Feb7

scouting out.

Posted on by
Standard

 I only made it through two uniforms in the lineup

brownie and junior scout

with aspirations to go all the way through

beginning as a brownie (fun!)

 officially  becoming a junior scout

after my ‘flying up’ ceremony 

I imagined all kinds of adventure

canoeing, camping, first aid, parades, hiking, building fires, survival, rescues…

earning badges galore

anything was possible

bring it on!

but  

 my leader had a different vision 

of what a junior scout should do and be

we made a lot of crafts

like oranges with cloves stuck in them

(pomaders)

to use in closets at home

each week I looked forward to the announcement of what was to come

yet it was always another craft

or making something to eat on foil

literally all I remember 

 then the cookie sale

 I was really quiet and dreaded going door to door

I knew my days in the scouts were numbered

this was not my path

I would need to seek out my own adventure

 and while my path was all over the  place

that’s exactly what I did. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        —

‘I am an aging Girl Scout.’

-amy sedaris, american actor, comedian, and writer

Discover more from I didn't have my glasses on....

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

77 responses »

  3. I too was in scouting. I left for other reasons, one of the biggest regrets in my life. Thirty some years later, my son became a scout and stuck to it and made Eagle. Along the way I went to summer camps and weekend campouts and watched him and his peers learn and grow while kindling friendships with my fellow leaders. I sad your experience was different, but you branched out and scouted on your own and still do so. Bravo and keep on keeping on. Peace.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • That is amazing and I’m so glad to read this! Kudos to your son! I think this is how it’s supposed to work and part of early days of scouting is it really depends on the leaders, the adults and how they want to approach it. I’m sure there were many junior Girl Scout troops, which were very active it just wasn’t my experience.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  4. This reminded me of when I joined The Cubs in London. They were the junior version of the Boy Scouts, and I also imagined all kinds of exciting adventures to come. But I discovered they required us to attend Church Parade every other week, with an 08:30 start on Sunday mornings. That soon put paid to any further ambitions to be a Scout, and I left after 9 months.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  7. I made it through to senior girl scout. That uniform was the best.

    I signed up for cub scouts, then my family moved. Both of my brothers were boy scouts, one went through until the eagle scout promotion, decided to hang it up then. The scout leader, Mister Dugger, was retired army and really gave the boys the experience.

    Most girl scouts don’t go door to door any more to sell cookies, do they? Usually they camp out at the entrance to the grocery store or Walmart, accost people as enter and leave the store. You may have excelled at THAT aspect of selling?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  11. My daughter left Brownies when they went on camp and she was told she couldn’t climb the trees. If i remember correctly we were called to bring her home early!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  13. The end of my Cub Scout days, Beth, was when the adult leader thought it was a good idea for all the cubbies to throw their shoes in a big pile in the middle to play find your own pair. All of us seemed to be wearing the hot style desert boots, size six, causing quite a ruckus, not only among us scouts but the parents when they arrived to take us home, too. That’s OK, I quit, I told mine, and that was it for me.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  16. Belonged to some organization called ‘Explorers’ (think it was an alternative to Girl Guides in our area). My sister and I never went back after we defied our leader, (minister’s wife) and went to the movie of our choice instead of the one she instructed us to go to. Never looked back and enjoyed the movie tremendously!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  17. I was a Brownie briefly. I’d imagined it was going to be like Boy Scouts, with lots of outdoor adventures, hiking, camping, building campfires, learning knots, etc. It was more like homemaking and domestic skills. Ick. I quit.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  18. Yeah, similar experience for me (many years ago). Joined the brownies. Was looking forward to campfires and other stuff (long forgotten) in the “book”. We did “games”, sang in a competition (doing very badly). We sang, “You have a brand new pair of roller skates” ? And there was a fancy dress comp. Clearly the highlights to remember them many years later. Musn’t have liked the games as remember Mum sighing, after I quit, having forked out for the uniform.

    My daughter had a nice time. They went to a recording studio and made a cd of “True Colours”. And I remember a trip to a pond. The leaders were lovely but I suppose they are ltd by numbers and costs. Looking back, it would have been the same with mine.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  22. My experience in the girl scouts was very similar to yours Beth. It was the 60’s in Flint, Michigan and all we did was crafts and dumb domestic stuff. I remember one meeting the leader had us learn how to polish our nails. I did, however, learn the fastest way to dry your nails was to plunge your fingertips in ice water. Now that was a very useful skill for girls to learn. :)) Chris

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  25. Haha I’m with you. Being a brownie never appealed mainly because they made you wear a brown uniform and i wondered how I would cope doing things I didn’t want to do. Much preferred rock and tree climbing and braving the wilds of the bush and beach 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  26. I made it as far as you did. Wasn’t for me. All we did…work on badges. Didn’t last long. Until this moment, I didn’t know there were that many steps to climb. I just thought there were two, Brownie and Girl Scout, period. Interesting post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  27. you most certainly chose YOUR way – and did it well…. I generally HATE all sorts of uniform and as kids we were not allowed to be scouts (Pfadfinder we call it here, path finders).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  31. I made it the same distance that you did, Beth. I had these exact uniforms! I loved Brownies, but after I flew up, I decided it was not for me. My mom made me stick it out for the full year and that made an impression on me about not quitting things abruptly.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

Leave a comment