Aidan and I had a blast at the
Grissom Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana on June 20-22 as part of the
2013 LDS Centennial Encampment to celebrate the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's 100th anniversary with the Boy Scouts of America.
Highlights included:
- A "mad scientist" squirted magnetic ink on Aidan's face right after the scientist said "I won't spill this on you."
- The first and only time I've seen Aidan turn down bacon.
- Aidan spending less than a minute on the toilet.
DAY ONE
On Thursday, Aidan and I left the Chicago Heights chapel at 8.30a CST. We rode in the Pasco mini-van with Chris Pasco, the assistant 11-yr old scout master and his family (Timothy, 17 yrs old; Matthew, 14 yrs old; and William, 11 yrs old) and Connor Elmore, a 13-yr old scout. Scoutmaster David Smith met us at there. The kids watched Madagascar 2 while I kept Chris awake by talking to him. We arrived around 12.30p EST.
Our camp area was adjacent to the Midway field where all the activities were held. There were about 20 airplanes from the WW2 era through modern day, including a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a Grumman F-14 Tomcat, and a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport. Can you imagine a more awesome stage backdrop?
Due to the Pasco's handicap permit, we were able to park the minivan next to our tents. This gave us a convenient place to store our food, and more importantly, a place to watch
Gravity Falls during downtime on Friday night. (At 10p, the schedule called for firesides led by the stake encampment director, but we didn't have one so we had some extra free time.)
After unloading our supplies, Aidan and I quickly set up the tent thanks to practice earlier in the week under Ginger's watchful eye. David Smith lent us his tent stakes because we forgot ours. Under my direction, Aidan drove the tent stakes into the loops holding the tent down. Unfortunately, it was Aidan's mistake to listen to his dad. The loops should have been fitted under the tent stake hooks.
Eager to contribute, I filled up a
Hinckley springs water jar from a fire hydrant about 100 yards away. The hydrant was "tapped" wtih an armlike device. Out of this device, hoses jutted out to a wooden structure that held knobs to control the water flow. I thought it was a clever contraption. This water would be used for cooking, cleaning, and drinking.
For lunch, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, canned pears (opened by these
MRE can openers that Chris' wife gave me) and oranges. Lesson #1 for next camping trip: bring a chair. Aidan and I stood while everyone sat. We next headed to the Midway.
Activities included:
- Dunk tank. Aidan's football struck the target on the first try and some random Boy Scout dropped into the dunk tank.
- Plutonium transfer. Aidan, William, Connor and Timothy stationed at four corners. They pulled on strings connected to hook, steering one bucket full of "plutonium" (a bunch of rocks) from one stump to another.
- Zip line. Aidan was more interested in climbing the scaffold to reach the zip tower's top than zip lining down. We passed.
- Tower. The kids climbed a defunct air traffic control tower that provided a tremendous view of the museum.
- Soda sucking competition. The troop was challenged to suck up their favorite pop as fast as they could with a straw. Aidan had barely started his when somebody won. He was then able to drink the rest of his orange soda at his own pace. So who was the real winner?
- Line 'em up. The troop lined up on a log and then the leader asked us to organize ourselves by height, and then by our middle name, without the ability to verbally communicate. Aidan's stature came in handy as a few of the bigger guys were able to pass him around. (The intent was to show that we need to communicate with Heavenly Father in our lives to keep order. In the second exercise, we were able to step on planks representing the "bishop" and "parents." When the leader asked us what we learned, I told him our parents were more useful than the bishop because that plank was more useful.)
- Rules. The goal was to pass five objects placed on two tables to the opposite table. But there were a lot of rules, including how many people could touch the object at the same time (one), our position (2 standing, 2 kneeling, 2 sitting) and how we had to pass the object (over our shoulders). We were doing well, but somehow Aidan lost one of the objects, a BB. Yes, I'm blaming our son. We finished the exercise in three minutes. The record was one minute.
