Hate me? Then you'll enjoy this

[Oilers9911]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Looks like maybe you're new to these parts, so I'll go with the benefit of a doubt and figure you don't quite understand how things work around here sometimes.

ya friggin moron.

Next time, think before you post.

So much for benefit of the doubt being given. Ya friggin moron.

[SirFozzie]

geez.. harsh much?

[Oilers9911]

Jon calls a guy a friggin moron and tells him to "think before he posts" and i'm harsh? Ok.

[DanGarion]

Wow, terrible that you might have to spend some quality time with your son.

[Oilers9911]

Despite Jon's f-bomb filled diatribe and smug prickishness to the new guy, I agree with him totally about the camping part of it.

[Cringer]

I would rather go camping then play My Little Pony for the millionth time.

[MJ4H]

This thread is hilarious.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

I'm sorry man, but this is freaking hilarious. With as much complaining as you're doing about it, I wonder if maybe you don't secretly like it.

He doesn't like the camping, but he loves the bitching. So in a sense, you are right.

[perez24]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

He likes the archery & the BB guns. Other than that, best I can tell, he's very neutral.

BB guns and archery were about all my son liked about scouting.

Oh yeah he also liked cleaning up a cemetary.

Get out while you can...it only gets worse. I love what the Scouts stand for and I think that people who enjoy it get a lot out of scouting, but for those of us who don't like crafts, camping, and woodworking it's pure torture.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I don't hate ya, Jon, but I have to admit that this amuses me.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I don't hate ya, Jon, but I have to admit that this amuses me.

Me too, I currently envision Jon pitching a Tent in a cold drizzle, having a Nicotine fit, getting tangled up in the Ropes and Canvas, falling in the Mud, then storming off into the Woods to curse for 10 minutes....

Actually the thought of this has me pitching a Tent at my computer right now

[Oilers9911]

Boy it is warm and cozy in my house watching Blackburn vs Man Utd. I hope Jon is having a great time in the woods

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Actually the thought of this has me pitching a Tent at my computer right now

zoinks

[Bad-example]

Originally Posted by Cringer

I would rather go camping, then play My Little Pony for the millionth time.

Comma added for clarity.

[gkb]

My idea of camping is one of the suites at the Bellagio. I don't enjoy the great outdoors much...

[lordscarlet]

Am I the only one whose first thought was, "Wow, what a great father."?

I mean, I suppose you are sucking it up, but... If he enjoys it, you hsould try to without bitching. And, personally, i'm very glad I was in cub scouts and boy scouts when I was younger.

[flere-imsaho]

So, I haven't been on FOFC for a few days now, so didn't see the thread until just now. But this morning, when I woke up, I woke up in a great mood. Didn't know exactly why, but there you go. Now, of course, I know the reason. Thanks Jon!

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

I mean, I suppose you are sucking it up, but... If he enjoys it, you hsould try to without bitching. And, personally, i'm very glad I was in cub scouts and boy scouts when I was younger.

Look, I dislike Jon as much as anyone (maybe even more), but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when he said (and I'm paraphrasing): "I'm bitching about it here so I don't bitch about it there."

[stevew]

I just got this image in my head of John somehow having his last pack of cigarettes spill to the wet soil, and all of them getting drenched. Him sitting on a tree stump, pissed off in his head as he tries in vain to dry them out with the lighter trick.

[Brillig]

Originally Posted by stevew

I just got this image in my head of John somehow having his last pack of cigarettes spill to the wet soil, and all of them getting drenched. Him sitting on a tree stump, pissed off in his head as he tries in vain to dry them out with the lighter trick.

...only to discover that he has chosen to sit on the lair of the Ice Weasels.

[JAG]

Camping level: 2 (12 exp, 36 for next level)
There are 35 other players working here

[JonInMiddleGA]

Golly, where to begin?

Well, best news is "We're home".

First, from the various posts I missed after logging out:

Steveski: I appreciate the apology, it's accepted. And I apologize if I overreacted to your initial post as well. As the locals here can tell you, patience is not one of my virtues, and every micron of it that I did have was being stored for Saturday, so me going off even a little bit in your direction was almost a sure thing, warranted or not. Sorry we got off on the wrong foot.

BYU14 -- Like you think I'd have gone if the place was totally tobacco free?
Catching a smoke wasn't easy & I only managed about 1/3rd of my normal consumption, but catch a few I did (thank God).

gkb - re: Bellagio ... What you said (Actually, I do sort of think of staying at the hotels down on Fremont as "camping", and that is pretty much the only form of camping I find enjoyable.

flere -- Glad I could help, like I said, I figured I might as well let somebody enjoy the situation.

stevew -- Like you think for a second I would ever let myself get in the situation where something could happen to my last pack? In addition the open pack, the were two others on me, another back at camp, and a half a carton in the car which wouldn't have been an unbearable hike. What's that phrase scouts like so much, something about being prepared?

