Scout Camp and the Missing Toothbrush

When I was a new boy scout our family was living in Moab Utah.  I had a scout master that enjoyed taking the scouts on adventures in the red rock canyons and the canyon lands area that later became Canyonlands National Park.  The first summer scout camp that I went on was in the canyon lands and was accessible only by four wheel drive vehicles.  We had a good group of boys and I was looking forward to the outing even though I was somewhat apprehensive.  My mother had prepared me and given me the final instructions before leaving – you know the ones like: wash your hands, remember your p’s and q’s, and brush your teeth.  Mom worked for a Seventh-Day-Adventist Dentist so brushing your teeth was important.  So off to scout camp I went.  We four wheeled into a camp that our scout master knew about and it had water running from a spring that had been developed with a pipe coming out of the side of a sand bank with a small stream of water running out of the pipe.  The spring provided water for all of our camping needs.  We had a nice sandy area to set up our camp.  Remembering my mother’s guidance - since it was fresh on my mind - after dinner I went with my toothbrush to the spring and brushed my teeth.  Several of the scouts did the same – I figured their mothers had given them the same instructions.  A few days later all of the boys were sitting around the camp and one of the leaders asked if anyone knew about a toothbrush that was stuck in the sand down by the spring.   I knew that the toothbrush wasn’t mine because mine was safe in my bag.  The question was a good reminder though that I probably should brush my teeth again – Mom’s instructions had faded a little with the passing of time.  I was troubled because I couldn’t find my toothbrush when I went to get it. Could it have fallen from my hand without me knowing it and now be down by the spring?  Sure enough when I went to the spring and looked at the toothbrush that was stuck in the sand it looked awfully familiar.  Unfortunately it didn’t look like anything I wanted to put in my mouth so it remained unclaimed stuck in the sand – as far as I know it could still be there.  It was a long week without clean teeth and every visit to the spring for a drink of water seeing that toothbrush there was tough.  But that’s what scouting is all about to make men out of boys.

Years later as an adult scout leader I had a similar experience.  We took a group of scouts to Bear Lake for a week long scout camp.  A day or two into the camp I noticed a pair of boys underware lying on the ground in the shower. They didn’t look to good and I had a pretty good idea who might be the owner of the briefs.  Later in the day while we were sitting around camp I inquired if anyone had misplaced a pair of underware.  No one stepped forward and they went unclaimed.  Looking back on these two experiences I think that it is better to lose your toothbrush rather than your under pants.