Troop 625

I was a Boy Scout once.  If I remember correctly, it was for about 3 years, beginning somewhere around the time I was 12/13.  I absolutely hated it.  Boy Scout Troop 625, Clio, SC.  Our meetings were on Wednesday nights @ 7 p.m.; our hut was a little wooden building about ½ mile from my house.  There was this one house I had to walk past that had dogs.  I still remember the fear of not knowing whether they were going to pick this week to chase me home or not.  For some reason, they never seemed to bother me when I was on the way to Scout meeting.  In my memories, the hut is always cold when I arrive, though I know that couldn’t have been the case in the spring/summer.  The mind is funny that way.  You ever wonder how many of your memories are actually memories, and how many of them are revisions of what REALLY happened?

Anyway, I was the first (and only) black member of the troop.  My brother joined a couple of years later, but I was on my way out by then.  My Scouting experience has been one of the few times I intensely felt like an outsider.  I NEVER felt like I belonged.  For one, I just wasn’t gung-ho on camping like most of the others.  I couldn’t enjoy our canoe trips, or our tubing trips down the Chattooga River because of my inability to swim.  Try spending 12 consecutive hours fighting panic and see how you like it.  The biggest reason I think I never “fit in” is because of some preconceived racial/socioeconomic baggage I brought with me.

You see, the rest of my troop was white.  And they went to Marlboro Academy, the private school in the county.  Many of their parents taught in the public school system, but they sent their kids to the private school.  We (the black kids) were taught that the reason the private school existed had nothing to do with academics – it was strictly an option to integration.  In short, they didn’t want their kids interacting with US – which was fine, in that the public school and academy kids didn’t cross paths much.  We assumed they didn’t like us, and called us n-----s when safely within the confines of their precious academy, so therefore we didn’t like them.  I have no idea how accurate that picture is or was, but I do know that that’s the picture I had in my head as I tried to become part of the Scouts.

As a result, I held back.  I was polite, somewhat friendly, etc.  But I refused to completely “buy in”, so to speak, partially because I didn’t completely trust the other guys.  Looking back, I never had any problems with any of the guys.  Many of them went out of their way to make me feel welcome.  I just couldn’t shake my preconceived notions.  Couldn’t shake them.  When we were having fun, I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop – the racist joke (“No offense, Mike), the “accidental” use of a racial epithet…  To my knowledge, it only happened once, and it was perpetrated by someone who came into the troop after I did.  Even though I know better, there is still a large part of me that wishes I’d knocked him into next week.  What made it worse is that I don’t (and didn’t then) think he said what he said to be mean – I think he thought what he was saying was acceptable and OK.

Once I got into high school sports my practices interfered with attending Scout meetings, and I eventually stopped going altogether.  My brother pretty much stopped when I did.  I do wish I could go back and interact with those fellas again without my biases.  Most of them were good guys; several of them went to Clemson.  We occasionally crossed paths, and exchanged pleasantries.  I lament the missed opportunity to forge stronger and longer-lasting relationships.

Scouting wasn’t all bad though.  We had a memorable campout on the beach, where I found out that sand gets EVERYWHERE.  There was a five-mile hike, followed by the planting of hundreds of pine trees that ended up being very enjoyable; and there were trips to Carowinds that were quite pleasurable.  And I did learn to tie a bunch of knots.  I think the Scouts are a good thing; perhaps the boys will get to experience it.

Something I meant to post a while back...

A link to an article by Philip Skell, from Penn State U. it's entitled "Why do we Invoke Darwin?"

Not surprisingly, his article generated some responses. I also like his reply to those responses. I won't post the responses, but he has a link to them.

Post-op Deux

Noah’s procedure went quite smoothly.  The docs called him back at 8, and the doc came to tell us everything went smoothly at 8:07.  By 8:45 we were sitting in Cracker Barrel eating breakfast.  Not bad, Medicus, not bad at all.

I was experiencing shoulder and neck fatigue last night and this morning, so I jokingly mentioned to the M.R.S. that maybe I should hit Jalen up for one of his Loritabs.  Well, mother-in-law (who went to the doc’s with us) pulls out this Tylenol bottle and whips out a Loritab.  She gives it to me and I take it on the way home.  After about 15 minutes my neck and shoulders started to feel much better.  I decided to lie down for a little while and take a short nap before going to work.  This is around 10:00.  Next thing I know it’s going on 2:30 p.m. and I’m just now coming to.  I rush to my 3:30 seminar and still feel sluggish and drowsy @ 5:10.  No more of those for me.

Thanks for all the well-wishes and prayers.  I think I’m going home now.  A nap sounds nice.

20051117

So Nick drew a picture of the earth yesterday and showed it to us at the dinner table last night. It's a fairly good representation, overlooking the fact that he had Greenville and Clemson (30 miles apart) on different continents. He graciously labeled a few other key locations: American, Jamaica, and My Am Me (say it quickly). Apparently our Feast trip has made an indelible impression upon the young man. I love this kid.

Noah gets the tubes in his ears tomorrow morning. He can't eat after midnight, so I really hope he sleeps through the night and doesn't wake up looking for sustenance. I suggested stuffing him with a nice big bowl of oatmeal around 11. Let's pray it works.

We had our first frost this morning - almost six weeks before the end of the year. This year's weather has certainly not been normal. Oh well, it's back to homology searching for me. Technically it should be similarity searching, since the term homology assumes an ancestor/descendant relationship. Let me not bore you guys. Later!

Grrrrrrrrr

I am hating UNIX right now. And similarity searches. And labwork. And seminars.