JAG -- Great call on your post, but I think you get to suffer the ignominy of having me figured out too well. Three guesses what the first thing I did (well, after feeding the cats anyway) was when we walked in. I was smart though, I harvested all my crops before leaving yesterday morning & waited to replant until this afternoon. No sense wasting those seeds.

---------------------------------

Now, as for my descent into Hell.

Good news:
-- No tent needed after all, thanks to the presence of some plywood huts, albeit with no doors. (Think plywood walls, exposed frame, with a couple of sets of erstwhile wooden bunk beds). A leftover ratted-out mattress pad even fit the doorway perfectly, blocking some of the wind through the night.
-- Haters take note: I was on my best behavior, misery index or not. I smiled, made small talk, did my fair share of the camp housekeeping chores, and did a perfectly acceptable rendition of being just another Scout dad. The closest thing to a discouraging word anybody got out of me all day was the simple phrase "you got out the shovels, not me" whenever my wife & son started bitching about having to walk too far to the next activity or whatever (a reference to them "having dug their own holes" and gotten themselves into this situation). It was actually pretty good natured & was given/taken as such.

Bad news: Mostly everything else.
-- Over the river & through the woods. Why the bloody hell anybody would go traipsing all over the f'n woods without some urgent life & death need still escapes me. Leaves, trees, dirt, etc and ad infinitum are all stuff I've seen before (and so has my son), so damned if I understand the appeal at seeing them over & over all day long.
-- Nothing says "the great outdoors" like 40+ MPH winds gusting through camp with the temp hovering around 32. When the pack leader (a geologist IRL) called it the windiest camping experience he'd ever had, I figure that certified it as a significant wind event for our purposes.
-- Not the most organized thing I've ever run across. They were understaffed (by the camp leader's own admission) for the 500 or so attendees and communication about events/schedule changes/etc was pretty inadequate.

The random stuff:
-- not what I expected in terms of activities. The understaffing played a role I think (they were short on trained volunteers since most are pressed into service next weekend when the camp hosts 2000+ Boy Scouts & their families). I have no idea what my expectations were vs the norm, but I figured there'd be a lot more instructional/educational things; i.e. when they go to the archery range, there'd be some hands-on instruction, etc. Instead, there was basically one guy in charge of the range & all the instructions was left to the parents on hand ... whether we knew jack about archery or not.
Same was true at each of the "events", nearly all of which were cut off due to scheduling problems that allowed too little time to go from place to place + too many things crammed into too narrow a time window (5 activities with only 90 minutes for the whole thing, with 10-15 minutes walk between & 15-30 min lines at each activty).

And for that problem in the morning, the reverse was true in the afternoon, with an option of a 2 mile hike or some rodeo-themed events (which took less than an hour to cover fully) but with a four hour window to fill. Most everybody found themselves with jack to do for the bigger part of the time after lunch.

On the whole, I think they (the camp mgmt) were caught off guard by the turnout for the event, which was the largest ever for several of the packs there (nearly double the previous record for our pack). But I might be inclined to argue that they shouldn't have been so unprepared since pre-registration was cut off a month ago & there wasn't any on-site/day-of registration.

-- another quirky thing, not good or bad, just unusual in my experience. There was a $25 pre-registration fee ... which was refunded in full if you attended. In other words, if you come then it's free but if you say you're coming & don't then it cost you $25. I can't recall running across a scenario like that before.

-- there was one bright spot in the whole event, a flag retirement ceremony.
I've seen at least a couple of flags given the ceremonial burning before, but I don't recall the ceremonies being as long or involved as this one. Each stripe cut away and burned individually, with a reading about the relevance of the stripe (not historically accurate by a long shot, but a sort of civics lesson nonetheless). The ceremony was tied to Veteran's Day, with a 20 yr USN veteran placing the final piece (the star field) on the pyre. Nicely done, with the proper tone & a solid effort toward teaching respect (and reasons for it) to the young scouts.

On the whole, Will declared the trip "fun" and enjoyed himself. Also happily for me, he readily acknowledged that the fun was in the daytime stuff & that he would have liked it better without the whole freezing-your-butt-off aspect (leaving me reason to still hope that this can be avoided in the future). And, as with airplane landings, any of them you walk away from in one piece should probably be considered a success on the whole.

[sterlingice]

That's earned you an entire winter indoors in the warm and in front of a large tv

SI

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

BYU14 -- Like you think I'd have gone if the place was totally tobacco free? Catching a smoke wasn't easy & I only managed about 1/3rd of my normal consumption, but catch a few I did (thank God).

LOL, probably made the experience much less stressful knowing you could at least spend 5 minutes of bliss with Johnny Marlboro here and there. I am sure this made for a kinder, gentler Jon throughout the trip as well.

[st.cronin]

I bet JimGa missed watching the great Reggie Ball put up seven whole points against the mighty Tar Heels. I'm sure he's sad he missed that.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I bet JimGa missed watching the great Reggie Ball put up seven whole points against the mighty Tar Heels. I'm sure he's sad he missed that.

Car radio, I got the gist of his sterling performance.
(one of the circuits around from place to place took us very close to the car, so I checked out the scores & listened to the final 8 minutes or so)