For no particular reason, I awoke this morning thinking about outdoor activities I enjoy, such as camping and canoeing. While thinking about how many months it's been since I've done anything outdoorsy, I also thought about how long I've been doing this kind of stuff (longer than I can remember) and where I learned my love of nature and the outdoors. I learned it courtesy of the Boy Scouts.
As I say this, I don't want to discount or dismiss my parents' contribution. One of my earliest memories is going fishing with my dad, and I also remember family vacations where we spent a week camping throughout South Dakota. (We even ended up in Sturgis during bike week, but that's a story in itself.) But it was scouting that really refined and cultivated my love for the outdoors.
I don't want to come across as a scouting fanboy though. I have one major beef with the Boy Scouts of America, and that's their intolerance for gays. I get that scouting provides an opportunity for predatory gay pedophiles to prey on innocent young boys, but being gay does not automatically make one a pedophile. With that said though, I believe that scouting has many more positives than negatives.
Scouting taught me a lot more than canoeing and camping though. I also learned how to swim, learned first aid skills, gained leadership and teamwork skills, and was taught preparedness and survival skills. (I've forgotten most of my survival skills, but have excelled on preparedness.) I went camping year-round (many, many camping trips in freezing weather, some were below-zero), hiking in the spring, and canoeing in the summer.
By the way... I never made Eagle Scout. Scouting gave me a lot, but I didn't get the self-discipline needed for some of the requirements until later in life.
As I say this, I don't want to discount or dismiss my parents' contribution. One of my earliest memories is going fishing with my dad, and I also remember family vacations where we spent a week camping throughout South Dakota. (We even ended up in Sturgis during bike week, but that's a story in itself.) But it was scouting that really refined and cultivated my love for the outdoors.
I don't want to come across as a scouting fanboy though. I have one major beef with the Boy Scouts of America, and that's their intolerance for gays. I get that scouting provides an opportunity for predatory gay pedophiles to prey on innocent young boys, but being gay does not automatically make one a pedophile. With that said though, I believe that scouting has many more positives than negatives.
Scouting taught me a lot more than canoeing and camping though. I also learned how to swim, learned first aid skills, gained leadership and teamwork skills, and was taught preparedness and survival skills. (I've forgotten most of my survival skills, but have excelled on preparedness.) I went camping year-round (many, many camping trips in freezing weather, some were below-zero), hiking in the spring, and canoeing in the summer.
By the way... I never made Eagle Scout. Scouting gave me a lot, but I didn't get the self-discipline needed for some of the requirements until later in life.
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