I remember a young Boy Scout at this first campout. He kept trying to light a cooking fire with dry leaves. A good flame would be accomplished, but then it would soon flare out. He tried and tried, but the results were always the same. He was quickly becoming a frustrated boy.
A grizzled old Scoutmaster walked by and enquired about the boy's progress. "I'll get it, Sir." the scout said.
"Good, good," the wise one replied. "Why don't you come over to my campfire. I've cooked too many beans, this evening, and don't want to waste them. Think you could help me out?"
The old fellow was a magician. He had a pot of beans over a cook fire in the ground with a wind tunnel dug at just the right angle to the prevailing wind to provide an oxygen source for the underground fire. He demonstrated the use of tinder, smaller branches, and finally larger ones to create a strong fire for coals. He shared a plate of beans and Dutch Oven cornbread; and he talked of battles in far off places while they ate. Perhaps it was the company, or maybe something about cornbread and beans cooked over an open fire, but it was a gourmet meal to that hungry lad.
The scoutmaster planted a seed and watered it well. A little checking and encouragement along the way created a confident young cook.
Planting seeds is an important part of what we should be doing.
I appreciate the old Scouter's generosity.