For a Few Badges More

The time in history was the late 1800s. The place was the Wild West. A murderous outlaw known as El Indio has broken free from prison by killing his guards; and his gang is terrorizing and robbing the citizens of the region. With a price on El Indio’s head, two bounty hunters, Monco (Clint Eastwood) and Colonel Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), come to collect the prize. Though the two men view each other as rivals, they eventually agree to become partners in their mutual pursuit of the vicious criminal.

The movie was a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone entitled For a Few Dollars More. Though it had a budget of $600,000, the movie grossed 25.5 million dollars worldwide. Many reviewers thought this second movie to be the best of the Dollars trilogy.

My best friend, Chuck, and I sat with eyes riveted to the Grand Theater screen. We were there to make our own review of the movie, despite the fact that my dad had prohibited me from going. Totally incognito by wearing the hoods from our polyester jackets over our heads, we unconsciously stuffed popcorn in our mouths and slurped on large soft drinks, jumping occasionally and growning when the villain, Indio, viciously murdered yet another victim.

“I don’t see why dad wouldn’t let me watch this movie,” I whispered to Chuck.

“Well, look at yourself. Every time Clint blasts a bandit, you miss your mouth with the popcorn. You look like a popcorn flocked Christmas tree.

As Chuck and I grew older, we both entered the world of the Boy Scouts. It was assumed that Chuck would be a scout because his dad was the assistant scout master, and his two older brothers were also in the same troop. I became a Scout because my dad said, “You can’t be a nerd your whole life, you know.” Also, the troop met in our church.

The first few years in scouting involved getting through the basics. The ranks were Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class. As new scouts, we would be learning what was inside the thick Scouting Manual. As you proved your knowledge of the manual, you could earn the rank. You could also start earning Merit Badges.

The next set of ranks were Star, Life, and Eagle. The rank of Eagle must be reached before a boy’s 18^th birthday, although extensions can be used in special cases up to the age of 20. Besides completing all the requirements inside the Boy Scout Manual, a boy who wants to reach Eagle must earn 21 merit badges. It should be noted that only 4-6% of the boys who enter scouting fulfill the requirements to receive their Eagle rank.

Beyond the Eagle rank, a boy can earn a Bronze Palm for five additional merit badges; a Gold Palm for 10 additional merit badges; and a Silver Palm for 15 additional merit badges beyond the required 21 for the Eagle Rank. Of the estimated 2,000,000 boys who received their Eagle Rank since Boy Scouts started in 1912, only 0.4% have earned the Silver Palm and it is possible to earn even more up to the age requirement of 18.

It is when a boy starts on his Star rank that he realizes that the Eagle rank is in sight and is a possibility, so most boys will turn on the steam churning out required and non-required merit badges to reach the magic number of 21.

Currently in the United States Boy Scout Organization, there are about 138 merit badges available, but that number constantly grows as new fields of technology appear. We’ve come a long way since 1912 when the Horsemanship Merit Badge was easy to get because horses were so commonly used. Now boys can earn the Geocaching and Digital Technology badges.

Chuck and I both were awarded our Eagle Ranks when we were 16. This left us two more years to earn additional Palms by earning more merit badges. Now it was a competition. Two bounty hunters eyeing the same prize, the Silver Palm, Monco and Mortimer. (Neither name was especially attractive but after a coin toss, I chose Monco). The race was on for a few badges more.

I believe that Court of Honors took place twice a year. At these events, parents and families were invited to watch their scouts receive rank and merit badges. The first Court of Honor took place in the fall so the boys could receive their rewards from summer scout camp.

At summer camps, we had the opportunity to earn merit badges such as Marksmanship, Canoeing, Rowing, Swimming, Lifesaving, Cooking, Knots and Lashing, Archery, Fishing, Wood Carving, First Aid, and Hiking.

Chuck, who already played the trumpet in our school band, was a natural for the Bugling merit badge. One of the requirements for this was to learn and play Reveille in the mornings to wake the boys up and Taps in the evening as the flag was lowered. Many of you who were fans of the television show MASH will remember the scene where Radar O’Reilly was standing in the center of camp blowing morning Reveille. From off-scene, someone throws a raw egg and hits him in the forehead. That was the fate of the Scouts who chose to play the bugle.

At camp we slept in Adirondacks which were three sided buildings. Inside were three bunk beds. Chuck made his bed on the top of one of the bunks. In the middle of the night when he had to run to the outhouse, he would jump out of the top bunk to the ground. It was predictable. After the third morning of being awakened by his bugle, there were rumblings amongst the group. Sometime after dark that evening when all the boys were asleep, someone slipped into our Adirondack, grabbed his bugle, and laid it on the concrete floor at the base of the bunk. Sometime around one in the morning, Chuck felt the call of nature, threw off his sleeping bag and jumped from his top bunk. We heard him yell as his stocking feet landed on top of the bugle.

