Gorey Scout Group
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You've been in scouting too long when...

You know all the uses when tying knots.
You eat better at camp then you do at home
You can find your way around a foreign city without using a map, just the sun.
You can pitch a tent anywhere with your eyes closed.
You can relate anything you do to a camp story.
Your friends limit you to one camp story a day.
You get excited about camping in weather any sane person wouldn't venture out in
You've been to at least one jamboree and had the time of your life.
You know what a jamboree is.
You automatically hit it off when someone tells you they are also in Scouting.
You schedule your classes around your meetings.
You know the very small difference between a scouting and nonscouting event.
The meetings go on, even if you are locked out of the meeting room.
Rain is seen as a source of drinking water…
You have more badges from camps then you know what to do with.
You have a collection of Neckers in more colours than a rainbow.
You first move away from home and all you eat is camp food because it is the only thing you know how to cook.
EVERYTHING is just better outdoors.
You give a normal person your left hand to shake and don't even realize it until they look at you funny.
You see the dirt in your food, but eat it anyway.
You begin packing minutes before you're supposed to leave.
When every stain has a story behind it.
You start humming camp songs in class.
Walking the kids to school becomes a wildlife identification hike.
You buy your next car based on how much gear it will carry.
It takes less time to buy food for 20 people for camp then it takes to do your own shopping.
You have mastered the skill of changing in public without exposing yourself.
people at work ask what you did at the weekend then stare at you like you're crazy when you tell them.
you can get everyones attention with just a cheer!
You name your first child Baden.
Your house has as much troop stuff in it as anything else.
You have your keys for your den on your keyring next to your house keys.
You actually know what the name of the knot used to tie your shoelaces with is.
Your camping gear consists of a single day pack ….and a huge duffel because you have to carry spares for everyone else.
You brag to your friends about how indestructible your socks are.
Someone says "I just broke my arm" and you respond immediately with "its okay I brought duct tape".
You have a separate drawer just for camp shirts.
If you've ever used a compass to walk from the Bedroom to the kitchen and then triangulated up a couple trees to the pantry.
You read through this whole thing laughing, but still have at least more reasons in your head that you're contemplating adding.
Your class goes on a mile hike and you're the only one that knew to bring water and a first aid kit.
You come home from a camping trip and your nice tan washes off in the shower.
You chop your toothbrush in half to save weight when backpacking.
You're the only one who sees the true beauty of the natural view, but then have to figure out how to get back down the mountain to the rest of the group.
you wont even consider buying white clothes because you know they'll end up a different colour.
You start off a sentence by saying "this one time at camp..." .
Your wardrobe is 90% Olive Green and Khaki.
You come home from a jamboree and walk down the street at home and want to say hello to everyone you walk past, because it just feels natural
You base your clothes purchases on whether or not you could wear it at camp
You get lost in the woods just to practice finding your way back home.
you only book time off work for camping.
Your house has more sleeping bags than number of people.

Dear Mum & Dad,

Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on
TV and are worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags
got washed away. There was nobody in them.

Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain
looking for Adam when it happened. Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and
tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in
one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found
Adam in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.

Scoutmaster Keith got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling
anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably
didn't hear him.

Did you know that if you put petrol on a fire, it will blow up? The wet wood
wouldn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our clothes.
Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back and he's angry
because no-one will lend him any trousers. We will be home on Saturday if
Scoutmaster Keith gets the bus fixed.

It wasn't his fault about the crash. The brakes worked okay when we left.
Scoutmaster Keith said that with a bus that old you have to expect some
thing to break; that's probably why he can't get insurance. We think it's a
neat bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he
lets us ride on the bumpers. It gets pretty hot with 45 people in a bus. He
let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway policeman stopped
and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Keith is a neat guy. Don't worry, he's a good driver. In fact,
he is teaching Jesse how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn't
any traffic. All we ever see up here are caravans and sheep and deaf people
walking in the middle of the road.

This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in
the lake. Scoutmaster Keith wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam
was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe
across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees and dead
animals under the water from the flood.

Scoutmaster Keith isn't crabby like some Scoutmasters. He says we must learn
by experience. He didn't even get angry about us not wearing life jackets.
He has to spend a lot of time working on the bus so we are trying not to
cause him any trouble.

Guess what? We have all passed our first aid badges. When William dived into
the lake and cut his arm, we got to see what a human bone looks like and how
a tourniquet works. Steven and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Keith said it
probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken.

He said he got sick that way from the food he ate in prison. I'm so glad he
got out and became our Scoutmaster. He said he worked how to get things done
better while he was doing his time, and he met a lot of interesting people.

I have to go now. We are going into the village to post our letters and buy
some more beer. Scoutmaster Keith prefers Vodka, so we've had a collection
to buy him some. Don't worry about anything. We are fine.

Love,

Bobby