One more time into a packed vehicle for a weekend Scout event. Although, this one wasn’t for purposes of training. Every other year there is a Council wide event called Mackinac Rendezvous where Scouts from all over our Council are invited to come up north to camp on the mainland and then a day over on beautiful , historic Mackinac Island. The Scouts can work on different Merit Badges while on the Island and drink in some of the sights and sounds….and let’s not forget scarfing down some of the delicious fudge which is made by the shops. It is quite an event with the number of Scouts and leader around 1,500 people.
The logistics for this make it so many people are needed to keep things running…130 people were on staff this time. We were part of the “physical arrangements” team. Our job was to check the units in, lead them to their camp sites,and get them to unload their gear and move their vehicles to the parking area upon arrival. The units had from 3 PM until Midnight to arrive and then the security team would take over to get them in place. Things went fairly quickly. The day was cold and blustery with the wind off of the big lake so we were well bundled. As the sun fell it became even colder and we were all thankful for the propane powered lamp which not only gave light but much needed heat. We passed the time by answering questions about Scout history in our little booklet with the schedule for events and other information about what would be going on for the weekend. Our last people arrived about 11 PM and we went back to the cozy cabin for the evening….the warmth was greatly appreciated. No camping this time!! I will admit to having three or four layers of clothes on to keep warm while we were at our check in station. It would be a short night before our next duties came in the morning.
After a quick breakfast it was time to walk around our area to make sure the Scouts and leaders were up and moving to be down to the area where we would meet our busses for transportation to the boats docks for the trip to the Island for the day. This is where our positions on staff came in kind of handy. We were allowed to cut the line to get on the boats. It was a quick trip to the Island and a very pleasant surprise when we spotted a former Scout on the Island for a political convention. We had a good conversation catching up with how he was doing. It was then off to do some geocacheing for the morning. Ter and I have been on the Island a number of times and know famous Main Street pretty well. We were with some other Scout friends and found one cache. We walked a little while longer and found another one along a board walk. It was a nice walk back downtown as one of my friends had to lead a group to teach them about geocacheing.
I met back up with Ter and we decided to go up the hill for lunch at Fort Mackinac, the focal point of the Island. This fort has a very interesting history which includes it being transported across the Straits of Mackinac from Mackinaw City and rebuilt. The Fort was under the flag of several different nations including France, England, and finally the United States during its active days. It was lost to the British in one of the first battles of the War of 1812 without a single shot being fired. It was surrendered when the commander realized the American troops were vastly outnumbered by the British and Native Americans. It was eventually taken back and was an American post until being decommissioned in 1895.. I found out the hard way I can’t make it up the ramp to the Fort as easily as I used to in the past. I actually had to stop and rest as the incline of the ramp is fairly severe. We made it up and headed for the restaurant. I got to the head of the steps and had an “Oh, Oh” moment. I really took my time getting down the steps and was glad to set down at a table and order lunch. We did linger for a little while. We had hoped to get the delicious roast turkey leg dinner we remembered from a previous trip but such was not the case.
But one of the things you notice the most is the quiet…no motorized vehicles are allowed except for emergency ones. Horses and bicycles are the basic transportation for the Island which also makes for having to remember watching out for the inevitable results of using animals. We left lunch and decided to do a little geocacheing. This is a kind of high tech “treasure hunt” where people hide things, publish the coordinates on a website where you can download them, and you go and hunt for them. You certainly don’t get rich, but have a lot of fun and get some exercise walking in the woods. Then sadly it was time to head back downtown to buy the fudge we had promised our neighbors for keeping and eye on “Tippy, the wonder mutt” for the third weekend out of the last six. We appreciate them so much for doing it…although Tippy usually isn’t a whole lot of problem.
