Scoutmaster Minutes and A Scout's Own

Some Inspirational Nuggets From Scoutmaster Minutes

High Flight

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth 
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; 
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth 
Of sun-split clouds -- and done a hundred things 
You have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung 
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, 
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung 
My eager craft through footless halls of air. 
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue, 
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace 
Where never lark, or even eagle flew. 
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod 
The high untrespassed sanctity of space, 
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. 

-- RCAF Flight-Lieutenant John Gillespie Magee Jr. (1922-1941).

 
WITHIN MY POWER

I am not a Very Important Man, as importance is commonly rated, I do not have great wealth, control a big business, or occupy a position of great honor or authority. 

Yet I may someday mold destiny. For it is within my power to become the most important man in the world in the life of a boy. And every boy is a potential atom bomb in human history. 

A humble citizen like myself might have been the Scoutmaster of a Troop in which an undersized unhappy Austrian lad by the name of Adolph might have found a joyous boyhood, full of the ideals of brotherhood, goodwill, and kindness. And the world would have been different. 

A humble citizen like myself might have been the organizer of a Scout Troop in which a Russian boy called Joe might have learned the lessons of democratic cooperation. 

These men would never have known that they had averted world tragedy, yet actually they would have been among the most important men who ever lived. 

All about me are boys. They are the makers of history, the builders of tomorrow. If I can have some part in guiding them up the trails of Scouting, on to the high road of noble character and constructive citizenship, I may prove to be the most important man in their lives, the most important man in my community. 

A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different, because I was important in the life of a boy. 
 

 - Forest Witcraft, Scouting Magazine, c 1950
 

 
A Different Trail

A brother has fallen.
A son of earth has been called away.

When will we meet again?
When will our trails cross?

We carry your memory in our hearts.
We remember you in our mind's eye.

Will you guide us at the river crossing?
Will we see you again in the high mountain meadow?

We will remember you when we hear the beat of the drum.
We will think of you when we hear the sound of the cannon.

Will you gather with us at the council fire?
Will we see you on the ridge trail?

As time is reckoned, we will soon meet.
Long days are between us now.

Farewell my brother, my son.
We'll meet 'round the bend when our trails finally cross.

Now hike on your different trail.
We will walk apart from you for a time.

7/18/88- James A. Dereign

Why climb the highest mountain?

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade... not because [it is] easy, but because [it is] hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win...
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Houston, Texas
September 12, 1962

I have here a map and a compass. With these tools, I can find my way to any place I want and back again. I can find where I am, where I want to go, and how to get there. That doesn't mean I'll never take a wrong turn, but I'll be able to recognize it and fix my mistake.

A map gives us a lay of the land. It shows us landmarks and we can see the best ways to move from place to place. A compass helps us find our bearings and figure out which direction to go from where we are to reach our goal.

Boy Scouts learn how to use a map and compass. If you have these tools with you, you may get lost or off track, but if you know how to use them, you can find your way back.  We also have another type of map and compass - not for hiking, but for living.

Please stand and join me in The Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. That is our map. Each point is a landmark, something to strive for.

Please join me in The Scout Oath: On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.   Please be seated.

That is our compass. It shows us how to navigate through life, which decision to make when faced with a challenge or opportunity.  We use the map (the Scout Law) as a guide for our lives and the compass (the Scout Oath) to keep ourselves oriented.

Unknown
 

What the Scout Law Means to Me

John Wayne

    A great American, John Wayne, passed away many years ago. One of his last public appearances was at a dinner. He was riddled with cancer and knew he was close to death. The purpose of the dinner was to benefit a land purchase for a Scout Reservation called John Wayne Outpost Camp.

    At this dinner, Wayne recited the Scout Law. Then he did something unusual. He said the twelve points of the Scout Law are "nice words". "Trouble is" he continued, "we learn them so young we sometimes don't get all the understanding that goes with them. I take care of that in my family. As each boy reaches Scout age, I make sure he learns the Scout Law. Then I break it down for him, with a few things I have picked up in more than half a century since I learned it."

    Then Wayne proceeded to explain the importance of the Scout Law, breaking it down for the guests at the dinner; much like he would have for his grandson.

