Give Me Your Left!
Cadence please! 1 2 3
Give me you left, your left, your left your right your left.
Give me you left, your left, your left your right your left...
I’m in a moment of introspection thinking life's a lot like a parade. I’m looking over the 350 some photos I took at the Renton River Days Parade last Saturday morning (July 28, 2012) when my attention is suddenly seized by this one pic. I’m startled and find myself surprised. I’m embarrassed. I can’t remember my old Boy Scout Troop number and it's really irritating me.
My impatient me, myself, and I try to sort out this little personal irony. No, it's not a senior moment and I finally calm down, get out of my head, find my quiet place, and the memories come marching in.
Give me you left, your left, your left your right your left.
Remember the time at Camp Sherman in Maple Valley when we young lads on our first cookout spaghetti dinner started the pasta in cold water (instead of boiling water) and it turned out to be one huge glumpy ball of steaming hot starchy mush. Yet, it wasn’t so bad, we had lots of red meaty sauce to put on it and garlic bread!
Remember the time we were in the high Cascades on a raft skinny dipping in that crystal clear alpine lake when we were attacked by a thousand Deer Flies and had to jump into the near freezing water to keep from getting bitten. Remember the time we were at the Century 21 World's Fair on opening day and proudly raised the Washington State flag.
Remember the time we were doing a Raider’s of the Lost Ark zoom on a rope high over the Green River Gorge and the rope snapped and you slammed into the side of the cliff and knocked almost unconscious fell several feet into the river. Remember the time we were walking the Cascade Crest Trail and accidentally came between two cubs and Momma Brown Bear and she was really pissed.
Remember sitting around the campfire and the Milky Way shown so bright, there was at least a billion stars shining brightly in the summer night sky and we talked and told stories for hours. We had no clue (as most boys our age don’t) what life had in store for us.
We were wonderfully blessed with benevolent leadership that understood taking us on a wilderness adventure would likely make a greater difference in our lives than a hundred lectures ever could.
This photo reminds me of those days and the men I’ve been fortunate to know in my life growing up. They guided us, yet let us be who we were. They provided a safe place yet knowing life is not without risk. They were patient, with purpose, and hopeful we’d get it when it was our time.
I forgot my Troop number today, but I’ll never forget the adventures and stories that were woven into the fabric of my life.
Give me you left, your left, your left your right your left.
Give me you left, your left, your left your right your left...
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