( Below is an excerpt from a much longer story of my younger adventures.)
Let me tell you of my innocent boyish scouting visions,...
I saw me, and my new scout pal's out in the wilds of New Jersey,..tracking down mountain lions, digging up "Spanish Gold!", building tree house's, and sighting UFO's.
We'd also be hot on the trail of "Atomic Spies", rescuing cats, exploring mysterious caves, and making friends with da Indians.
We'd be tying all sorts of knots, and painting ourselves up like "Sioux Warriors". We would eat wild berries, shit in the woods, wipe our butts with leaves. The lot of us would go running on all fours, and howl at the moon like wolves!
To relax we'd go skinny dipping, have kissing contests, circle jerks, blow things up, and build model airplanes!
At night under the stars we'd sing do-wop songs, cook foot long kosher hot dogs over a roaring camp fire, and tell scary stories about deranged communist robots from Venus invading Nebraska.
At bed time we'd set up surplus air force parachutes, and use them as our communal tents. We'd all recite our prayers, kiss each other good night, cuddle up like puppies, and slip into the gentle arms of Elysium. Perhaps some few might stay awake to chase fireflies or sing songs to each other.
Oh, such a sweet, and innocent vision.
Unfortunately 'none' of this swell shit went down. What did happen was...
My Mom: "What did you say?!"
Scoutmaster: "Eh,..I'm sorry Mrs. Smith, but it's just policy". "There's nothing I can do about it"
"This troop doesn't admit Coloreds".
My Mom: "But my son goes to this school which is integrated". "Your troop is part of this school"
Scoutmaster: "Technically yes, but the board has the final say in these matters".
"As I said I'm sorry we can't admit your son into our program."
My Mom was gonna slug this jerk, but didn't. He seemed, (at least to her,..so she said). This American apartheid apparatchik seemed ashamed of having to do this foul shit.
I'd have slugged him anyway, and maybe burned the school down too. Anyhow the "I'm just following orders" drone went on to tell my Mom of another troop that was willing to take a 'few' negro boys.
...Swell.
That bunch was a long bus ride away from where we lived so "thanks", but "no thanks!" Adolf. So with my scouting life receding in the rear view mirror I made do.
From then on I was looked after by the crazy old ladies at the Brooklyn Community Center. They were a bunch of very nice old Jewish ladies, and they taught me all sorts of stuff.
Mrs. Gold who's husband had fought in Spain against the Fascists showed me how to make cupcakes. She also taught me that white people weren't all full of shit.
Thank you Mrs. Gold.
If it wasn't for you I'd probably be a *fearful closet case in the Nation of Islam or one of them other race nut groups.
*(..it's rumored the "Nation" kills any gays they find in their ranks.)
Getting back to what my Mom went though. I have to say I didn't know about any of this. Instead my Mommy told me this whole concocted story about their being no room in local scout troop that season.
'Made sense too. You have to remember it was the early 60's. The height of the "Baby Boom" era.
There were zillions of us kids all over the place. Hell, we was "climbing in through da gawd damned windows!",..to quote Holden Caufield.
So yeah I bought it.
Next year I asked again, same story. The year after that I didn't ask. I had other problems. 'Like
slamming face first into my "wonderful" teen years.
Stay Tuned.
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