OK. I feel better now.

Clemson/USC

I just received this in my Inbox.  Of course it means nothing to you if you don’t live in SC. This year the game was only going to be available via Pay-per-View. Hmmm…  I think I know some people who might want to watch.  Maybe it’s time to have a social gathering at the crib!

One of the many benefits of living in University Housing is that from time to time you are able to enjoy additional amenities. We are pleased to announce that you will be able to view the Clemson/USC game in the comfort of your Clemson Home without having to pay the Pay-per-View cost. This event is presented in conjunction with the INC Group (providers of the Direct TV service on campus). They also are providing the link at Littlejohn where you may view the game in a larger setting. We hope you enjoy the game and we thank you for being a resident of University Family Housing.

Go Tigers!

111405

Just curious – who reads this thing?  

Post-Op

The surgery went well. Jalen had some debris removed from his left knee in a 45-minute arthroscopic procedure. We got some great news from the doc - the ACL was only partially torn, so the doc thinks it may heal on his own, removing the need for reconstructive surgery when he's done growing. They also found a slight tear of the lateral cruciate ligament, but it's very minor and should heal itself as well. Jalen was quite groggy afterward, but there appear to be no long-term negative effects. Everyone's prayers and well-wishes are greatly appreciated.

I'm a little (ok, VERY)disgusted at myself. I haven't gotten very much work done this semester. Where has the time gone? Apparently, much of it has been spent right here in front of the PC or in front of the telly. Anyway, it's time to pay the piper: I have a committee meeting Friday, in which I'll learn if my research project is sufficient to earn a degree, and whether or not I'll have to take anymore classes. If there's one thing I'd like to change about myself, it's my laziness. And my insecurities. And my desire to be liked by everyone. I guess I also need to work on my inability to count to one properly.

Heather L., if you read this, know that Mark thinks you look like Julia Roberts too.

The whole T.O. saga really makes me feel good about Monday's Dallas/Philly game.

So where's the Clemson/FSU viewing party going to be?

Almost Friday

The NBA is back! The Miami Heat were making a run against the Indiana Pacers when Shaq stepped on Ron Artest's foot and rolled his ankle. Of course TNT showed the ankle bending at 90 degrees several times, in sloooow motion. That had to hurt - particularly with 350+ lbs. coming down on it. Miami just lost by three.

Jalen went to the doc today. It's official - his arthroscopic surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. No more sports for him for a while. The doc says that he's gonna need another surgery later on, after his skeleton has reached maturity. Whether that means no sports until then, I don't know. I even got to bring him home for dinner today. He stayed here for about 3.5 hours, and got a kick out of playing with Noah. Noah cried the first few times Jalen picked him up, but he seemed to be coming around by the time I took him home.

Sights

A view of Montego Bay from a hillside



On the streets of downtown Montego Bay





Ironshore - one of the wealthier residential areas



Chillin'



Joy, pure and unaldulterated



Noah stands!!!!



The boys by the end of the Feast



Some of the Jamaican brethren



Choir



Speakers/Ushers





And of course, the beach!

Gettin' my fix...

I should've captured all my thoughts on the Feast immediately upon returning. Dr. Scott Winnail and Mr. Wally Smith and Mr. Lascelles Frazier gave wonderful messages, each touching on various aspects of the meanings of the Holy Days, the final fulfillment of the days, and training to be servant rulers/judges and members of the family of God. We also had good sermonettes by members from different locales, and a couple of DVD sermons as well. I knew a couple of people who were celebrating their first Feast (one has only been attending services PERIOD for a coupla months), and I think the messages, particularly the messages given on the last day of the Feast and the Last Great Day, did a great job explaining the meanings of the Festivals in a way they could easily understand. Whenever we have visitors at services who don't have a COG background, I often wonder how some things come across to them. When we have a live speaker it's not as much a problem, as the live speaker can give a little background info on the topic, but when it's a video... I remember the jolt I felt when I heard someone mention 2nd and 3rd tithe without explaining what they were.

Nicholas had a wonderful Feast. He made quite a few friends (as usual), and did not limit himself to the kids he already knew. He now has friends in Jamaica and Canada to go with his U.S. contingent. He became particularly attached to little Rachel from Calgary. He wanted us to stay in MoBay until Sunday b/c that's how long Rachel was staying. He's already ready for next year's Feast. He said something quite touching on our flight from Atlanta to Miami on the way down. We were looking at the scenery below us when he says in a soft voice, "I wish Grandma could see this." Awwww... One day, son; one day.

The M.R.S. is still on Cloud 9. She got to hook-up with her "sister", and go shopping, and FINALLY make it to Jamaica. I'm planning to milk the FoT as long as I can.

Getting back into the real world has been a bit of a drag. I've got to put my nose to the grindstone for the remainder of this year and crank out some data, prepare for conferences, catch up on my labwork, and write a paper for submission to a journal. I've got to have a meeting sometime in the next two weeks to find out if I have to take any more classes or not, and to determine if my project is sufficient to earn a doctorate. Theoretically, my committee can decide that my project is insufficient and have me do something else, or they can make me take more classes. I don't think that's going to happen, but I'm a little nervous nonetheless.

I need to update my links. I read more blogs than I have listed, and I think the links should reflect that. Incidentally, I met another blogger, Jalpenojelly, at the Feast - though I didn't know she had a blog at the time. I'd even left a comment on it before leaving, but I didn't make the connection until I returned home. Oh to have back those brain cells I killed back in the day!