Archive for the Boy Scouts Category

The people’s house

Posted in Boy Scouts, random, travel with tags , on October 28, 2025 by jefferyrn

Many years ago I visited Washington D.C.  as part of a trip to Pennsylvania for the 1977 Boy Scout National Jamboree held at Moraine State Park.

Jimmy Carter was president and I was 16 going on 17 years old.  I remember it rained the first few days of the actual Jamboree and my cousin Linda rescued me from the flood zone.  I slept in her basement bedroom while she dried my things and some of my buddies things too.

I also remember being sicker than a dog at the Jamboree.  It was possibly food poisoning from the plane or the camp food.  We never knew which was the actual culprit but I was out cumming in a field of worms.  I say this because someone asked me if I was hunting night crawlers before they saw me heaved my guts up.

Once the Sun came out we had a great time.  It was one of the largest fireworks displays I have ever seen.  All of us were in the official uniform wearing red berets and shorts with knee high socks and garters.  We toured Washington in these outfits before we arrived at the Jamboree.

Red Beret

I am conjuring these memories because we visited the White House.  Here are some pictures I took.  The Fujifilm prints have faded. There were no phone cameras then, just Kodak Instamatics or something like it.

Instamatic
View from the street looking at the front entrance.
The circular drive
The facade.
Look at the visitors. The hair and the clothes are so typical 70’s.
This is the South lawn looking at the back of the house.

I don’t have any pictures of the East Wing and no pictures of the inside. Flash photography was not permitted and my old camera could do it without flash. 

We all know what has been happening to the people’s house.  I am glad that I saw it before the demolition. Interestingly this was just after the last crook left the place.  Let’s hope there will be something to visit in 2028.

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Boy Scouts Honor

Posted in Boy Scouts, human rights, random with tags on January 29, 2013 by jefferyrn

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What about this new Boy Scout ruling?

Believe it or not I was a Boy Scout.  In fact, I was an Eagle Scout and an Assistant Scoutmaster.    Once I knew I was gay I dropped out of the organization.   I didn’t feel comfortable.  Back then people associated gay with child molester.  I supposed they still do.  My father was District Camping Chairman so I did help out on special events when others were unavailable.  In fact, I was an archery teacher at several Cub Scout events (no overnighters!).   In a way I am sorry I didn’t stand up for myself back then, but that was not who I was at the time.

It was difficult enough taking on my family and friends let alone an organization that is largely sponsored by churches.  These people in the news today are brave folks.  I was a coward.

My uncle John is big on Scouting.  He is also a fundamentalist Christian.  We don’t socialize anymore.  He is only 10 years older then me.  I don’t know when he changed into this conservative a moralist he is now.   I suspect his wife had a lot to do with it.   I still love my uncle John.  I just don’t need to be preached to about my supposed sins.  He is a descent man.  And I remember him as a warm hearted and forgiving person, not who he has become.  I want to preserve that memory so I don’t associate with him much, big family gatherings, funerals, that’s about it.

So you see the Boy Scouts were personified for me by my uncle and my father.   Two men at opposite ends of the spectrum.  My father is a very tolerant man.

I am happy to see this change coming.  It is kind of ironic, because being a young scout brought teasing from school mates.  We were called ” faggots”.  Imagine that.

This change is a good thing for the Scouts.

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