The ride back from Bloomington

Checking out Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, the longest cave in the world.

For well over 24 hours I have been without e-mail or Internet access. It is a good feeling to know that I am now reconnected, even though I probably won't be using it due to the onset of Shabbat. The drive back from Bloomington was uneventful, but long. Last night our group stayed outside of Nashville, Tennessee at Boxwell Scout Reservation. I had the opportunitiy to enjoy a nice meal at the Cherokee Steak House there where I had a filet mignon, baked potato, salad and rolls for $12.95. It was the best bargain I had all week! And, for those who know of this out of the way place in Lebanon, the food was prepared as good or better than some of the more expensive steak house chains I've been to in the past. I felt so guilty that I was having such a good time away from the members of my Order of the Arrow lodge that I bought three half-gallon containers of ice cream for them to enjoy. Unfortunately, they were so tired from play and the drive down from Indiana University, most of them skipped the ice cream and hit the sack or sleeping bags, if you will. I suspect most of them were tuckered from the three-hour hike inside the longest cave in the world, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. My poor dogs were feeling the heat of the walk and I wished for a nice foot massage or hot soak. But it was not to be. Boxwell was deserted and had no such amenities, but it did yield a most interesting show. It would seem the Scout camp was virtually overrun with deer (even some fawns with telltale spots and ever-present mothers nearby). I don't recall ever seeing that many deer running free on a Scout camp before. Just a few days before just off the Indiana University campus, I was amazed that a deer was only a few yards away before it scampered off to hide in the woods. These deer on the Scout reservation weren't all that concerned about my presence, but didn't hang around too long once Scouts headed in their general direction. Yet, there were so many of them, I believe it was the largest concentration of deer I've ever seen. Up north many people consider deer to be vermin, akin to a large rat. Down South I would imagine some would think of Bambi as "good eatin'," but for city folk like myself, there's very little chance we'll be eating venison any time soon. Generally, we are appalled that someone would want to shoot a deer with a bullet or an arrow. It may be considered sport, but it doesn't strike me as particularly fair. I would say when hunters tackle bucks by their antlers or capture them in a trap that doesn't mame the animals, then it would be considerably more fair. In Solon, Ohio, I know there have been large kills where the deer are killed with a helmet that drives a steel post into their tiny skulls. I'm sure none of the deer would willing don those helmets and the kills have generated a great deal of negative publicity. I guess shooting the deer is against the law, hence the recommendation to use the helmets and skirt the law about dispatching them with a rifle or bow. Deer are such graceful creatures it surprises me people would think about tearing them asunder with a weapon of long-range destruction. But as I said, in this part of the world there is that contingent that swears that Bambi is "good eatin'" and there's nothing that can be done to change that. I'm all for someone who needs to hunt to put food on the table for his family. I guess I'm somewhat opposed to killing for the sport of it. If anyone cares, I like the way animals are slaughtered in a the kosher ritual. In theory (and hopefully in practice), they are tied down, prayers are uttered over them to beg forgiveness of the shochet (kosher butcher), their carotid arteries are severed, they slowly go to sleep and bleed to death. Or perhaps they bleed to death and slowly go to sleep. It may not matter to many, but I like to think that the animal whose body I am eating didn't go through an enormous amount of pain at the moment he was slaughtered. Of course, I'm not so dead set against slaughter to become a vegetarian or a vegan. That way of life is good for many, but I don't think I could become adapted to salad days for the rest of my life. In any event, it's good to be back in New Orleans, far away from Hoosiers, Volunteers and deer.

And in the end....

National OA Chief Jack O'Neill and his friend

The last day of NOAC is typically called Founders Day and is named after E. Urner Goodman and co-founder Carrol Edson. The year was 1915 and Philadelphia Scoutmaster Goodman was then director of a local camp located out of the city called Treasure Island. Edson was his assistant and with some help from some outside folks, they concocted a new Scouting fraternity that emphasized brotherhood and cheerful service. The Order of the Arrow grew from those first tentative steps into a burgeoning group of hundreds of thousands of alumni with a primary emphasis on camping. Theirs is a service organization and their involvement in making a difference is palpable. There are adult members and youth members, but the youth run the organization and are the only ones allowed to vote. Since Boy Scouts troops elect their members based on performance and past records (such as a minimum number of nights of camping), it is unique that non-members select those who join the ranks of the OA. That's the way it has been largely from the beginning. It's about as good a process as can be found and that is as it should be. Today's events included the competitive Goodman games and Founders Day exhibits in which participating lodges could give away different items or inform fellow Arrowmen about points of interest in their respective areas. The day was capped by a nighttime show that brought much of what attendees had learned throughout the six days. Life is determined by the amount of time we spend and the love we give one another. The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" was used as a musical theme to the final spectacular, which featured indoor fireworks and sing-a-longs to favorites like "Good Vibrations" from the Beach Boys and "Don't Stop Beleving" by Journey. The piece-de-resistance was an outdoor concert with plenty of vanilla ice cream (300 pounds) scooped out for the hungry Scouts. All in all it was a great night and one that prepared all of us for our forthcoming journeys home.

The Power of One

Since Saturday there has been an unusual gathering of a most unusual group of Boy Scouts and adult leaders, commonly referred to as Scouters. Every two years or so, the Order of the Arrow, the BSA's Honor Society composed chiefly of Boy Scouts or Scouting alumni, meet at a given college campus. This year the campus chosen is Indiana University, the same site as the very first conference held in 1951. This marks the tenth time that such an august gathering of Scouts has occurred on the Bloomington campus. The fact is that the National Order of the Arrow Conference is a very big deal. It is one of the greatest community service groups in the world and, in this country, a great percentage of Eagle Scouts become members of the order. Founded in 1915, only five years beyond the founding of the Boy Scouts of America, the Order of the Arrow started out as a way to inspire other Boy Scouts to follow the Scout Law and Oath. It became an official part of the BSA in 1934 when its program emphasizing camping and using the theme of the American Indian legend was approved. Later in 1948 the independent Order of the Arrow was merged into the BSA and its operations run by the National Council. This year's conference features about 7,000 members, referred to as Arrowmen and the activities include classroom experiences, competition of dance, singing and drumming groups and a variety of experiential events like scuba, kayaking and extreme sports. It's also a conference intended to honor those who lead the service society with several coveted awards like the Distinguished Service Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award as well as those who have helped the organization, but who are not members themselves (Red Arrow Award). This year's theme is "The Power of One" and was eloquently addressed by Del Loder, this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, an award that has only been presented three times before. Loder, a 55-year member of the Scouting movement, was acquainted with the founder of the Order of the Arrow, E. Urner Goodman, and actually helped chair the committee that perfected several of the ceremonies handed down from its inceptions and made them acceptable to the BSA and sponsoring religious organizations. This makes his 27th appearance at a National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) and it is certain that this may have been his most emotional. When the conference ends in another day or so, the thousands of members of the OA will depart for their respective troops or Venturing crews. Yet, there will be a better connection to this fraternity of cheerful service between Arrowmen and their lodges. There will be memories to last for a lifetime and a purposeful lifetime to make more memories. The Order of the Arrow has an will continue to set the highest standard for dedication to the principles of the Scout Oath and Law and will forge young men into the leaders of tomorrow.