"Scouting Visions" by Tom Sullivan. Troop 51-Saxonburg, PA .USA. who wrote this poem following summer camp in July 1995.

I was standing in my Scout uniform one day
when a young lad came up to say,
"I can tell by your your clothes that you are a Scout.
Would you tell me what that's all about."

"Young man", I said, "do you see that sky
and the shapes of the clouds passing by?
Can you see an Indian stalking a bear
or a fox sneaking up on a snowshoe hare?

Do you see in those clouds an old, old man
who looks like he needs a helping hand?
How 'bout a boat, it's sails filled with the wind?
I see all those things and even more young friend."

I looked at the boy, he was shaking his head,
"Didn't see any of that stuff you just said,
What's that got to do with Scouts anyway?
You guys just stare at the sky all day?"

"No, we do lots of other great stuff,
some of it easy and a lot of it tough,
We go camping, canoeing and take long hikes;
tell stories round the campfire and ride mountain bikes.

And we help other people when they have a need
and we learn how to follow and then how to lead,
We play ball and shoot bows and learn to tie knots,
We cook food in the ground and we make clay pots.

We like swimming and skiing and sailing a boat
and we'll row anything we can to keep afloat.
We weave baskets of straw and make things from leather.
We spend time outdoors in all kinds of weather.

So those visions in the sky I asked you about
come from many great experiences of being a Scout,
and from the Great Scoutmaster who lives in that sky
and keeps us all in his watchful eye."

"I'll see you mister. I gottta go see
If those Scouting visions can come true for me."
I watched the young man run off down the street
and thought to myself, "thanks God, that was neat!"

Tom Sullivan, Committee Chairman. Troop 51, Saxonburg PA. August 15, 1995


I think that sums up the real scout spirit.