Monkey Business
March, 1999

Every time we go on an outing I take along a camcorder. In the old days, I would never let the Scouts use the camera, worrying that they would drop it or misplace it in some obscure, woodsy spot. The problem was that this policy made me the cameraman, and that got in the way of my enjoyment of the day. Adventures seen through a viewfinder are much more two-dimensional than the real thing. Gradually, I lost interest in videotaping our doings, but the boys never lost their interest in giving it a try, and so, with a lot of rules, I now let selected Scouts use the camera. The results are very interesting indeed. Not only do I get to see parts of the outings that I never experienced myself, I also get to see myself as an actor in the scenes of the days we spend out-of-doors.
 

Scene 1: Nine medium-sized Scouts are spread out along a country road. Stretching for 60 feet or so are many pieces of binder twine. Under the direction of an older man, the Scouts attach three pieces to a wooden contraption that they then begin to twirl. This twists the pieces together into one. This process is repeated twice more so that 9 long pieces of binder twine become 3 twisted strands. These are transferred to a single spinner and the Scouts start to twist again, in the opposite direction, as a little wooden paddle is moved down the strands. Magically, the three strands merge to become a half-inch rope. The old guy is excited by this and seems to be having the time of his life. Strange to think that old guy is me.
 

Scene 2: Derrick, Drew and Spencer, young Scouts on their first outing, cluster around a small teepee shaped mound of pine needles, twigs and sticks. They light a match and then busily blow the flame into a fire. As they do this, they talk of the hike they took earlier in the day, of strange tracks in the snow, of perilous stream crossings, of getting lost and being chased by fierce horses. Nate, the camera operator, asks how their training is going. They claim they have mastered it all. Meanwhile, their fire dwindles and nearly dies.

 

Scene 3: Deep in a forest of straight pine tree trunks, a group of older Scouts are busily lashing spars into an X-frame arrangement. Adam is obviously in charge and making a good job of it; managing the construction of what will eventually become a monkey bridge. Kirk scrambles up a tree and starts a square lashing. Beside him Alan works on another. You can tell that this sort of project is not new to this crew. They have a calmness and competency that is a pleasure to watch. They talk of other days and other projects --- last year's tower and the famous catapult of two years ago. Looking at this bunch, you know that they will make a good job of this latest project.
 

Scene 4: Here are those ropes, made earlier in the day, being stretched over the bridge frame. Oddly, the ropes seem to have acquired names. John Carlos, the fattest one, is set up as a footrope, then Bill and Monica are tied in place as hand ropes. Steve, the smallest of the ropes, is used to anchor one end of the footrope to a set of six stakes arranged in a 3-2-1 pattern. The other end of the footrope is tied around a convenient tree stump.

Now the Scouts, young and old, start climbing, one at a time, to the top of one end of the bridge frame. Then, holding very tightly to Bill and Monica, they place their feet on John Carlos and teeter across a 20-foot gap, 10 feet off the ground, to the other side of the bridge. Steve (the Scout, not the rope) skates across like it is nothing. The older Scouts, too, make short work of the journey. The younger guys are really more interesting to watch. They have more of a challenge coping with the nearly man-sized spacing of the rope. Some won't even give it a try, some have no fear and no problems, and some are obviously worried but determined to meet the challenge. With their obvious courage, this last group steals the scene.

* * * * *

The videotape swoops and jitters and nearly makes me nauseous to watch at times, but it is all I really need to bring back detailed memories of the day. The risks to the video equipment are well worth this different, if shaky, view of the day's proceedings. And, who knows, perhaps the amateur camera work will lead to something…
 

Scene 5: Ted stands in bright sunlight wearing a bright orange sweatshirt. With a proud smile he tells of how he mowed many, many lawns last summer, and of how he saved the money he earned so that he could buy what he wanted most in the world to own. And there it is in his hands ¾ his very own camcorder.