Troop 1" neckerchief and Woggle.  Then I was given the wood badge beads (placed around my neck by the scribe) and the Wood Badge neckerchief and Woggle (placed around my neck by both the course director and scribe).  They also gave me a framed certificate:  "Wood Badge given by Boy Scouts of America to DeShawn Smith in recognition of completing the National Wood Badge requirements Wood Badge for the 21st Century."   My ticket counselor also gave me a council patch that has an owl and wood badge beads on it.  It's a different shape and size , so I'll have to re-sew everything on the left sleeve of my uniform, but it will be worth it.

I'm the fourth person in that course to finish working my ticket.  I know that several more are close to completing their ticket items.

I am grateful to the staff of my Wood Badge course.  Thank you to those that put so much time and effort into WE7-591-3-09-27.  I'm looking forward to serving on staff in the future--probably when I'm no longer Scoutmaster, because that takes up most of my time.

I used to be an Owl,
And a good old Owl too.
But now I'm finished Owling,
I don't know what to do.
I'm growing old and feeble,
And I can Owl no more,
So I'm going to work my ticket if I can.
Back to Gilwell, happy land,
I'm going to work my ticket if I can.

I never really figured myself to be a big-time Scouter.  My own experience as a Boy Scout was, at best, miserable.  I didn't fit in with my troop.  The other troop members picked on me mercilessly.  I can't say I wasn't at least partly to blame, because once I started disliking going to scouts, I quit trying to fit in/get along.

Once I became licensed to drive, I did very little else with Troop 97 in Billings, Montana.  Instead, I would hang out with people that I actually liked and that actually seemed to like me.  I found acceptance with a wonderful group of friends, some of whom I still communicate with on a regular basis to this day.

And thus ended my scouting career as a youth.  I had given up when I was only a couple of merit badges away from earning the rank of Life Scout.  I had done most of the work to become an Eagle scout, but I would never earn that rank.

Quite a few years later, my own sons became cub scouts.  I was made Cubmaster in that particular unit, and I had a good time as Cubmaster.  However, my son's Webelos Den leader and I didn't see eye-to-eye on a few things.  My son didn't really seem to be enjoying going to den meetings, so my wife and I told him he didn't need to go to den meetings any more--that we would help him earn his Arrow of Light.

That didn't go over well AT ALL with the den leader, and it turned quite ugly from there.  I remember thinking that Scouting was failing me once again.  It had failed me as a youth, and it wasn't doing any better with my son.  I remember vowing that I would never EVER have anything to do with the Boy Scouts of America again.  I was DONE.

When my son turned 11 years old, he joined the local troop.  The 11-year-old scout leader was great and he had a good experience with scouting.  Things were getting better.

About the time my son turned 12 years old, we moved into a different home a little ways away.  My son started going to scouts in a different troop.  I didn't know any of the scout leaders in this new troop, so when it came time for his first week-long summer camp, I volunteered to come along.  I thought it would be a good idea to get to know these leaders, because they would be helping both of my sons through scouting over the next few years.

What a difference I saw!  I saw a scouting program that, though not perfect, was more of what I thought scouting should be.  We had a fun week, but more importantly, my attitude toward scouting began to change.

Instead of seeing scouting itself as the problem, I came to realize that it was the leaders' interpretation of scouting that was to blame.  The scout leaders of my youth were probably doing the best they could, but they weren't following the program as it was intended by the scouting movement.  My son's scout leaders were doing the best they could, but they, too, were not following the program as outlined in BSA publications.

A couple of years later, and I found myself in the position of Scoutmaster.

ME??  Scoutmaster?

I decided that I would do everything in my power to make sure that nobody in my troop would have the nightmarish experience I had as a young scout.  Nobody in my troop would be pushed away because I was doing the best I could, but I wasn't really following Scouting.

My first step was to get trained.  There is a lot of training that scout leaders can and SHOULD attend.  It takes quite a bit of time.  But instead of wondering how it's SUPPOSED to be, I had learned enough that I could start to implement what was supposed to be.

The last training I did was Wood Badge training.  It's the "PhD" of Scouting, if you will.  The nicest part of Wood Badge training was that I LIVED the Scouting program as it's SUPPOSED to be implemented for a week.  I saw the ideal, and could then start working to pattern my troop after this ideal.

Wood Badge training doesn't end when the week of practical training is over.  Each Wood Badge participant sets five substantial goals, called ticket items, that they work to complete over the next months.  Up to 18 months can be spent "working your ticket" and I believe that this is really the power of Wood Badge.

In my case, my Wood Badge tickets completely changed how my troop operates.  They have changed young mens' lives in my troop.  They have solidified my desire that no young man should have the horrid experience I had as a child.  They have helped me know how I can better help each young man in my troop.  They have helped young men not be pushed away because I wasn't doing it right--mostly because I wasn't doing much any more.  Instead, I was guiding young men in my troop as THEY began to lead and implement the scouting program as I learned about it at Wood Badge.

It's not always perfect.  Sometimes, it's not very well organized.  But I can see these young men grow as they learn the meaning of leadership.  I have seen lives change.

Tomorrow, I'm going to receive my Wood Badge beads.  My tickets are complete.  I have finished this part of Wood Badge and I will be rewarded tomorrow at a Court of Honor for my troop.

I went to Wood Badge mostly so people would quit bugging me about it.  I ended up learning more than I would have imagined.  I found friendships that will likely last a VERY long time.  I made some great memories.

But the most important thing of all is that I learned what Scouting is supposed to be.  That knowledge will continue to change lives for as long as they'll let me be Scoutmaster of Troop 770.