The next morning, Reveille was blown on a modified brass instrument called the Bungle. Now bent into a horseshoe shape, the bell was aimed at his left ear. It looked more like a French Horn.

Merit badges at camp were not without their dangers. Before the creation of foam ear plugs, I nearly went deaf firing 22 caliber rifles at the range to earn my Marksmanship badge. I also came close to drowning in the process of getting my swimming merit badge. There was a first aid station available for sprains, cuts, and body sores from the swimmer’s itch caused by parasites in the lake.

Each Court of Honor, Chuck and I would receive three or four merit badges for the previous six months. Because my dad owned a helicopter company and taught flight schools, I earned my Aviation Merit Badge. There were definitely badges which were expensive to earn and some which to most kids were impossible. When we earned the five over the Eagle 21, we received the Bronze Palm.

“How many months until your 18^th birthday, Monco?” Chuck asked.

“Fifteen,” I answered.

I was at a definite disadvantage in our competition. Chuck was six months younger than me and therefore had six months longer than me to earn his merit badges.

“Well Mortimer, I’ve got to get five more to get my Gold Palm and ten more merit badges in fifteen months to get my Silver. I need a plan.”

At the time, which was the late 60s, merit badges each had their own book. Over the years, the troop had collected and had a library of nearly all the merit badges available. I went to the bookshelf and began searching for the easiest merit badges to complete.

My mom had a potter’s wheel and a kiln, so I got my Pottery badge. From there I went to Skiing, Fishing, Coin Collecting, Stamp Collecting, and Leather Working badges. These earned me the Gold Palm.

Chuck had the same idea, and he also searched through the merit badge books for the easiest to complete. We easily eliminated those badges which took a long period of time for tracking and compiling measurements and data.

“I’ve got six more months, Mortimer. Then it’s over. Five more badges in six months.”

It was back to the merit badge library to review all that I hadn’t earned yet.

Poultry. I got some chickens and ducks and raised them until I earned the badge and then somehow forgot about them. It wasn’t one of the finer moments of my life. Cycling. I rode my bicycle sixty miles from Bellingham to Anacortes and back. Photography. I took pictures . . . lots of pictures. Horsemanship. We did have a horse named Starfire. He was a cursed animal which I wrote about in the story, “The Horse Who Thought He was a Cow.”

My 18^th birthday was three months away. I needed one more merit badge. Think man, think! What possibly could require little skill and take no time to learn.

Bugling!

I borrowed the French Hornish looking instrument from Chuck which used to be a bugle. Being that the bell was crushed, and the tubing kinked, it didn’t exactly have the same tone of a real bugle. That didn’t matter though because I was a trombone player, which has a larger mouthpiece. I didn’t have the tight lips to get a good tone on the small bugle mouthpiece. There was a series of lip drills which I had to play, and I had to read some bugle music. Finally, I was required to play Reveille and Taps for an actual Scouting event which turned out to be the last campout we went on before my 18^th birthday.

I really can only blame the TV show, MASH . . . and of course the boys in my troop.

At 6:45 am, I climbed out of my sleeping bag, pulled on my shoes, and stumbled to the center of the camp where we had erected a makeshift flagpole. I blew warm air into the instrument so that the ice would melt from the mouthpiece. I then buzzed my lips to loosen them up as I looked at my watch.

It was 7:00 am. I put the bugle mouthpiece to my lips and began a trombone player’s rendition of a bugler’s Reveille. It was time to roust the troops. Unfortunately, as preplanned, they were already rousted. From multiple directions, eggs were thrown. Three hitting me on the head. Oh, I feel your pain, Radar O’Reilly. If I had been Monco, I would have been a dead man.

I did it though. I earned merit badge number 36 before my eighteenth birthday and at the next Court of Honor was awarded the Silver Palm. A member of an elite group of Boy Scouts in the world.

What can I say about Boy Scouting and becoming an Eagle Scout? Scouting helps youth develop academic skills, self-confidence, ethics, leadership skills, and citizenship skills that influence their adult lives. It helps them meet these six essential needs of young people growing up today: Mentoring; Lifelong Learning; Faith Traditions; Serving Others; Healthy Living; and Character Building. (1)

Being an Eagle Scout looks very good on a job resume’ and you would be very surprised to know how many US Presidents, Athletes, members of the US Armed Forces, and successful businessmen are also Eagle Scouts.

Scouting is an experience that a boy will remember forever and an Eagle Scout is not something you were . . . it is something you are.

(1) Boy Scouts of America official website.

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