Scouting wasn't part of Marilyn's background, but it had been in mine. When we mentioned it to Charlie he had been interested, and we had signed him up with Pack 116 in Monkton, just the other side of Hereford. There was supposed to be a pack in Hampstead, which was closer, but they operated out of the Hampstead Elementary School. Charlie's buddies in Fifth District Elementary were in Pack 116. It made a lot more sense for him to go over to Monkton. Pack 116 ran out of St. James Episcopal. Occasionally I would tease Marilyn that this was a back door method for the Protestants to get their hands on our son. Most of the time she would snort in laughter and say they were welcome to him, he was obviously a lost cause!
We were up early. I helped my son finish packing and then finished myself, and we loaded our gear up in our driver's Caravan. We had to be at the school by no later than 9:00. The camping trip was part of the Boy Scout Camporee held up at Broad Creek Camp in Harford County. The Boy Scouts were there for two nights, starting Friday night. The little guys needed to work up to that. By the time all the late-comers got to school and we actually got on the road, it was closer to 9:30. We got to the camporee mid-morning.
The first order of business was checking in and finding our campsite, then we drove up and unloaded our gear. It was December, and in Maryland that meant the weather was crisp, but not snowy. That was fine with me. I used to go on winter camping trips in upstate New York in February, and that usually meant several feet of snow. If it was deep enough, you'd have some troops building igloos! I wasn't that hard core. We carried several bales of hay with us to spread out on the ground where we were setting up the tents. It softened things up and acted as an insulating barrier. We set up quickly and then sent the boys off with a couple of leaders to start their events.
The Boy Scouts would be tested on various survival skills, like first aid and starting fires, and would win points in a competition. The Cub Scouts were more focused on learning this stuff the first time around, so they would be cycled through various stations to get some instruction, either from an adult or a senior Boy Scout. Those of us back at the camp finished setting things up and started preparing lunch.
After lunch, about a half dozen of the fathers and I were sitting around the campfire on camp chairs and drinking coffee. Well, I was drinking tea, but that's simply because I was more civilized. There was a box of Lipton tea bags in the chuck wagon box, and that was plenty fine for me. That was when I noticed a few Boy Scouts coming towards our camp, accompanied by a couple of adult leaders. This was a bit unusual, since we don't normally mix Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. Webelos were nine and ten, Scouts were generally older and a lot bigger. It was better to keep them separated except during group events, like campfires or training events.
Something caught my attention and I turned back towards the campfire with the other guys, and then a shout made me turn my head. One of the adults who had joined us with the Scouts was talking to Al Parker, Johnny's father, and Al turned and called out, "Hey, Carl! I've got some of your constituents here!"
I gave him a curious look. "My constituents?"
"Are you Congressman Buckman?", asked one of the Boy Scouts. He looked to be about 13 or 14, but wearing a coat, I couldn't see his uniform and rank badge.
Pack 116 knew of my dirty little secret, but I hadn't pushed any electioneering around the Scouts. That was just way too tacky, and wasn't done. The Boy Scouts didn't allow that sort of thing. "Well, sort of. I don't get sworn in until January. Can I help you fellows? You look a little young to be lobbyists."
The boys looked confused by that, but several of the adults laughed at this. Bill Baker, who was sitting next to me, asked, "You get that a lot?"
"More than you can imagine!" I turned back to the Scouts. "What's up guys?"
They looked at each other nervously, now that they were in the presence of the 'great man', but one of their leaders motioned them on. "Go on."
The boy who had asked if I was a Congressman stepped forward slightly and stammered a bit, "Uh, I'm working ... we're working on our Citizenship in the Nation merit badge."
The boy standing next to him piped up and said, "For our Eagle requirement!"
It was starting to dawn on me what was happening. I smiled and nodded. "And let me guess. One of your requirements is to meet a Congressman?" It didn't sound quite right, but when I was teaching merit badges when Parker was a Scout, I didn't teach any of the Citizenship badges (Community, Nation, and World). Maybe it was a requirement.
They looked at each other and stepped closer, loosening up a bit. A third boy said, "Uh, not quite, but we were wondering..." He dug a pamphlet out of his coat pocket and flipped it to the first page.
"Hold on, fellows. First things first. The first part of citizenship is courtesy to your fellow citizens. Tell me who you are! My name is Congressman-Elect Carl Buckman. Who are you guys?", I said with a smile.
The first boy blinked at that and said, "Jerry Reeves, sir. Troop 420, out of Westminster."
I stuck my hand out and he shook it. "Nice to meet you, Jerry." I went around the small circle, shaking hands and getting their names. "Now, what's this requirement?"
"Uh..." he took the book from his friend and read a few lines. " ... Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional district. Write a letter about a national issue and send it to one of these elected officials, sharing your view with him or her. Show your letter and any response you receive to your counselor." He handed me the booklet and pointed to the line.
"Okay, so name the Senators.", I challenged them.
"Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski!", answered a little guy at the end of the line.
"Correct. Now, who was your Congressman?"
Jerry answered, "It was Andy Stewart."
"Until you beat him!", tossed in another boy. There were a few snickers among the adults at this.
"Right. So, what do you need to do, write me a letter and get a response? You need my address?"
The boys looked at each other in confusion. I didn't think they had figured it out that far. "I guess.", said one of them.
"Got a notepad and pencil?" They started patting their pockets, and I joked, "Whatever happened to being prepared?"
I climbed up out of my chair and moved over to the picnic table. "Let's make this simple, guys. Have a seat." I positioned them around the picnic table and placed my camp chair at the head of the table. "Let's pick a topic and talk about it, and I'll count that as the letter and we'll sign off on it. Okay?"
"Can we do that?"
"Sure we can! I'm a Congressman, right?" I winked at one of their leaders, who wasn't anywhere near as impressed as the boys were. He was probably a Democrat! He grinned and gave me a thumbs up sign.
I started leading the boys into a discussion about something close to their hearts, which was school. I had been a teacher in the past, and I always preferred the Socratic Method rather than lecturing as a teaching tool. Ask the kids the questions and use their answers to prompt more questions, leading them to the point you were trying to make. They figure the answers out themselves rather than being told the answers. We talked about how to make schools better and what some of the problems might be with their ideas. For instance, do we increase the length of the school year, and does that mean we now have to raise the pay of teachers and raise taxes to pay for that? Things can get complicated quickly, and you normally need some compromises.