It was cut the line one more time for the trip back across the Straits so we could help do crowd control one more time. There was a catered meal for all, to me quite a feat with 15 or 1600 people. Things were done pretty efficiently and there was time for all to just wander another historic fort for awhile. This one is Fort Michilimacinac. This is one from the 1700’s and actually was captured by American Indians who fooled the residents while playing a game of lacrosse. I’ll leave you to study the history of this unique place. We had a program inside the fort celebrating the upcoming 100th anniversary of American Scouting and then it was back to our campground.
Our last job for the event was to check out the units we had checked in on Friday. This went much quicker as people wanted to get back on the road home. We had to check their camp sites for cleanliness and then could give them their slips to go get their vehicles and load up. This was accomplished in about two hours. We then went to help out with finishing tearing down what we had put up around the campground to accommodate all the people. We changed out of our uniforms for the trip home. We crossed the Mighty Mac to go into St. Ignace to have lunch at a little unique restaurant called Java Joe’s. It is unique as when you walk in it looks like you are in the Florida keys with the décor. Even the owner looks like someone right from the Keys with his long ponytail and brightly colored shirts. Then it was hit the road for home only stopping to do some more “treasure hunting”. We did run into some construction which made for an interesting side trip. We made it home about 7 PM and did some basic unloading of the car and were ready for some rest. My bet is we’ll be back for the next Rendezvous to help out.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
All I can say is....WOW
We are back home and it is time to reflect on another full weekend of Wood Badge training. My body is still recovering for sure. It was also an emotional time. I know this blog will be difficult for those not in Scouting to understand, but this was such a moving weekend I have to write about it.
It began Thursday evening. Several members of our Patrol had decided to arrive early, once again to avoid an early morning wake up call, long drive and a full day of training. It was a time to just sit down, talk, and get to know each other. I was glad Ter stuck around to help put up my “home” for the weekend as we had borrowed a tent so we would have two for the weekend as we are in different Patrols within the Troop of Wood Badge. We put it up pretty quickly so Ter could get over to his campsite to put up his place for the weekend. After a fitful sleep, due to the fact I don’t hear much with my hearing aids out, I woke up to the bright screen of my cell phone alarm. I had brought a second alarm to help, although it was pretty iffy it would wake me up as it was a regular alarm. The worry was waking up on time….although my Patrol would have made sure I was up. I was glad the screen on my phone did the job. The rest of our Patrol would arrive in a little bit to set up for the weekend.
After setting up camp we went to Gilwell Park to have our opening ceremony for the weekend. It was very moving as we honored the victims of 9/11. We lowered the flags to half staff and each individual patrol did a one minute salute to honor the many who lost their lives that horrific day. It brought tears to my eyes to think of the loss to so many. From there it became kind of a whirlwind of learning about leadership and how it relates to Scouting. We hurried back to our campsite for a quick lunch and back to work. We regathered to have Patrol and Course pictures taken. Afterward it was a quick trip back to the campsite to get out of our Class A uniforms because of the heat. There was another presentation and we proceeded to planned team building games. This is where I found out the hard way I hadn’t eaten enough at lunch. A little over half way through there was a feeling of , “oh, oh where am I”, which is never a good thing. My sugar was crashing along with some dehydration coming on. One of my fellow Patrol members saw what was going and and told me not to lock my knees as I looked like I was going to pass out. Thank you, fellow high flying Eagle! The person leading the game told me to get some water from his bottle. I finished up that game and thankfully the next game was a sit down one in the shade. The last game I started to pass out again, but was then reminded I had some candy in my pocket and got some water. That little bit of sugar got me through to suppertime. The day ended with a great firebowl program with all Patrols participating. We finished up the day and kind of fell into bed. I don’t know about my fellow Eagles but it took awhile for my mind to settle down.
Then too quickly came Saturday morning when we had to be up and moving so we could be to Gilwell again for the flag raising ceremony scheduled for 7:30. I turned over my Patrol Leader responsibilities to the next person. After the morning sessions and lunch, each Patrol did a fifteen minutes presentation. Ours happened to be on hypothermia and went over quite well. We were finally able to work on the biggest part, our tickets. These are tasks we each choose and have approved to complete to get our beads…the ultimate goal of Wood Badge. These can be a challenge to write up. Our battle was finally won, though. Throughout the day our plan to have campfire and cracker barrel with the Patrol sharing our campsite grew until EVERYONE in the course was invited. It was a very emotional time as each person spoke about their time at Wood Badge.
