As We Go Marching....

And the band begins to P-L-A-Y. You can hear them shouting, the Staff of TA's on their way.

Wow, what a week. Their are precious few things I would rather do with my Spring Break than be at Twin Arrows. It stinks that it runs through our wedding anniversary, but I really do love just being apart of TA.

The week started good. The new ranger at Sid Richardson (whom I have termed 'Captain America') actually helped us, instead of hindering us. You see this new guy is ex-military. His whole life has revolved around rules and following rules. Now he is running a Scout camp. He loves to say 'BSA policy states... and you know what the 7th point of the Scout Law is don't you?' obedient for those of you unfamiliar with the Scout Law. Besides that he is one of those people who is always backing up his points with smiles, like that really helps. I choose to appease him then scorn him when he wasn't around. Anyway I digress.

I couldn't have ordered up any better weather than what we had. The first two days were a little warm (80s) but absolutely stunning. A bright full moon made flashlights unnecessary. It then cooled off and we had perfect 70 degree days the rest of the time. TA is notorious for rain and weather shifts, I am glad to say we dodged that stigma.

I had, NO, absolutely, NO discipline problems. One kid went home for medical reasons, but other than that, I didn't have a single problem. That was a great blessing. I had a few minor staff issues, but nothing dramatic. So that was great.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that I was extremely humbled to be apart of history. It seemed all week someone was thanking me for my service, or congratulating me on my honor. Being the first Honor Scout, SPL, SM was a great source of pride for me, but I really worked hard over the past year to not let it get to my head. It is not about the honors or accolades, it is about the kids and teaching and leading them to greater successes. Others felt the need to constantly bring it up.

Scott is dead meat.

Scott showed up under the premise of just visiting my course. I was excited to see him and greatly enjoyed the hour or so we spent catching up. But as any ex-TA staffer knows, the last day isn't for the faint at heart. It wasn't long before he was out of his class A shirt and off to load chuck boxes, tents and the like. He was a work horse, and I was and am grateful.

So now I am enjoying my few hours without kids, Scouts and a wife. I tramp off to Lake Texoma this afternoon. I am excited to see the nephews and play fishing. I do apologize on the stripper comments. We all know that I wouldn't know what to do if I actually caught one, so I will just stick to striper fishing. I know that I can hand those off to Holly's dad and he will cut the head off for me!

Remind me to tell you the story entitled 'A boy, 3am, counseling and snake removal'