The Best Is Yet To Come!
Thursday, June 20th, 2019
Resuming a more typical camp schedule, your correspondent was up with the sun to enjoy the cool of early morning and the lightening Eastern sky. The morning was somewhat misty by the enshrouding fog of the past few mornings was not in evidence today. As always, the various local avifauna provided a lively concert as the soundtrack to the dawn.
Thursdays at Camp Geiger bring a palpable tension as this day will be concluded by the Tapping Fire! Tapping Fire is a tableau that must be experienced to truly be appreciated in all its pomp and circumstance. The actual event far exceeds my meagre ability to describe it but you may get some sense of what our Scouts and Scouters will enjoy tonight by referring to past descriptions of this grand occasion. The links below may help to assuage your hunger for news from Camp Geiger.
Doubtless, tonight's ceremonies will consist of the very details described so many times previously. The tapping ceremony is a ritual and, like all rituals, must follow a received formula to have its intended effect upon its participants and viewers. Thus, year after year, the salient features of the experience remain recognizably the same. Nevertheless, important variations do come up and those will be duly reported as soon as practicable.
Many who look upon this fine spectacle may wonder at the impressive costume each tribesman constructs for these occasions. Others may be unaware of the deep connection between the Worldwide Scouting movement and Native American cultures. That deep connection is explicated in this entry from 2015.
Bear with your humble correspondent if Blog posts and photo uploads are somewhat delayed these next few days - the events of Thursdays and Fridays at camp are as demanding of the participants as they are exciting for the viewers. As befits solemn ceremonies closely modeled on Native American original practices, they extend well into the night, frequently precluding the possibility of posting in a timely fashion.
Notwithstanding, it is an honor and a privilege to participate in these august activities.
Thursday's table waiter crew headed to the dining hall about a quarter to 7:00 followed, soon thereafter, by the bulk of your troop's Scouts and Scouters. We raised no flag this morning because there was a two-way tie for "Cleanest Campsite." Each of those troops was invited to raise the flags of their states.
We dined this AM on scrambled eggs and sausage patties, made all the tastier by the 12+ hours passed since our previous meal. The standard silliness began after the two-minute drill but nothing of special note occurred.
Now, the Scouts are off at their respective classes while the adults tend to the sundry duties required to ensure a safe, enjoyable week for our Scouts. Come evening, many of us in camp will prepare for the coming ceremonies while the rest eagerly await their first taste of one of the best features Camp Geiger offers Scouts who are lucky enough to attend.
Look for updates, which will be posted as soon as can be but perhaps not soon!
Resuming a more typical camp schedule, your correspondent was up with the sun to enjoy the cool of early morning and the lightening Eastern sky. The morning was somewhat misty by the enshrouding fog of the past few mornings was not in evidence today. As always, the various local avifauna provided a lively concert as the soundtrack to the dawn.
Thursdays at Camp Geiger bring a palpable tension as this day will be concluded by the Tapping Fire! Tapping Fire is a tableau that must be experienced to truly be appreciated in all its pomp and circumstance. The actual event far exceeds my meagre ability to describe it but you may get some sense of what our Scouts and Scouters will enjoy tonight by referring to past descriptions of this grand occasion. The links below may help to assuage your hunger for news from Camp Geiger.
Doubtless, tonight's ceremonies will consist of the very details described so many times previously. The tapping ceremony is a ritual and, like all rituals, must follow a received formula to have its intended effect upon its participants and viewers. Thus, year after year, the salient features of the experience remain recognizably the same. Nevertheless, important variations do come up and those will be duly reported as soon as practicable.
Many who look upon this fine spectacle may wonder at the impressive costume each tribesman constructs for these occasions. Others may be unaware of the deep connection between the Worldwide Scouting movement and Native American cultures. That deep connection is explicated in this entry from 2015.
Bear with your humble correspondent if Blog posts and photo uploads are somewhat delayed these next few days - the events of Thursdays and Fridays at camp are as demanding of the participants as they are exciting for the viewers. As befits solemn ceremonies closely modeled on Native American original practices, they extend well into the night, frequently precluding the possibility of posting in a timely fashion.
Notwithstanding, it is an honor and a privilege to participate in these august activities.
Thursday's table waiter crew headed to the dining hall about a quarter to 7:00 followed, soon thereafter, by the bulk of your troop's Scouts and Scouters. We raised no flag this morning because there was a two-way tie for "Cleanest Campsite." Each of those troops was invited to raise the flags of their states.
We dined this AM on scrambled eggs and sausage patties, made all the tastier by the 12+ hours passed since our previous meal. The standard silliness began after the two-minute drill but nothing of special note occurred.
Now, the Scouts are off at their respective classes while the adults tend to the sundry duties required to ensure a safe, enjoyable week for our Scouts. Come evening, many of us in camp will prepare for the coming ceremonies while the rest eagerly await their first taste of one of the best features Camp Geiger offers Scouts who are lucky enough to attend.
Look for updates, which will be posted as soon as can be but perhaps not soon!
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