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Show and Tell

At one time or another most of us have uttered the phrase “been there, done that, got the t-shirt.”  The obligatory response to some event that we attended that we have obligated ourselves to halfheartedly.  And then there are those trinkets, a coaster, a ceramic cup, or an unusual item that needs context, that trigger a story.  What’s the difference and why does it matter?  Well, we will explain.  I’m Commander Randy and you’re listening to the Ranger podcast.

Chopsticks and Python Skins

I met Willard Benedict in eighth grade.  A pale, freckly kid that showed up at school one day with tales that seemed to be torn out of a fictional novel.  Willard was born and raised in Bangladesh.  I had no idea where that was, and half believed it was made up.  All those doubts we dispelled when it was “show and tell”.  Willard got up in front the class and began uncoiling two 20+ foot ling python skins that we caught, killed, and skinned in there home.  A shoebox with what looked like wound up pieces of fabric turned into stories of adventure the likes I had never heard.

A few years later my twin brother, Neil and I, found ourselves in font of the class in a similar experience.  As we passed out dozens of sets of chopsticks, we shared stories of races up and down the Great Wall, dinners with kettles full of whole octopus, and exploration of the forbidden city.

I don’t have any of those chopsticks anymore, but every time I am offered a set at an Asian restaurant a memory or two creeps in.

Royal Rangers gives to our boys, at a very young age, a sense that life should be more about having stories to then that things to show.

Align Your Calendar with Your Purpose

At OP169 we are clear on our purpose and work hard to craft a calendar that aligns with that.  Sometime it takes years for some adventure to come to fruition, but with a narrowed focus on the bullseye we usual hit our targets.

It doesn’t require a missions trip to Bangladesh and an encounter with a python to create and adventure rich life for your Rangers.  In the coming week we will travel 30miles to the green swamp for a DR,AR,ER father/son backpacking trip.

1^st Is Best

Royal Rangers gives dads and men an early and often 1^st time experience with adventure.  This is a golden opportunity to make and indelible, life long connection with boys and their dads that will never fade. But, there is a secret sauce, and it’s call scouting.  The great outdoors in the playground God has gifted up with and is the best, most affordable way to stack up adventure in life’s journals.

“Fill your life with adventures not things”

To reinvent Royal Rangers is to undermine its foundations.  When that happens we crumble to ruins.