- Army obstacle course. It consisted of 20 sit ups, a 10-yard crawl under two-foot high netting, carrying a 20-lb PVC pipe 10 yards, climbing a 10-ft wall, a 30-yard shuttle run, swinging on a rope, hauling a 10-lb sandbag 10 yards, running through 14 tires and then sprinting about 30 yards to the finish line. Aidan ran the course in 1'45". The record for 11 year olds was around 1'30". (William ran it in 2'05".)
For dinner, the troop ate chili hot dogs with grilled onions. His mom wanted us to eat sardines instead of the hot dogs due to the possibility of mad cow disease. I told Aidan he could eat one hot dog, but to eat sardines instead of a second hot dog. Does that count? We had to trash the cucumbers because they were spoiled.
After the flag ceremony and general announcements, we had an orienteering event. The goal was to introduce yourself to three strangers, form a group and fill out a questionnaire about the airplanes on display. I kept Timothy, and grabbed two others: Harley from Terre Haute and Akeem from Indianapolis. They had a terrific attitude, deducing which airplanes matched the description on the questionnaire and finding the answers on the placards. I also put my model airplane experience to good use. We finished last, but we all had a good time, and I can tell the future of the Boy Scouts is in good hands with these kinds of scouts. For our efforts, we each got a
folding frisbee with the encampment's name. (I found people for Connor, Aidan and William while Chris stayed with Matthew.)
During the campwide fireside, one of the speakers sang a rendition of "
There's a Hole in My Bucket" in which his voice became increasingly strained and weird. I still don't know the point, unless it served to make all the other speakers look better by comparison. Another speaker brought his ukelele on stage, talked about how he taught someone how to play ukelele on the plane, but never played the ukelele. Such a tease.
One talk I did learn from was someone who wore a "Nitschke" Green Bay jersey on stage. He said he always wanted a Ray Nitschke jersey, and was fortunate to find one for a cheap price. Except the jersey was for a different Nitschke. His point was that if you want to get a Ray Nitschke jersey, you have to pay Ray Nitschke prices. He related this to the gospel story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendengo and how they were "all in" to the extent that they would sacrifice their lives for praying to God. This was in contrast with the rich young man who would not give up his riches to follow Christ.
In the evening, our neighbors played cards.
Kemps seemed to be the most popular one. Lesson #2 for next camping trip: bring playing cards (but don't play at the expense of other activities -- see CONCLUDING REMARKS). We tried playing UNO, but only Connor and Aidan wanted to play. So Aidan and I retired to our tents to sleep around 10p. One problem: our neighbors didn't want to sleep. I ended up staying up past 3a. Kids!
DAY TWO
We woke up at 6.30a. David Smith cooked bacon and I helped with the French toast. It's the first time I've ever seen Aidan throw away bacon. Maybe because it was so burnt the kids called it "coal." With the small amount of leftover egg batter, I intended to make eggs for myself. Turns out that William and Aidan also wanted the eggs, so I gave it to them.
After breakfast, Aidan, Connor, and William and I tossed the football, then played 500. Nobody really stood out, unless you count absolute values. The ball hit Connor's hands, then bounced off William's hands. Negative 100 for both! Aidan put up his hands as if he were going to catch the ball, then shied away at the last minute.
During morning announcements, the food guy announced a Smoked Pork Chop musical contest in which the winning troop would receive a smoked pork chop dinner.
Aidan and I immediately hammered out a rap based on our experience with
Ginger's Birthday rap and revised it while eating free peanuts at the Trading Post. (The encampment director sat next to us and commented about the how girls working there. They were his daughters.) After we refined the lyrics, I borrowed a pen from the museum staff to write it down on the back of my program. The final result, earned us two gigantic, delicious ribs as recognition for our participation:
There was once a piglet named Porkins.
We cooked him until we could put our fork-ins.
We ate him, but he was a little Chewie.