TRUSTWORTHY The badge of honesty. Having it lets you look at any man in the eye. Lacking it, he won't look back. Keep this one at the top of your list. LOYAL The very word is life itself; for without loyalty we have no love of person or country HELPFUL Part sharing, part caring. By helping each other, we help ourselves; not to mention mankind. Be always full of help -- the dying man's last words. FRIENDLY Brotherhood is part of that word. You can take it in a lot of directions - and do - but make sure and start with brotherhood. COURTEOUS Allow each person his human dignity; which means a lot more than saying, "Yes, ma'am" and "Thank you, sir." It reflects an attitude that later in life you wish you had honored more... earlier in life. Save yourself that problem. Do it now. KIND This one word would stop wars and erase hatreds. But it's like your bicycle, it's just no good unless you get out and use it. OBEDIENT Starts at home. Practice it in your family. Enlarge it in your friends. Share it with humanity. CHEERFUL Anyone can put on a happy face when the going is good. The secret is to wear it as a mask for your problems. It might surprise you how many others do the same thing. THRIFTY Means a lot more than putting pennies away; and it is the opposite of cheap. Common sense covers it just about as well as anything. BRAVE You don't have to fight to be brave. Millions of good, fine, decent folks show more bravery than heavyweight champs just by getting out of bed every morning, going out to do a good day's work, and living the best life they know how against the law of odds. Keep the word handy every day of your life. CLEAN Soap and water helps a lot on the outside. But it is the inside that counts, and don't ever forget it. REVERENT Believe in anything that you want to believe in, but keep God at the top of it. With Him, life can be a beautiful experience. Without Him, you are just biding time.

John Wayne then thanked those at the dinner for putting his name on the outpost camp and said, "I would rather see it here than on all the theater marquees the world over."

From Eagle Court of Honor Programs

You should not be content with sitting down to defend yourselves against evil habits, but should also be active in doing good. By 'doing good' I mean making yourselves useful and doing small kindnesses to other people - whether they are friends or strangers.
- Lord Baden-Powell 1857- 1941

If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain.
If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees.
If you want one hundred years of prosperity, grow people.
- Chinese Proverb

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow.
The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
- Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865

You cannot teach a man anything.
You can only help him discover it within himself.
- Galileo Galilei
1564-1642

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.
- Peter Drucker 1909 -

If you shut one eye, you do not hear everything.
- Swiss Proverb

Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
- Pablo Picasso
1882-1973

He who remembers from day to day what he has yet to learn, and from month to month what he has learned already, may be said to have a love of learning.
- K'ung Fu-Tzu
551-479 BC
From, The Analects

He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
From The Analects, Book II:15

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1807-1882
from Kavanagh, 1865

Only a life lived for others is worthwhile.
- Albert Einstein 1879-1955

Affirmation of life is the spiritual act by which man ceases to live unreflectively and begins to devote himself to his life with reverence in order to raise it to its true value. To affirm life is to deepen, to make more inward, and to exalt the will to live.
- Albert Schweitzer
1875-1965

Taking care of our planet is like taking care of our houses. Since we human 'beings come from Nature, there is no point in our going against nature, which is why I say the environment is not .a matter of religion or ethics or morality. These are luxuries, since we can survive without them. But we will not survive if we continue to go against nature.
- Tenzin Gyatso
1935 -

You never conquer mountains. You only conquer yourself.
- Jim Whitaker

Two men were walking along a crowded sidewalk in a downtown business area. Suddenly one exclaimed, "Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket! But the other could not hear. He asked his companion how he could detect the sound of a cricket amidst the din of people and traffic. The first man, who was a zoologist, had trained himself to listen to the voices of nature, but he did not explain. He simply took a coin out of his pocket and dropped it on the sidewalk, whereupon a dozen people began to look about them. "We hear," he said, "what we listen for. "
- Baghwan Shree Rajueesh
1931- 1990

Nearness to nature ... keeps the spirit sensitive to impressions not commonly felt, and in touch with the unseen powers.
- Ohiyesa, Santee Dakota
Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman
1858- 1939

You see things; and you say, "Why?"
But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"
- George Bernard Shaw
1856-1950
from Back to Methuselah, 1921, Act 1.

"Learning without thought is labor lost;
Thought without learning is perilous.'`
- Confucius

"A position of leadership is not a passport to personal privilege or power. The duty of the leader is to serve the needs of those who are led."
- Jan Erteszek

 "It takes two to speak the truth one to speak and another to hear.'
- Henry David Thoreau

"The teacher, if he is indeed wise, does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but leads you to the threshold of your own mind."
- Kahlil Gibran

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.~
- Victor Borge

"The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving"
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Sometimes being pushed to the wall gives you the momentum necessary to get over it!"
- Peter de Jager

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes." -
 Mahatma Gandhi

"He that respects himself is safe from others; he wears a coat of mail that no one can pierce."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blue prints of your ultimate achievements."
- Napoleon Hill

"Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future."
- Charles F. Kettering

"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well."
- Phillip Stanhope

"When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable for others."
- Anais Nin

"Every generation thinks it has the answers, and every generation is humbled by nature."
- Phillip Lubin

"As you look back upon your own, the moments that stand out, when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love"
- Henry Drummond

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self."
- Aldous Huxley

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."
- James Thurber

A Scout's Own