Sunday was tear down the camp time. I kind of surprised myself as I took down the tent. The only thing I needed help with was getting the tent folded and put in the bag to go home. A great thanks goes to another member of my Patrol for helping with that part of taking down the site. Our things were then hauled down to the parking lot and put in our vehicles for the trip home. A ride down to the parking lot was greatly appreciated!! Then came chapel which this time was run by the Patrols. A very nice dinner, served by the Wood Badge staff, was greatly appreciated. One more presentation was done using the film “Mr. Holland’s Opus” as a background. A wonderful dessert was served. It was then back to Gilwell one more time for the closing ceremony. It was once again quite an emotional time as we walked from staff member to staff member saying our thank you’s to them on the way out. It was now time to say a brief good-bye to everyone until we meet again.
It began Thursday evening. Several members of our Patrol had decided to arrive early, once again to avoid an early morning wake up call, long drive and a full day of training. It was a time to just sit down, talk, and get to know each other. I was glad Ter stuck around to help put up my “home” for the weekend as we had borrowed a tent so we would have two for the weekend as we are in different Patrols within the Troop of Wood Badge. We put it up pretty quickly so Ter could get over to his campsite to put up his place for the weekend. After a fitful sleep, due to the fact I don’t hear much with my hearing aids out, I woke up to the bright screen of my cell phone alarm. I had brought a second alarm to help, although it was pretty iffy it would wake me up as it was a regular alarm. The worry was waking up on time….although my Patrol would have made sure I was up. I was glad the screen on my phone did the job. The rest of our Patrol would arrive in a little bit to set up for the weekend.
After setting up camp we went to Gilwell Park to have our opening ceremony for the weekend. It was very moving as we honored the victims of 9/11. We lowered the flags to half staff and each individual patrol did a one minute salute to honor the many who lost their lives that horrific day. It brought tears to my eyes to think of the loss to so many. From there it became kind of a whirlwind of learning about leadership and how it relates to Scouting. We hurried back to our campsite for a quick lunch and back to work. We regathered to have Patrol and Course pictures taken. Afterward it was a quick trip back to the campsite to get out of our Class A uniforms because of the heat. There was another presentation and we proceeded to planned team building games. This is where I found out the hard way I hadn’t eaten enough at lunch. A little over half way through there was a feeling of , “oh, oh where am I”, which is never a good thing. My sugar was crashing along with some dehydration coming on. One of my fellow Patrol members saw what was going and and told me not to lock my knees as I looked like I was going to pass out. Thank you, fellow high flying Eagle! The person leading the game told me to get some water from his bottle. I finished up that game and thankfully the next game was a sit down one in the shade. The last game I started to pass out again, but was then reminded I had some candy in my pocket and got some water. That little bit of sugar got me through to suppertime. The day ended with a great firebowl program with all Patrols participating. We finished up the day and kind of fell into bed. I don’t know about my fellow Eagles but it took awhile for my mind to settle down.
Then too quickly came Saturday morning when we had to be up and moving so we could be to Gilwell again for the flag raising ceremony scheduled for 7:30. I turned over my Patrol Leader responsibilities to the next person. After the morning sessions and lunch, each Patrol did a fifteen minutes presentation. Ours happened to be on hypothermia and went over quite well. We were finally able to work on the biggest part, our tickets. These are tasks we each choose and have approved to complete to get our beads…the ultimate goal of Wood Badge. These can be a challenge to write up. Our battle was finally won, though. Throughout the day our plan to have campfire and cracker barrel with the Patrol sharing our campsite grew until EVERYONE in the course was invited. It was a very emotional time as each person spoke about their time at Wood Badge.
