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The Girl Scouts and leaders were out in full force
at Calhoun County Park on Friday evening. Families brought their
daughters and then parents visited while little brothers and sisters
rolled down the hill and ran up again. The Girl Scouts had a campfire
with singing and s’mores. They were told of coming meetings and
activities for girls from all over the county. The Scouts can always use
more leaders and members.
Below is an “Ode To A Girl Scout Leader.” Those who
have been leaders will relate. They will remember, “We did it for our
girls.”
“I was glad to have a daughter ’cause our first
child was a son. I thought of all the ruffles, all the frilly bows and
fun. I thought of how we’d sit and talk at night when day was done,
wasn’t I the foolish one?
She was only half past seven when they called me to
the fore. I said ‘I’m not equipped.’ They said, ‘Oh yes, you are, what’s
more; we’ll train you in the basics, we’ll outfit you for the corps.’
Why couldn’t I have had a son?
Glory, glory, I’m a leader. How’d I get to be a
leader? All I did was have a daughter. Is this the price I pay?
They taught me to be thrifty, to be thoughtful, to
be true. They taught me how to string beads like the noble Indians do. I
had to learn to dig a trench, and how to use it too. And you should
taste the stew!
I had to learn to sing songs that I didn’t
understand. I learned to dance the polka and to make a rhythm band. To
think of what to do and then forget what I had planned. And they say
Scouting is grand!
We went walking in the woodlands, my Girl Scout
troop and me. The handbook says that nature has a wealth of sights to
see. It’s true, we sure were sights when we were found eventually. And I
do all of this for free.
I’m not meant to be a leader; I don’t know which
bird is which. My wiener fork’s all burned up, we come home from hikes
and itch. The sit-upons all fell apart, I showed them the wrong stitch.
But no one wants to switch.
But even though I grumble and I mumble and I shout.
Though there are days I wonder, ‘What’s the best way to get out?’ I
guess when all is said and done, there isn’t any doubt. I’m glad to be a
Scout.
Glory, glory, I’m a leader; hallelujah, I’m a
leader. Tell me why I should be happy, when no one envies me. Glory,
glory, I’m a leader. Someone’s got to be a leader. They can carve it on
my tombstone, ‘Here’s a girl who did her best!’”
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