What are you afraid of? That’s a complicated question. It’s also a rhetorical question, and if someone throws that question at you, you better duck because they don’t really want an answer, they just want to find out more about you and make you think a little, which can be terrifying and dangerous all by itself. Thinking, can be like hitchhiking on the highway. It might be a pleasant experience that gets you where you’re going or it might get you put off on the side of the road in a thunderstorm, but that’s enough about thinking. Fear is what we should be talking about right now because Halloween is just around the corner, and Halloween, as we know, is all about fear and scariness, and how much we love it! Some people actually love fear in a strange sort of way. Daredevils mostly, I guess, but what scares you is relative to what stage of life you happen to be in. When I was seven years old, I was scared to death of the older girls at the high school Halloween festival all dressed up in princess costumes who wanted to kiss you on the cheek. My first instinct was to run. Fortunately, I got over that a little later. When I was 16, I was sure my life was going to end when I nudged the bumper on the brand-new car of a former football player and Big Man on Campus as I was circling Sam’s Drive-In. He looked like King Kong as he was walking back toward my old beat-up Chevrolet, but to my surprise, he just laughed about it. It took a cheeseburger and some of those special “Sam’s” French fries to help me recover from that one.
Along in those days, Scouting was a popular activity for many of the boys I grew up with. You started out in the blue uniform of the Cub Scouts, and in time, you aged into the more adventurous ranks and exploits of the Boy Scouts. They were both excellent organizations, and although I was definitely not an overachiever, I did learn a little and had a great time. The legendary leader here of our Scout Troop was Mr. Ellis Boyd. As a result of his profession, he was well acquainted with outdoor life and the ways of nature and the history of this area. Mr. Boyd respected nature and the environment. He was all business when it came to Scouting, but he enjoyed a little fun as well. Every once in a while, Mr. Boyd would lead a nighttime hike to let us work on our skills and merit badges. It was almost Halloween when we assembled one chilly night for a hike. Out in an area not far from town, there was a marshy, wet weather pond that Scoutmaster Boyd wanted us to see to get used to using the moon and the trails to keep track of where you were. The fog already had risen over the water and even though the moon was full, it barely provided a dull glow behind the trees. I thought it was strange, but about a dozen cub scouts were with us, and our leaders told us all to settle down in the high grass and wait. In the conversation of the older scouts, I started hearing a strange word. They were talking low, but I heard the word “Sana”. I didn’t know what that was, but I was pretty sure they weren’t talking about the man in the red suit with reindeer. All at once, we heard the most unearthly, downright awfullest screeching and roaring you could imagine. The last thing I heard was Mr. Boyd shouting, “All right boys, find the trail and get out just the way you came in.” There were Cub Scouts and new Boy Scouts spread out all over the woods running in all different directions for dear life. It looked like a kindergarten soccer match with no rules or goals. After the Sana left everybody got retrieved and gathered back up., Mr. Boyd told us this hike was meant to show us how important it was to always know where you were in unknown parts to keep from getting lost forever.
The ”Sana” turned out to be a resin-soaked rope pulled through an empty vegetable can from the school lunchroom by some older scouts hidden back in the woods. They called it part of the map reading merit badge exercise. Today, I will call it a very good lesson that has probably stuck with some of those young scouts ever since. But on the night it took place, I would have called it ten times scarier than the midnight horror show at the Dixie Theater. After all these years, it’s still good for a smile and a little chuckle. Anyway, I hope I don’t lose my silver webelos badge for disclosing this information, and I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween! BOO!
