Boy Scouts

  • Passing the Torch

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    Six years ago I made the decision to step down as an Assistant Scoutmaster with my troop. A chance encounter that same weekend made me change my mind – I’m glad I did. Now I’m finally leaving, and I’m happy to say I’ll be leaving the unit in very good hands.

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  • Patience

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    I wasn’t born with an abundance of patience.  As a kid, I could rarely sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time, I stayed up all night in anticipation of big events, and I’d often ask “are we there yet” before we got to the end of our street.  Not an atypical story

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  • Things Found in the Forest – Part 1

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    Dawn came too early for Chris.  He rolled over in the tent and struggled to pull the sleeping bag over his eyes, hoping to delay the inevitable for a few more minutes.  Morning meant everyone would be up, alert, and wanting to do something when all Chris wanted to do was go home. It could

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  • Violent Tranquility

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    I had the opportunity this weekend to spend some time at Ape Cave in Washington with the Boy Scouts.  We spent the weekend camping on the Lewis River and much of Saturday exploring lava tubes higher up on the mountain.  It was a great respite from technology (no electricity or cell phones), and it provided

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  • Work Ethic

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    On Monday I talked about last weekend’s bridge project from the context of communications within the workplace.  But that illustration is so rich I just can’t leave it alone.  Working on any project with multiple people and personalities will almost always lead to a self-lesson on work ethic.  Last weekend was no different. We had

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  • Bridge to Somewhere

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    On Saturday, I had the opportunity to work with some Boy Scouts who were preparing Trojan Park for a huge camping trip next month.  There were a total of 8 participants from my unit, and I saw another 60+ people working various projects around the park.  My team ended up helping with a trail clearing

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  • A Night at the Museum – 2

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    One of the most spectacular exhibits as the Evergreen Air Museum was the series dedicated to the history of flight.  They had everything from one of Da Vinci’s early designs to the Wright Flier to other early bi-plane flight trainers.  It was fascinating to see, and made me remember just how magical the process of

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  • A Night at the Museum

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    I’ve always been a fan of flight.  Watching birds migrate for the winter, seeing airplanes take off, watching clouds of gnats bounce in the breeze.  It doesn’t really make a difference.  Flying things intrigue me, they always have. So when this year’s Boy Scout Sub-in trip to OMSI was called off for a scheduling conflict,

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  • The End of an Era

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    The moon was out, but the tall grass around me prevented its light from helping as I navigated my way through the darkness. I ran around the corner of a path in the tall snake grass and ducked into the reeds as the beam of a flashlight passed over my head. It was hard enough

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