The Morning After the Night Before
Thursday night brought Tapping Fire and with it all the panoply of a Mic-O-Say ceremony. Several visitors from Troop 451 came for the ceremony, including Medicine Men Big Spirit Mist (Gary Lueking) and Big Iron Wheel (Richard Covington), Sachem Three Lakes (Mark DiCiaccio), Honorary Warriors Big Coyote Mandan (Kevin Bryant) and Guards Copperhead (Doug Mahdak). Other family members attended the ceremony as well, including Pam Bryant, John Morales, and Pam Mahdak, Nikhilesh Subbakrishna and Poornima Nikhil, as well as Amey Kashyup's grandmother.
Tapping Fire is every bit the extravaganza you might imagine. You can read about another, similar event from 2017 that was especially significant to our troop. The centerpiece is the eponymous conflagration. Many times in the past, Troop 451 Scouters have had the honor of constructing this spectacular pile of fuel. This year, others were tasked with that chore and produced a combustible construction nearly 12 feet in height. Irrespective of its less-than-record-setting height, the fire caught easily and blazed away brightly throughout the ceremony.
I have described the ceremony in detail several times before and the details do not vary much at all. Thus, I have little original to add to those previous portraits of the occasion.
Troop 451 had four of our Scouts tapped last night: Austin Reid, Jake Mahdak, James Morales, and Robby Paul. They will spend today under a charge of silence doing some project for the betterment of the "Geiger Reservation" (as tribesmen style Camp Geiger). Tonight, the aspiring candidates for admission to the tribe will learn who was successful in this endeavor.
We also had five adults tapped as well: Gregory Hayden, Lance Brooks, Phillip Pratt, Shelly Koonce, and Tara Koonce. Again, these adults are tasked with a service project to complete. Adult candidates are not given quite so heavy a burden as the Scouts, befitting the prima facie evidence of their dedication and maturity they have already evinced through their service to our troop. We will learn tonight if these adults have secured admission to the tribe.
The evening's events are demanding of time and effort and both tribesmen and would-be tribesmen retired far later than might have been most desirable. This discomfort was only compounded by the arrival of a strong thunderstorm about 5:30 AM.
Our Scoutmaster, Steve Kral, and Campmaster, Phillip Pratt, made the rounds of the campsite, ensuring that everyone was up and ready before the storm hit camp. Thus, we were all wide awake and safely ensconced within our strong, tornado-safe shelter by 5:30. The storm arrived with gusty winds that soon settled down so we could enjoy an early summer's morning downpour.
It was our good fortune that all but one of our tents held well and thus, most everyone's gear was dry once the first wave of rain passed.
Life in the shelter is crowded and rather unstimulating. As noted earlier, the only luxury afforded by these accommodations is the luxury of safe haven in a storm but that is a luxury indeed. Using the Koonce's big box fan helped to keep the air circulating and the temperatures tolerable. In fact, surprisingly, given the comparatively small, enclosed space, the aroma of unwashed adolescents was not overwhelming at all. Having showers in the campsite has its real benefits.
In truth, we all can be proud of our Scouts. They took the unscheduled adventure in stride and maintained an orderly, pleasant presence in the shelter room. Some diverted themselves playing cards together while a few hardy (or desperate) souls manage to stretch out to catch a few Z's. Interactions occurred in conversational tones and everyone exhibited unexpectedly-good spirits. Your faithful correspondent, for one, is duly impressed by our Scouts deportment - not surprised but pleased. Now, to be fair, it may have helped that our would-be inductees were still on their charge of silence!
A few of us Scouters gathered by the doors of the shelter to take in the sights and sounds of Mother Nature's fury. Well, it really was not too furious, though the light show had its remarkable moments. It seemed that whenever we might have expected the dangerous part of the storm to be past us, another bolt of lightning would split the sky, followed, naturally enough, by a great clap of thunder. There may be many ways to spend the morning more comfortably but only a few ways to spend it more spectacularly.
About 7:30, a brief break between fronts permitted the "All Clear" to be sounded. We hurried from Sioux Lookout to the dining hall where we staved off our hunger with biscuits and gravy and hash browned potatoes. Again, the schedule was somewhat truncated in light of a weather-related late start but everyone adapted well. Owing to the various disruptions, our table waiter assignments were somewhat scrambled and Scouts and Scouters simply stepped up to meet the need.
For example, first-year Scout Daniel Woehler willingly served as table waiter for our table since the assigned individual had other duties elsewhere. Of course, everyone pitched in. Even one of the staffers sitting with us helped out when time came to get seconds. Something there is about huddling in a concrete bunker for a couple of hours that truly whets one's appetite; everyone was grateful for seconds, it seems.
Even with the disrupted and shifted meal schedule, we were again treated to a round of "The Price is Right" and, again, no one from our troop was called. At least we can take pleasure in knowing our own Marshall Hayden participated on the first day.
When the meal was done, clean-up was super efficient and wrapped up quickly. Then, it was back to our respective campsites to return to our shelters in anticipation of the second front moving through. Another hour-or-so passed much as the earlier morning ones.
We have a great group of Scouts! It is truly a pleasure to spend time with these fine young men.
By 10:30 AM, the storm had settled into a light drizzle and the day's classes began with second period.
