Closing a Chapter in my life by turning in my colors for scouting. I have taught Sustainability and Wilderness Survival along with my brother over the last 10 years at a Scout Camp located near the Camp David Marine Corps and Presidential Base on top of the Catoctin Mountains.
Scouting has been very rewarding throughout my life. It has given me an opportunity to bond more with my two boys. The scouting journey has taken my boys and I to places that we would probably have never ventured to without the scouting program. Places and things we have accomplished include sleeping in tents on a beach in NJ, camping on Assateague Island that has wild horses whom we interacted with, and camping at the haunted Camp Enon. We have taken a canoe on a lake where a large American Eagle watched over us as we paddled by him. After a night of wilderness survival in the woods, waking up to another leader playing American Indian flute music was mystical. We hiked and camped on battlefields from Antietam national battlefield, Gettysburg national battlefield, Fort Frederick state park, and Monocacy National Battlefield. We have had Eerie nights sleeping in tents on haunted battlefields. My boys learned how to cook outdoors, swim, climb mountains, shoot multiple weapons and learn how to survive in the elements. Our adventures included staying on American Indian sites where you can feel the energy of the Indian ancestors of the past, and a visit to a wolf sanctuary in Pennsylvania.
I appreciated making a difference in teaching sustainability to the scouts, where Sustainability is barely covered (if at all in some cases) in school. I have been in sweat lodges, had experiences with owls, watched Camp David drones fly over our outdoor wilderness survival camping, and obtained my American Indian Name. Watching a burning arrow fly through the night sky across a lake in a ceremony will be remembered forever at Sinoquipe. I spent the last 15 years of scouting with my brother Bill Sohm, and I appreciate the opportunity we have had to work together in our scouting experiences. @rumblejungle89 was part of my final journey in scouting in Gettysburg as I taught classes by Camp David, she was part of this final expedition making it so special. I also appreciate that I had an opportunity to impact the lives of other scouts in my leadership role over the decades.
I hold a goblet high in the air with Red Wine in appreciation to the scouting experiences I have had. May the next generation of scouting leaders continue creating legendary memories.