"Always Be Prepared" (Boy Scout Motto)

When I was a young boy growing up in a small Saskatchewan town, it was the cool thing to do. Joining the Cub/Scout movement was encouraged and seen as an integral step in developing into a responsible young man. Our leaders were respected men in the community and were also the dad's of my schoolmates. It was a learning platform for many different types of skills. I no longer have the string of badges that I earned, but distinctly remember the pride of striving and achieving and being awarded the badges, and then having my mother sew them onto the sleeve of my uniform. The orienteering and fire making badges were the most fun for me, but the knot tying badge eluded me for a few years. Today, I am really good at lighting and maintaining a camp fire, but I still can tie only one kind of knot, but at least I know the name of it.

At the Canada Day parade, there was a small contingency of Boy Scouts. There were only a few that looked clean cut and normal. The rest were reason enough to stay out of the movement. Lord Baden Powell would not approve of these two fellows. I say that because appearance was always of utmost importance, indeed we were awarded badges for it.