Really, I do not want to be responsible for sending Annie over the edge. The old book from which the snippet was taken is the 23rd edition (January, 1921) of the Boy Scout Handbook. Ironically, even though I said that it was priceless to me, you can see that the price was 50 cents at the time of publication. A very large portion of this edition was devoted to recognizing wild plants and animals. One of the merit badges it lists is blacksmithing.I got this book from my grandfather, who to my knowledge was never a Boy Scout, and appreciate it because I was a Scout until the age of eighteen. Alas, I only made it to the rank of Life Scout, just short of Eagle. But to tell you the truth, making the rank of Eagle Scout practically requires ignoring the troop and pursuing your own project single-mindedly. So I don't mind. I learned more about being a man from Scouting than from any other institution.
1 comment:
Well, dang. I'm not that old. I've never in my life seen that book before...and yet it seemed so familiar!
Ok, next time I am not going to get snookered into guessing. I am just gonna wait and see what everyone else guesses. I'll play it cool, that's what I will do.
annie,
(who can sleep peacefully tonight, knowing that the great mystery has been solved!)
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