I can't recall how many summers my old scout troop spent summer camp week atop the Windy Hill campsite at Camp Old Indian. Just thinking about the old place brings back a flood of memories. I can smell the Off insect repellent. I can see the wooden plank floors, and iron bunk beds of our adirondack in my mind's eye. Each day was spent walking up and down the paths of that Blue Ridge Mountains foothills campsite. The most pervasive memory is the dining hall. We met as a troop there only 3 times a day, but it seemed like we were always at the table together. We shared chants, yells, songs, prayers and scrambled eggs. Flag ceremonies were also important. 
After the bugle sounded, we called out our daily report with a smart three-fingered, boy scout salute, "Sir, Troop 102 all present and accounted for!" And we honored the flag. Then, there were the campfires and indian dancers. One of the camp staff members, Brad, I think was his name, played guitar and sang Bye Bye Miss American Pie and Cats in the Cradle. I barely remember the merit badge classes other than Andy McGaha's Wilderness Survival course, even though some might argue that working on scout skills and earning badges is the focus of scout camp. 
For me, it was just the event; making life-long memories with friends. Wrestling with Victor Robinson, getting "tapped out" in a ceremony for the Order of the Arrow with my life-long friend, Danny, knot tying races, and thunderstorms all are lasting memories scattered in my mind without regard to any chronological sequence. Weeks go by all through our lives, and I'm saddened a little at just how few can be recalled to memory, but then, that makes memorable times stand out. We file them under "never forget," and our minds obey..
Last week, I added a new week to the file. Two-hundred miles south east of Camp Old Indian on Wadmalaw Island lies Camp Ho Non Wah. This was Nathan's first scout camp week, and my first as a scoutmaster. We walked trails together, made ourselves look silly with our dining hall chants, yells and songs. 
We weathered a fierce thunderstorm walking back to our campsite after dark in water knee deep at some points. We did the wave, and hit the beach ball at the campfires. I paddled a canoe with my hands in a leader's canoe race, and gave Nathan a little coaching with his basketry merit badge projects. Nathan earned almost 5 merit badges, 
but I bet he'll better remember feeding the millipede to that HUGE spider outside the scoutmasters' lounge. He'll recall the mosquito net over his bed, and the late night talkative cabin mates in his adirondack. I bet he'll better remember walking behind his scoutmaster Dad on those shaded lowcountry paths toward all those enduring adventures of scout camp life. As for me, I too will file the week under "never forget." 
