The Scouts
That was the last
time I remember taking acid, and that pack of half empty smokes was on my kitchen table for a long time. I didn’t smoke
again for nine months. Anxiety makes us smoke, it comes in all kinds of ways,
and we need to know how to deal with it or we end lighting up. When our kids
were old enough we put them in the cub scouts, where they learned more about
being morally straight, righteousness, and always being prepared.
At some point, I was
somehow, sold, persuaded, conscripted... shanghaied into being an assistant cub scout
master, and I ended up having a blast with them. It lasted for about six years,
as they went into the regular scouts, until they found little league, and
wanted to play ball instead.
It was about that
time that I read in the papers that Mt.
Pinatubo had erupted, covering Clark field in ashes.
I remembered my thunks about volcanoes being dead. Wow! Had I still been at
that weather station, I would have been done for sure. Anyway eventually, my boys, one by one left
the scouts, and when the last one wanted out, I left too.
It was a great
adventure, hikes, camping out in the woods, trips, all kinds of outdoors stuff, and we learned a lot. We took them to museums,
and places in the city that I had never been to before because I was too busy
doing other stuff. We also took them camping up in the Delaware Water Gap, at
Ten mile river, the scouts have a fantastic camp site.
Kids bring a lot of anxious moments, and a lot
of us dealt with it with tobacco. A kid scares the crap out of you with some dumb mischief, when
it’s all said and done, and he’s alright you sigh…and lite up.
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