Sunday was tear down the camp time. I kind of surprised myself as I took down the tent. The only thing I needed help with was getting the tent folded and put in the bag to go home. A great thanks goes to another member of my Patrol for helping with that part of taking down the site. Our things were then hauled down to the parking lot and put in our vehicles for the trip home. A ride down to the parking lot was greatly appreciated!! Then came chapel which this time was run by the Patrols. A very nice dinner, served by the Wood Badge staff, was greatly appreciated. One more presentation was done using the film “Mr. Holland’s Opus” as a background. A wonderful dessert was served. It was then back to Gilwell one more time for the closing ceremony. It was once again quite an emotional time as we walked from staff member to staff member saying our thank you’s to them on the way out. It was now time to say a brief good-bye to everyone until we meet again.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Why I am Pro-Life
Why am I personally pro-life? There are several reasons in several areas. I will freely admit most of them are firmly set in my faith. With the Bible as my guide I see staunchly defending life at all stages is the only way to go. I know there are those who would disagree with me while believing in their position just as much. The debate rages in some ways more at a fever pitch than before with the battles over Health Care Reform. The debate has descended into yelling matches at some meetings.
The first and foremost reason is my own situation. I was born with a form of dwarfism, Turners Syndrome. There are other effects outside of short stature. I won’t go into them, but suffice it to say they have made life challenging. With all the technologies available today many people are making the decision to terminate their pregnancies rather than have a “disabled” child. Yes, there are difficulties and patience is required. There is no doubt on that fact. Not to mention the possible costs of treatment. Very good insurance is essential in these cases. I will always be thankful my parents didn’t take this route which admittedly wasn’t as readily taken back when I came into this world fifty-five years ago. Being small made for some interesting times while growing up for sure. Trying to convince people I was older than I looked was one of them. This lead to many adventures. Believe it or not, I can still get some of the same reaction today even though I am middle aged.
Another reason I am pro-life is the make up of my family. It is interesting to see some of the looks when we go places. Our son is adopted, see my earlier blog of July ninth about his coming into our lives. As adoption is a BIG part of my family is it easy to see why I am pro-life. I have wondered at times what my life would be, or if I would even be in this world, if my grandparents had not brought my father into their lives. There are many couples ready and willing to take these children into their lives. They are willing to start the long, complicated process of adoption to love the children. There are even people adopting children at the very earliest stages of life…as embryos and bringing them into this world. I met one of these “snowflake” children at a Right to Life conference several years ago. I considered it a privilege to meet this precious little boy and his parents.
Let me now go to the other end of the spectrum, the end of life. My views on life were set while I was in high school and college, but thoroughly cemented when my beloved mother-in-law and my mother passed away within a period of about twenty months. My husband’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and left us about four months later. The lessons she taught during that short time period will never leave me. She taught us about leaving a legacy of love and focusing on others even though she knew she was dying. I will always seek to emulate her the rest of my life. There are those who would have advocated her leaving as soon as possible for various reasons but I would argue we would have lost those invaluable lessons taught. Shortly thereafter, the effects of a brain wasting condition caught up with my mother and she collapsed while out with my father to take care of some business. She was finally diagnosed with Older Age Hydrocephalus which had the same effects as Alzheimers disease. The next year and a half she was in and out of responsiveness. She was non-responsive for nine months giving only one or two word answers to questions or shaking or nodding her head. My father was going to leave on a well deserved vacation to see my brother and his family who lived in California at the time. He reminded my mom he was leaving and suddenly she “woke up” wanting to know when he was going to pick her up to go to the airport. This was the beginning of a God given time of reconciling between the two of us. She was so completely changed when she woke up we were able to make up , as much as possible with her brain injury, for a lot of things which had happened in the past. Then finally, we had one last time of singing duets together at a family gathering. My brother’s family had just moved here from California and it was birthday time for a couple of us. After dinner I sat down and started playing the piano. Mom came up and wanted to sing. We did for about half and hour to forty-five minutes until she tired. It was very shortly after this Mom went into her final coma leaving us about a month later. Once again some would have had my mother leave us sooner but the precious time of reconciliation and the last time of making music would have been lost.
