A Scoutmaster's Blog

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have been performing a little skit/song called Star Trekking since the mid-eighties. (See blog post from August 2, 2006) It has been quite popular with most campfire audiences. In 1990 (wow, eighteen years ago) the troop performed this skit on a local television station station. This video was taped by one of the parents, luckily. Two and a half years ago I placed the video online at YouTube for the world to see. Since then, the video has received over 39,000 views, and averages somewhere around 50-60 views per day.

Well, it seems that several of this year’s Buckskin staff at Many Point Scout Camp has seen the video. Some more then once. One Friday, the last full day of camp, our camp commissioner visited our campsite and asked me if I was the one in the video that was on YouTube. I said I was and gave him a quick explanation how that all came about. He was grinning from ear to ear when he asked me to sign his cap, and then asked me if I would perform the skit with some of the camp’s staff during the Friday night closing campfire program. I agreed, but wondered when we would have time to practice. After all, the staff would be busy all day. He replied that I should meet them at the camp lodge at 9:00 that evening.

The campfire was scheduled to start at 9:30 pm. Not much time to practice.

I was at the lodge at 9:00, which was a one minute walk from our troop’s campsite. Only half of the staff that were to be a part of the skit were there. The rest showed up as they arrived from their program areas. Unfortunately, we did not really have much time to practice. In fact, all we had time to do was to choose who would play what roles, go over each person’s lines once, and practice the refrain. We did not even get to run through the song one time. This could be interesting, I thought to myself as I walked back to my campsite. Luckily, most of the participants had viewed the skit on YouTube and had a good idea how it was done.

I brought my camcorder along to the campfire program and was able to find another staff member to record the skit. When the time came, I left my seat in the audience to join the staff at the side. As we walked out to center stage I could not help but think of the possibility of the train wreck that was about to occur. After all, we really had not practiced together.

I did not have to worry. The staff came through with flying colors. And better yet, the hundreds of Scouts and adult leaders in the audience loved it. The cheering at the end of the skit was overwhelming. We had pulled it off, and pulled it off well.

Once I returned home from summer camp I had a problem with the camcorder. It began eating my tapes. One of the tapes it tried eating was the one that had the footage of Star Trekking. I had promised the staff that I would put this video online for them to see. I needed that footage. I bought a new camcorder, and luckily was able to retrieve the video from the campfire program. In fact, I should be able to get a few podcasts from the footage. Unfortunately, the footage is pretty dark since it was filmed after sunset.

So here is that video of Star Trekking, performed at the Many Point Scout Camp closing campfire program on July 18, 2008. This video is dedicated to the 2008 Buckskin camp staff, and to the camp’s Ranger Scott, who appears in that YouTube video.

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In previous posts I have written about the Scouts of Troop 68 performing at campfire programs. Usually, the Scout do quite well and everyone has a good time.

But not everything always goes as planned….

We travel back in time to the mid 1980′s….

We arrive at Crow Wing Scout Camp in Minnesota. It is Wednesday night and the area campfire programs have begun. A young patrol from Troop 68 walks to the front of the campfire to perform the song “I Wish I Was A Boy Scout.” They have practiced. They are ready to perform.

The patrol starts singing the refrain, and then things begin to fall apart. As the boys act out the song one Scout forgets his lines. The Scout next to him tries to whisper to him to help him out but the whisper is loud enough for everyone to hear. Another Scout does the wrong actions to his verse. One Scout starts to sing off beat to the rest of the patrol. Before the song reaches the fourth of the six verses the skit is beyond saving.

But the Scouts and leaders watching the performance are laughing hysterically. The harder the young Scouts try to do things right, the more they screw up, and the funnier the song becomes. The laughter drowns out the other sounds around the campfire ring.

The boys of the young patrol are feeling terrible as the sit down with their troop. How could they have messed up that badly? But guess what, the best was yet to come.

One song or skit from each of the three area campfires held that night will be chosen to be a part of the Friday night closing campfire program. The Scout campers of this area laughed so hard during the “I Wish I Was A Boy Scout” song that they chose the young Troop 68 patrol to be in the Friday night program.

During the next two days the young Scouts work hard to perfect the song and actions. It actually looks pretty good Friday afternoon.

Friday night has arrived. The young patrol is ready. They are called down to perform their song…

and it is Wednesday night all over again…

and once again the audience roars with its laughter.

The young patrol members feel bad about screwing up for the second time. But you know what? Who cares? The Scouts from the various troops and the camp’s staff enjoyed the song, the patrol members did their best, and everyone goes back to their campsites with a smile on their face.

The Scout Oath states, “On my honor, I will do my best…” That’s all anyone can ever ask of you. And sometimes, your best might even be better then perfection could ever be.