The rest of this day should prove largely uneventfully, with its highlight being the Scouts getting their "Blue Cards" signed off to document their progress toward and completion of earning the various merit badges they have been working on all week.
More excitement will come this evening when those who are candidates for admission to the Tribe of Mic-O-Say discover whether they successfully reached the goal of membership.
More updates to come, as events warrant and other duties permit.
Tapping Fire is every bit the extravaganza you might imagine. You can read about another, similar event from 2017 that was especially significant to our troop. The centerpiece is the eponymous conflagration. Many times in the past, Troop 451 Scouters have had the honor of constructing this spectacular pile of fuel. This year, others were tasked with that chore and produced a combustible construction nearly 12 feet in height. Irrespective of its less-than-record-setting height, the fire caught easily and blazed away brightly throughout the ceremony.
I have described the ceremony in detail several times before and the details do not vary much at all. Thus, I have little original to add to those previous portraits of the occasion.
Troop 451 had four of our Scouts tapped last night: Austin Reid, Jake Mahdak, James Morales, and Robby Paul. They will spend today under a charge of silence doing some project for the betterment of the "Geiger Reservation" (as tribesmen style Camp Geiger). Tonight, the aspiring candidates for admission to the tribe will learn who was successful in this endeavor.
We also had five adults tapped as well: Gregory Hayden, Lance Brooks, Phillip Pratt, Shelly Koonce, and Tara Koonce. Again, these adults are tasked with a service project to complete. Adult candidates are not given quite so heavy a burden as the Scouts, befitting the prima facie evidence of their dedication and maturity they have already evinced through their service to our troop. We will learn tonight if these adults have secured admission to the tribe.
The evening's events are demanding of time and effort and both tribesmen and would-be tribesmen retired far later than might have been most desirable. This discomfort was only compounded by the arrival of a strong thunderstorm about 5:30 AM.
Our Scoutmaster, Steve Kral, and Campmaster, Phillip Pratt, made the rounds of the campsite, ensuring that everyone was up and ready before the storm hit camp. Thus, we were all wide awake and safely ensconced within our strong, tornado-safe shelter by 5:30. The storm arrived with gusty winds that soon settled down so we could enjoy an early summer's morning downpour.
It was our good fortune that all but one of our tents held well and thus, most everyone's gear was dry once the first wave of rain passed.
Life in the shelter is crowded and rather unstimulating. As noted earlier, the only luxury afforded by these accommodations is the luxury of safe haven in a storm but that is a luxury indeed. Using the Koonce's big box fan helped to keep the air circulating and the temperatures tolerable. In fact, surprisingly, given the comparatively small, enclosed space, the aroma of unwashed adolescents was not overwhelming at all. Having showers in the campsite has its real benefits.
In truth, we all can be proud of our Scouts. They took the unscheduled adventure in stride and maintained an orderly, pleasant presence in the shelter room. Some diverted themselves playing cards together while a few hardy (or desperate) souls manage to stretch out to catch a few Z's. Interactions occurred in conversational tones and everyone exhibited unexpectedly-good spirits. Your faithful correspondent, for one, is duly impressed by our Scouts deportment - not surprised but pleased. Now, to be fair, it may have helped that our would-be inductees were still on their charge of silence!
A few of us Scouters gathered by the doors of the shelter to take in the sights and sounds of Mother Nature's fury. Well, it really was not too furious, though the light show had its remarkable moments. It seemed that whenever we might have expected the dangerous part of the storm to be past us, another bolt of lightning would split the sky, followed, naturally enough, by a great clap of thunder. There may be many ways to spend the morning more comfortably but only a few ways to spend it more spectacularly.
About 7:30, a brief break between fronts permitted the "All Clear" to be sounded. We hurried from Sioux Lookout to the dining hall where we staved off our hunger with biscuits and gravy and hash browned potatoes. Again, the schedule was somewhat truncated in light of a weather-related late start but everyone adapted well. Owing to the various disruptions, our table waiter assignments were somewhat scrambled and Scouts and Scouters simply stepped up to meet the need.
For example, first-year Scout Daniel Woehler willingly served as table waiter for our table since the assigned individual had other duties elsewhere. Of course, everyone pitched in. Even one of the staffers sitting with us helped out when time came to get seconds. Something there is about huddling in a concrete bunker for a couple of hours that truly whets one's appetite; everyone was grateful for seconds, it seems.
Even with the disrupted and shifted meal schedule, we were again treated to a round of "The Price is Right" and, again, no one from our troop was called. At least we can take pleasure in knowing our own Marshall Hayden participated on the first day.
When the meal was done, clean-up was super efficient and wrapped up quickly. Then, it was back to our respective campsites to return to our shelters in anticipation of the second front moving through. Another hour-or-so passed much as the earlier morning ones.
We have a great group of Scouts! It is truly a pleasure to spend time with these fine young men.
By 10:30 AM, the storm had settled into a light drizzle and the day's classes began with second period.
The rest of this day should prove largely uneventfully, with its highlight being the Scouts getting their "Blue Cards" signed off to document their progress toward and completion of earning the various merit badges they have been working on all week.
More excitement will come this evening when those who are candidates for admission to the Tribe of Mic-O-Say discover whether they successfully reached the goal of membership.
More updates to come, as events warrant and other duties permit.
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