Scout's Honor

Between my four sisters and myself, I would have to wager that we somehow managed to get involved in just about every sort of structured activity that grown-ups think will help mold children into responsible adults and then quit said activity after a certain amount of time. Some of these were offered through school (track, cross-country running, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, band, orchestra, and choir,) after-school programs (that would be African dance and piano lessons,) extras that babysitters threw in (crocheting and Portuguese lessons,) and stuff offered through the church (ballet,) but the ones that probably lasted the longest were ones that actually had friends involved (Girl Scouts.)

That isn't to say that any of us stuck with Girl Scouts until we had risen as far as we could; I'm just saying that it did last a while, but not long enough for anyone to get stuck having to sell the cookies. After all, we had a reputation to uphold, and we still hadn't joined (and then summarily quit) the Freemasons yet. You have to keep the schedule open for that sort of thing, you know?

But at the same time, I have to admit that the thing that probably helped keep the Girl Scouts around for longer than the lifespan of a Mayfly was the fact that it came with a uniform. Once the adult/adults responsible for your genetic makeup has/have sunk hard-earned money into buying you the required button-down shirt, slacks and--most importantly--badge sash, you do kinda feel like you need to stick with it a little longer than a week. It certainly explains why I kept attending ballet lessons long after I had lost interest.

Of course, none of us got the scout hat. Maybe things would have been different if one of us had gotten the hat. It's possible, but I doubt it.

So in honor of Oldest Sis and Middle Sis's respective stints in scoutdom, let's look at some scout hats, shall we?

Yes, I am aware that this is a vintage Boy Scout's hat. Doesn't change the fact that it's still pretty cool-looking.

This one, however, is definitely a Girl Scout hat. It's vintage as well, so I think it balances out the Boy Scout one I posted above.

And for those of you who really dig berets, there's this one. It also comes with a clip-on bow tie that must have been all the rage back in the day, even if it does look a little hokey (and cheap, judging by the stamps on the bow.)

That's it for this week; see you Monday!