To obey the law of the pack
My father asked Liam if he'd like to be a cub scout. Liam--not really knowing what it is, but excited to be asked--came tearing into me and said, "Poppop turned my life around! It used to be not so great, but now it's great!" My Dad promises to serve as the adult partner; my Dad--who will drive home instead of parking too far away from the grocery store entrance and walking in--promises to be Liam's partner. I know how this will go. But, though I'm stretched already and a little worried about the time commitment BSA requires, I took Liam--and my Dad--to the orientation meeting last night.
It was us and another mother and child. Two potential joiners, surrounded--I'm not kidding: they stook in a circle around the chairs--by 12 adults in BSA gear--neck ties and patches--giving witness to the value of scouting. My neck got a crick, turning and twisting to give them the respect of eye contact. They showed a powerpoint presentation. They talked about scouting as a way of life.
They asked us to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance, and I stood and put my hand on my heart, and glanced down to see Liam in stiff military salute. Copying the leader, I noted. I'd bet $50 the leader is not a vet. He reminded me a little of the Minutemen peppering the AZ border: citizen-cops.
They all looked me straight in the eye--as if they had nothing to hide. It was the look of the faithful. And so, right there, in the Boy Scounts of America, I encounter the two groups that I least trust or know what to do with: true believers and the militant.
Poor Liam--saddled with a loner like me.
No calls back from the Big Brother people.
Poppop turned his life around.
What to do...
posted by I n g e r @ Friday, September 15, 2006
7 Comments:
The scouts are one of the few organizations that actually tries to teach concepts like honor, truthtelling, and so on.
Too bad there are only two kids and all those old guys.
What a nice and unusual team!
Good on your father (I do the same, I always carefully look for the closest parking space).
oh my...
good luck with this one..
my two oldest were cub scouts briefly..i was even coerced into being a den mother..
all we ever did for crafts is make refrigerator magnets. i am sure the other moms hated me when the fridge tipped over.
anyway....
my boys and i mutually decided at about the same time that... nah..
it was not for us..
whew
maybe it was the chicken fights at the district meeting.. ?
anyway
i am not a joiner either.. neither are my kids.. well.. maybe adam a little.
one of the first things he joined in college was a group called something of color.. a group meant to be for black students only..
being not black did not deter him.. and i was proud..
the others in the group were a little mystified..
thats my adam!
anyway.. hope your dad can hang in there if Liam likes it!
Good luck with the scouts. I cringed when you said he joined but I am sure it will be a good experience for him. It is one organization that really don't like so it I sound a little negative let it go.
Call the big brothers back!!!!!
I had the urge to tell them that Liam was born Hindu, and according to that faith, once a Hindu, always a Hindu. I wanted to tell them that I'm a Democrat--I don't know why, except that I knew I was the only one in the room.
I liked one thing: that they expose the boys to a lot of things we'd never do otherwise (including camping--egad). And they emphasize doing your personal best, and not worrying about being the best in the universe. In this town--maybe in every town--there's a lot of pressure put on kids to be #1.
Still thinking it over.
in another life i was a den mother...and a damn good one at that, i might add =)
i say go for it...by around 2nd or 3rd grade he'll prolly want out anyway...
and grumpy is right - they do teach positive concepts and non-competitiveness and volunteerism, and really it can be fun if you don't take it so seriously...
ciao...
could you ask liam for me in what direction his life had been headed before? what a delightfully weird thing to say. much less circumspect coming out of the mouth of a minor than an adult.
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