Jambo Journal – Day #4, Wednesday, July 28, 2010 – Opening Ceremony.

Yesterday’s entry: When Hot Gets Cold and Cool Gets Hot.

Today is Opening Ceremony. The troop has to leave subcamp two hours before the show. The weather’s fine as they leave but I fear it’ll be in the Black Zone when they return. I’m staying at camp. I volunteered to stay, since a Scoutmaster is required to be in camp at all times. I really want to see Saturday’s evening celebration which includes the biggest Boy Scout fireworks show ever.

The entire camp is empty as the troops parade one-by-one to the Arena. I look around and see some camps have no Scoutmasters, but I don’t mind sitting back and enjoying the soon-to-be hot summer day. I relax. I eye the now empty adult showers, but it defeats the purpose for me to leave camp to take a shower. I decide to wait until the Continue Reading “The Real Reason We’ll Never have a Co-ed Army.”

Jambo Journal – Day #3, Tuesday, July 27, 2010 – Arrival.

Yesterday’s entry: Faithfully Following Directions Leads Us Astray – With Amazing Consequences!

While Monday evening saw us enter our tents in a sweat, too hot for even the barest of covers, by the wee hours of Tuesday morning we experienced something these parts of Virginia has not recently experienced. It’s something I believe the experts call “cold.” Well, not quite “cold,” actually more like “cool.” Word is folks from the northern tier might call it “balmy.”

In either case, it got cold enough during the short night, to require an extra article of clothing and – where’s that sheet it was too hot for earlier? Others might complain, but I thought it was great sleeping weather. Unfortunately, that darn moon had other things in mind and, for the second night in a row, I counted sheep until they passed out. By the time enough of them there woolly ovine had finally Continue Reading “When Hot Gets Cold and Cool Gets Hot.”

Jambo Journal – Day #2, Monday, July 26, 2010 – Arrival.

Yesterday’s entry: Eternal Answer Finally Revealed

After a night of no rest, we turn into the large McDonald’s (complete with McPlayground) at 6:00am Monday, a full hour behind schedule. Wait! No, it’s the wrong one. We leave with another of the five buses and head down the road to the McDonald’s we phoned ahead to warn.

We get there and wonder if the busses will be able to park anywhere. Man, is it small. In fact, it’s about the size of one of Ray Kroc’s original franchises. Don’t worry about not having a playground, it barely has Continue Reading “Faithfully Following Directions Leads Us Astray – With Amazing Consequences!”

Jambo Journal – Day #1, Sunday, July 25, 2010 – Departure.

We embarked on our 12-hour ride at 9:30 Sunday night, thirty minutes past our scheduled departure time. The kids didn’t mind. Their parents didn’t mind. The weather was perfect for picture taking. The whole scene reminded me of one of those old movies – you know the kind I speak of – when it seems like the entire community comes to celebrate the debarking from port of some fabled steam liner.

Fortunately, the preliminary forecast did not indicate any likelihood of icebergs roaming the interstates between Rochester and Fort A.P. Hill. Heat Advisories? Well, that’s another thing altogether.

The joyous banter of youthful testosterone-filled excitement permeated the Continue Reading “Eternal Answer Finally Revealed”