I could go on about my reasons for being so thoroughly pro-life, but my biggest thought is only God has the right to determine when we will go home to meet Him. With abortion I think of how many doctors, musicians, or whatever profession have we lost when that tiny life was ended? Have we lost the person who could have found the cure for any one of the horrible diseases in the world? Have we lost the next Yo-Yo Ma to the music world? This is why I am pro-life!!!
The first and foremost reason is my own situation. I was born with a form of dwarfism, Turners Syndrome. There are other effects outside of short stature. I won’t go into them, but suffice it to say they have made life challenging. With all the technologies available today many people are making the decision to terminate their pregnancies rather than have a “disabled” child. Yes, there are difficulties and patience is required. There is no doubt on that fact. Not to mention the possible costs of treatment. Very good insurance is essential in these cases. I will always be thankful my parents didn’t take this route which admittedly wasn’t as readily taken back when I came into this world fifty-five years ago. Being small made for some interesting times while growing up for sure. Trying to convince people I was older than I looked was one of them. This lead to many adventures. Believe it or not, I can still get some of the same reaction today even though I am middle aged.
Another reason I am pro-life is the make up of my family. It is interesting to see some of the looks when we go places. Our son is adopted, see my earlier blog of July ninth about his coming into our lives. As adoption is a BIG part of my family is it easy to see why I am pro-life. I have wondered at times what my life would be, or if I would even be in this world, if my grandparents had not brought my father into their lives. There are many couples ready and willing to take these children into their lives. They are willing to start the long, complicated process of adoption to love the children. There are even people adopting children at the very earliest stages of life…as embryos and bringing them into this world. I met one of these “snowflake” children at a Right to Life conference several years ago. I considered it a privilege to meet this precious little boy and his parents.
Let me now go to the other end of the spectrum, the end of life. My views on life were set while I was in high school and college, but thoroughly cemented when my beloved mother-in-law and my mother passed away within a period of about twenty months. My husband’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and left us about four months later. The lessons she taught during that short time period will never leave me. She taught us about leaving a legacy of love and focusing on others even though she knew she was dying. I will always seek to emulate her the rest of my life. There are those who would have advocated her leaving as soon as possible for various reasons but I would argue we would have lost those invaluable lessons taught. Shortly thereafter, the effects of a brain wasting condition caught up with my mother and she collapsed while out with my father to take care of some business. She was finally diagnosed with Older Age Hydrocephalus which had the same effects as Alzheimers disease. The next year and a half she was in and out of responsiveness. She was non-responsive for nine months giving only one or two word answers to questions or shaking or nodding her head. My father was going to leave on a well deserved vacation to see my brother and his family who lived in California at the time. He reminded my mom he was leaving and suddenly she “woke up” wanting to know when he was going to pick her up to go to the airport. This was the beginning of a God given time of reconciling between the two of us. She was so completely changed when she woke up we were able to make up , as much as possible with her brain injury, for a lot of things which had happened in the past. Then finally, we had one last time of singing duets together at a family gathering. My brother’s family had just moved here from California and it was birthday time for a couple of us. After dinner I sat down and started playing the piano. Mom came up and wanted to sing. We did for about half and hour to forty-five minutes until she tired. It was very shortly after this Mom went into her final coma leaving us about a month later. Once again some would have had my mother leave us sooner but the precious time of reconciliation and the last time of making music would have been lost.
I could go on about my reasons for being so thoroughly pro-life, but my biggest thought is only God has the right to determine when we will go home to meet Him. With abortion I think of how many doctors, musicians, or whatever profession have we lost when that tiny life was ended? Have we lost the person who could have found the cure for any one of the horrible diseases in the world? Have we lost the next Yo-Yo Ma to the music world? This is why I am pro-life!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)