Lori,
I was in scouts for a long time and was Senior Patrol Leader. We had one Scout named Charlie and the other guys were rough on him to a large degree. He was goofy, a bit of a nerd ( like me), but he also stuck it out. He earned everyones' respect.
The incident that sticks in my mind was when we had out contest during one of our campouts among the patrols to see who would have to hump out the others' gear. The winners got to do nothing while the next winner down could pick their loads all the way down to the bottom, etc.
Well, each patrol drew lots for pairs of boys to compete and Charlie was picked in one. The contest was to navigate to the top of a hill, find another waypoint, then come back. It looked easy, but it was hard. The boy chosen with Charlie got all upset, so I volunteered to be with Charlie.
We won by 10 minutes. Charlie knew his stuff. I just walked with him and we talked. The look on everyone's face when we showed up was priceless. That incident taught everyone a lesson. And everyone wanted Charlie on their team after that.
A lot of scouting is physical, but most of it is mental - especially the merit badges.
There is nothing in the Scouting Code about being a Manly Man, most of it is about moral courage.
Edit: I told a lot of stories around the campfire. I think your son would be very good at that.
Last edited by Austin; 04/27/09 08:14 PM.