Not like the one in the movie.
So we put him back on the grill
Until he was finally still.
We had such fun.
We decided to eat his son.
We looked forward to watching the mad scientist since his flyer promised lasers, radioactivity and explosives. As he was setting up at his booth, I introduced myself. He said he needed to get a bucket of water to douse any fires. This I could do.
The kids loved the science demonstration, much of which I can't report on because it's too sacred. Just kidding. I was doing something for Aidan that required my return to the campsite. Or I had an urgent pee break. Regardless, when I returned, the scientist (a guy who works at Eli Lilly) was holding a magnet underneath ferro fluid, which is used to visualize
magnetic fields.
At this point, Aidan and William leaned in to get a closer look. The good doctor reassured them, saying "I have a PhD in chemistry and molecular biology. Don't worry, I won't spill this on you."
Then he (accidentally) squirted the fluid on Aidan's face and William's uniform.
[PICTURE OF AIDAN'S 101 DALMATION-LIKE FACE GOES HERE]
He apologized repeatedly and during our third visit to his booth later in the day, he gave me a science kit to make up for it. Aidan was a good guy and didn't cry. (The tears would come later.) I cleaned his face off with soapy water back at the camp site, though I left a little black spot on his ear so we could show it to mom when we returned home.
While Aidan and I were cleaning ourselves up, Chris took the boys to shoot potato guns and throw hatchets. On our way to rejoin the troop, Aidan and I played a quick 2 vs 2 game of
wooden box hockey. We lost 3-2. I tried hacking my opponents arms with my wooden stick, but they were undeterred. (Just kidding, but I'll try it next time.)
At lunch, we ate Ramen noodles. I over-estimated the kids' appetites, which had waned from the heat, throwing the entire 12-pack into the water. To balance the meal nutritionally, we also served warmed up canned mixed vegetables, green beans and carrots.
In the afternoon, we headed to the tower to participate in the Airplane Contest for Accuracy and Distance. Aidan flew his airplane outside of the airfield! Granted, the tower was right next to the fence. The furthest plane landed about 350 yards away. I heard it was a crumpled up piece of paper. I always knew crap could fly far.
As William waited for his turn on the zip line, we sat on the ground floor of the tower and played Frisbee 500 with a kid named Nathan from the Bloomington stake. On one side, it was Nathan, me and Matthew sitting on a bench. Timothy and Connor sat two feet away. Nathan won every game and seemed to really get into the impromptu game. Matthew enjoyed clawing at my hands and wrists whenever I caught the frisbee, and then punching me in the arm and back. He hit Aidan once too. Aidan started crying, so Aidan's participation was short-lived.
We arrived on time at 4p to watch the mad scientist perform Mentos Madness, but all the soda rockets were shot and nary a 2L bottle was left by the time we arrived. Except aha, I knew where to get soda -- from the soda contest dudes from the day before. Aidan inserted the mints into the 2L bottle with some sort of device inserted at the top of the bottle that allows them to fall in all at once. Then what did he do once he recognized he possessed a deadly weapon? He chased after me. Not wanting to get a sticky substance splashed on me without the ability to shower off, I ran for my life. Thank goodness, I'm still faster than Aidan. Aidan and I made up by drinking the Mentos/soda concoction left in the bottle.
At 5p, we had some more grub, which was complemented by pork chops. One kid from the nearby Griffith camp looked longingly at the pork chops, so I compassionately gave him two small pieces. (Incidentally, our Griffith ward neighbors cooked all the best meals in their Dutch oven, including a mountain-man breakfast that contained eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and ground beef topped with layers and layers of cheese.) I also cut up a delicious watermelon, and shared it with our neighbors because some of our troop didn't like it. Stunning!
The evening camp-wide fireside was cut short due to predicted thunderstorms. The sky turned dark, but it could only squeeze out a 15-minute drizzle. We watched
asdf movie 6 and Disney's Gravity Falls, the "
Bottomless Pit" episode, on my Android in the Pasco minivan.
