on the rim

 I am writing rather than speaking as I want to make sure I get what I want to say right, and truthfully, I do not trust my voice to do so right now. So when in doubt, write it out. Sometimes the blog is a better medium anyway, it is much better crafted, and scripted.  The podcasts are good, I guess, but I get far more traffic on views of the blog than podcasts. Go figure. Probably my voice. Most people would look back at this Christmas, especially in our house, and wonder what we could be thankful for this Christmas season. I get it. It is easy to just break the glass, rather than see it as half full. Let's see, so we can get it over with. A cantankerous writer/podcaster that gets in arguments with people over the election and the direction of this nation.  Alienation of family and friends. See above. Kids that I do talk to spread all over the west, and not travelling this season. A twisted ankle thought to be sprained, well on the way to recovery when a CT scan spotted ...

First among them the Buffalo (okay, not technically correct, but being a Buffalo, and my blog...) Where Beaver dams up the stream And Bobwhites are part of the team Where Eagles dare each day Wondering what does the Fox say And Owls wisely look on. But how I do err Ending with the Bear For all that know the roll Know that it ends with the Buffalo Because in our course there was no hope To have the last, the Antelope. Having spent three days time Learning to rhyme Writing in this fashion is too slow But after all, I am a Buffalo Therefore I will not oppose The writing of the blog in prose. We had many rhymes during the first weekend of my Woodbadge course.  Yes, after decades as an adult in Scouting, I am finally getting around to Woodbadge.  I won't make an excuse, because I have no proof.  Darn, there I go again. For those not in the know, Woodbadge is advanced training for adult leaders for the Boy Scouts of America.  It encompasses all par...

This is the song that never ends. It goes on and on again.  You know the drill.  There are so many thoughts swirling around about camp, and closing it out (can I even really do that?  Nope), that it does take a few times of putting thoughts to cyberspace to clear them out.  Sort of like lifting the bed boards at Goetz and finding staffman of the year ballots from 3 years ago.  There are just too many things involved in me putting my little part of camp together, and that some may share, for just one post.  So here goes, I was surprised as I watched the Staff DVD to realize how much I missed all those things at meals.  Being the recluse I tend to be, and having way too much stuff to do at the store, it was usually a dash to grab food and bring it back.  I would eat, just like back in High School, when we had band during lunch period, with ours being last, and we would get off  the field late, and have five minutes to get a tray and eat befor...

Camp is over.  Webelos Weekend is over.  No powwow this week.  Still trying to adjust to "after camp".  I wanted  to just take a stroll down all that was done and accomplished in this historical year, both personally, as well as for the Council and  the Tribe. In the weeks leading up to camp, no one was even sure that it would happen.  The coronavirus had reached pandemic levels globally, and after nearly two months of the country being nearly shut down, it was not a given that camp would go at all, and if it did, it would certainly not be normal.  Well, it wasn't normal, that is for sure. Feast was canceled.  The first two sessions of camp were also.  Staff week became staff weekend, beginning Thursday before the start of Third Session.  Many that were hired to work opted out, due to health concerns.  The council, working hard to mitigate risk as much as possible developed protocols that would at least guarantee that those...

I thought I would use the theme of my Facebook post to title the blog post.  I thought seriously about podcasting this one, but realized that I want my wording precise, and it is really hard to put together what I want to say on the fly right now, as the last four and twenty hours, or rather the last fifteen hours and change have been surreal. People had been telling me that it was going to happen.  Not because they KNEW, perhaps, meaning they had no direct knowledge, but that it surely did have to happen.  Several people, many of which sit in high places.  I never believed it.  It wasn't a driving issue for me, it didn't matter, truthfully.  I have seen people that were driven by that quest, that come to camp for that purpose.  I have never understood it.  More responsibility, more time requirements, more costuming.  If you have read this page during the camping season, then you fully well know that for me, staff is all about giving back...

Where did that time go?  And I look back, and no doubt so many others do as well, when they see the coup, and say, how was it possible for me/him to do it?  I wonder myself, but make no mistake, I. Did. It.  Did what you ask? With tomahawk in one hand, and torch in the other, I ran down a hill, fondly known as Cardiac, ran around a circle I think 11 times but it may have been much less.  You know how the memory is, besides, it was a much smaller circle, trust me, tapping out a group of boys, and adults, and then out of breath, crawling back up the hill.using the torch as a lever to help me get up.  Adrenalin only carries one so far, and I had ran out probably a lap or two previous. It was a never to be forgotten experience, and I joined an elite group that I am humbled to be a part of.  Why? Until 2018 I had not served on the Camp Geiger Staff.  Strictly Camper Coup.  I was 21, but I had reached that magic age, and was no longer considere...

Happy Flag Day! As I am writing this, I am counting down to going to Camp.  Staff week starts officially on Thursday, and a week from today will be the 1st Session of Camp.  Lots of procedures in place to detect and manage symptoms of the dreaded COVID-19.  While my feelings on the seriousness of the COVID and the politicization of it have been stated on the podcast, I still feel that prudence is necessary, at least for appearance sake.  Staff has procedures, campers will have procedures, the Trading Post will have procedures.  The new normal, not the same as the old.  Unlikely that we will ever completely go back to what was.  Oh well, change is the constant in the universe. I am not sure how I feel about going to camp.  Normally I am feeling pretty pumped, but this year seems off.  I will go, and know that I will likely have a good time.  I feel somewhat ambivalent.  Almost like if I didn't go, it wouldn't make a difference....

Sometimes I like to go back to the written word.  It allows me to think about what I want to say, craft the language a little better, and while I still write in the way I speak, it is usually in a less dramatic fashion.  My professors all say that I bring a lot of passion to my writing, when it is something that I care about.  Let's see how it goes. One month today, barring any changes, the staff will show up for a slightly abbreviated staff week, ending on Saturday night, with campers arriving Sunday morning, June 21.  No Cub Camp,  no Tribal Feast.  Webelos Camp?  Not completely sure.  First two sessions of camp canceled, and a week added at the end.  We might even be stuck at camp for the season!  Things are going to be so different.  And that is with the assumption that we have camp at all.  It is all due to the world phenomenon of... COVID-19. Those were the scheduling issues.  That doesn't even touch the protoc...

As the Christian world celebrates the upcoming resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, some thoughts have been coming to my mind.  I will try to jot them down as I go through this now rare written post. The first is the worldwide fast called for by President Russell M. Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for Good Friday.  Fasting for Christians on Good Friday is nothing new, of course, but a directed fast with specific purpose may be.  He asked that we fast for the safety and health of those working tirelessly to care for the sick from this pandemic.  He asked that we pray for relief and healing through the Lord's power, (more on that in a moment).  He also asked that we fast and pray for economic relief, as the world has suffered economically as well.  There is a Facebook page regarding this fast, and it has attracted hundreds of thousands, committed to fast in whatever way as a sign of unity, of bringing the world together to fight ...

I had the opportunity to speak today, and here is my talk, with the bonus notes of what I didn't get to cover.   When Brother Reynolds asked me to speak and gave me the topic, I was more than thrilled to speak.   After all, how often does one get to take about 3 minutes of a talk and stretch it into the remainder of the meeting?   So, let’s begin, shall we? I wanted to begin by reading out of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ , 1 st Nephi, chapter 13. Starting in verse 12 12  And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and   wrought  upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land. 13  And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the m...