On one of his first episodes of the Scoutmaster Podcast, my friend Clarke Green offered an essay in tribute to Extraordinary people. I found it to be one of the most true-to-life descriptions of the kind of person who becomes a Scouter. At this time of Thanksgiving, I’d like to present Clarke with his essay from Scoutmaster Podcast number nineteen from 2010. It’s a bit over six minutes long, but I’m sure you’ll be nodding your head in astonishment that Clarke recognized the type of person you are.
If you’d like to read along or have the text, I’ve transcribed it and it can be found on the Roundtable Resources page. Clarke would want you to feel free to use it in your own unit or Scouting program as long as you give him credit.
From Clarke, and from me, Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for all you do in service to Scouting and to youth.
A Scout is helpful. It’s the third point of the Scout Law. And to help other people at all times is part of the Scout Oath.
You’ve probably seen the t-shirts that read (Fill in the blank) is life. The rest is just details. Put any activity in the blank: Football, softball, soccer, cheerleading, golf, snowboarding… and you can probably find a shirt with the slogan.
Fall is approaching, and as the temperature goes down, the pigskins go up. Every Friday night at high schools and Saturday afternoons at colleges all across the country, players take to the field to see who can dominate a one-hundred-yard patch of turf. Winners and losers emerge, along with the attendant lessons of sportsmanship, humility, leadership and dealing with disappointment.