I left the van to talk to our Griffith neighbors and Chris. I didn't realize I was hobbling until they asked me if I was "okay." I gave my standard "I'm old" answer. This is somewhat acceptable at work where almost everyone is younger than me. But not at a Boy Scout camp where I'm one of the younger adults. But they were nice about it.
I also had a 15 minute chat with the bishop of the Griffith ward about parenting. He knows more about patience than I do since his son has Asperger's syndrome. He said to some degree we have to accept that our kids come into the world with their peculiar personalities. What we can do is provide the right opportunities and environment. Wise advice. As an environmental lawyer with the government, he also said we shouldn't throw plastic into fires. This was in response to a kid who came up, wanting to throw plastic into the fire.
Later that evening as the Griffith ward was preparing smores, I "invited" our troop to eat with them. (We didn't bring smores.) After the marshmellow roasting was finished, Aidan got the biggest oohs and aahs from his smoke bombs that he had made earlier at the mad scientist booth. Aidan had generously created a big bag of equal parts potassium nitrate and powdered sugar.
By 10p, Aidan and I were pooped. Thankfully, our noisy neighbors must also have been feeling tired since they didn't make a peep.
However, at 2a, I woke up with an urgent need to pee. Unfortunately, shooting pains in my right leg made it very painful for me to get out of the tent. I hobbled over to the port-o-potty, did my business, then found a bench at the nearby trading post. A staffer happened to walk by. He offered me a ride, but I insisted I just needed some time. Eventually, I hobbled back and went to sleep around 4.30a. Later that morning during our send-off devotional, some staff saw that I was walking like a three-legged lama and brought out a lawn chair for me. (Ginger insists that a diet of hot dogs did me in.)
DAY 3 AND CONCLUDING REMARKS
On Saturday, there was a devotional meeting. I couldn't hear much because I sat in the back on a stump (before I got the lawn chair) trying to rest my feet. After the flag ceremony, we left at 11.30a, which was perfect timing because the day was turning very muggy. The kids watched Spiderman 2 on the way home and I talked to Chris about the Son of Svengoolie, zombie films, why Morgan Freeman is a great actor, great 80s TV series (NOT Bonanza), some of his "interesting" relatives and friends, and what growing up in the southside was like.
During one of our evening chats, Aidan said he enjoyed the campout, but didn't like "working." When I asked him to elaborate, he said that meant setting up the tent and washing dishes. Son, your "work" has only just begun.
Another strike against camping according to Aidan was the port-o-John's. This was our first experiences with these disgusting waste receptacles. And it's the only time I've ever seen Aidan poop and pee under two minutes. I'm thinking about installing one in the yard and making him use it.
Without Ginger present, I had to play mom and take care of Aidan's needs, including getting his baking soda (to neutralize acid after eating), put on his mosquito repellent, clean his glasses and all that good stuff. It was a good experience for both of us, and I think it taught me to be more helpful at home.
I saw quite a few boys sitting around while activities were going on. I'm glad Aidan and his fellow scouts were able to try new things and not just talk about why DC superheroes were better than the Marvel ones. Also, I never heard Aidan say "I'm bored" during the encampment.
It's also important to put yourself in a position to help out. When I retrieved water for the mad scientist, we drove together to the fire hydrant. I learned that he was an Eli Lilly scientist, which might be helpful one day. Aidan and I jumped feet first into the musical contest. When I was a summer camp counselor years ago, I wouldn't have been as keen on writing a musical even though it was my "job." Maybe I've learned something over two decades since then.
Finally, I'm grateful that was I able to participate in Aidan's first campout. I know that deep, deep in his heart that he appreciated it too. It's also nice to be able to say that you get along with your son. After all, in his Father's day poem, even though he said I'm not good at math or Starcraft, he still wishes I would come home earlier. I must be good for something!
