Planning and Chanting for the Future

At last week’s Troop meeting, most of the focus was on planning the events and menus for the upcoming Achewon trip, a.k.a. the “new scout induction” campout where the new scouts are formally inducted into the ranks of Troop 281. The planning, which was done by each patrol individually but with an adult supervisor to ensure things got done (or in the case of the new scouts, to help explain how to plan a campout), took up most of the first half of the meeting. After all the patrols had turned in the required paperwork, there was a skill session led by Avery R., Bret C. and Greg B. What was unusual about this particular skill session was the topic it covered: it was a skill session…on how to give a skill session. While the basics of giving a presentation were simple enough, somehow most of the scouts ended up having to repeat some basic rules of presenting to the point where it sounded like rushed chanting.

After the Skill/chanting session was over, it was time for the game. The game of the night was a little strange, in that it was “Finger Jousting” or something similar to that name. The idea is that two scouts clasp hands like they’re going to thumb wrestle, but instead of the thumbs being the important finger, it’s actually the index finger, which is extended as if to point at its opponent. The objective of the game was to try and touch your opponent with your index finger while trying to prevent your opponent to do the same to you, and as one would expect, the fights had scouts sidestepping and rolling all over the place in trying to place their index finger on the hip of somebody else.

When the finger-pointing had finally stopped, the scouts fell in once more for end of meeting announcements before “circling up” into the habitual amoeba shape. For his Scoutmaster minute, Dr. Reynolds gave a very nice personal reflection on the passing of Erich Kunzel, the late Maestro of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and friend to the scouts of Troop 281. Later everybody clapped together one last time and left for home or went to the scout room for some cake that Steven L. had brought in, left-over from the completion reception of his Eagle Project.

Ben Hallenbeck, Troop Historian