November 23, 2008 Kuceras’ Land

PETER HERE: There is a story I heard about a great tribe who lived peacefully, had all the food they needed, all their needs were met.

One day, the leader of this great tribe was sitting by the fire with some of the Scouts in the tribe watching the lake when they all began to notice that one of the children of the tribe – Pine Cone — was having trouble with the canoe. It was too big for him, he couldn’t control it very well, he didn’t know how to use the paddle – and as the wind began to pick up, Pine Cone struggled to get the canoe to the shore but for every forward stroke the canoe went backward two. There was a storm coming, the clouds
were big and dark in the sky and you could see that Pine Cone was getting tired and his canoe was blowing farther and farther out. The fear was that he would go so far, he would not be able to come back.

The leader of this great tribe said: “You know, I think our elders need new moccasins. The moccasins they have will not keep their feet warm in the snow. Today we must begin making new ones and line them with Rabbit and then our elders’ feet will be warm and toasty this winter!”

Far, far out on the lake, Pine Cone, exhausted, had stopped paddling altogether and the wind was so strong it blew the canoe over and Pine Cone was dumped into the water. Help! He screamed but went under the water. The scouts erupted, ran down to the shore. the strongest jumped into their canoes and paddled out to him, “I knew that was going to happen”, they said.

They got to Pine Cone and were able to pull him out of the water, but he had a ten day fever after that and for the rest of life had no hearing in one ear.

Another time, the scouts were sitting with the leader and they watched Little Acorn — who was 6 years old — climbing up into a white pine tree and climbed high to the very top — he was a fearless climber. And the scouts watching him knew that from the top he would be able to see the whole lake and beyond the lake and also a spectacular sunset. The scouts also wondered why he stepped out on a branch away from the trunk. Didn’t he know?

“Little Acorn is high up there” they thought to themselves. “Are we concerned?” they wondered. “He’s going to fall.” They worried. And they looked to the leader. And the leader said “I found a huge new patch of dogbane beyond the maples. It is a little farther to go but it is worth it because there is so much of it and we will need strong cordage this winter.”

And while he was talking there was loud CRACK of a branch breaking and Little Acorn disappeared into the tree and there was the sound of him falling through the tree, hitting the branches and yelping and hitting the
ground and trying to get up but sitting back down again.

Little Acorn had broken his leg and hurt his back and for a very long time his back caused him a lot of pain and was never comfortable lying down again

The Scouts began to talk among themselves that the leader didn’t seem to be paying attention. The Scouts talking among themselves kept saying that the leader didn’t seem to notice. The Scouts talking among themselves kept grumbling that their leader could have done something – and didn’t!

The scouts confronted their leader one night and said “You have failed us as a leader”
“I have failed you?”
“Yes, you are not leading us and our people are getting hurt.”
“Who is getting hurt?” The leader asked?

One Scout stepped forward and said “While Pine Cone was on the lake you were talking about your moccasins!”
The leader asked “Well, what should I have done?”
The Scout said “you should have gone to the shore and said ‘that canoe is too big for you’ and gone out in the boat with him and showed him how to paddle and not go in circles by making a “J”. And how to use the wind. You could have called him in sooner, you should have seen that he was in trouble and got in your canoe before it was too late and guided him in. If you had he would not have gone out so far, he would not have tipped over, he would not have had the ten day fever and he would still have hearing in both ears.

Another Scout piped up “And what about Little Acorn? Up in the tree while you were talking about dogbane and cordage.”
“Well, what should I have done?” asked the leader?
The scout said “You should have told him to come down sooner. You should have said that the branches of the White Pine aren’t strong at all, they snap right off, and when you’re so high in a tree you have to stay close to the middle and always keep one hand on the trunk. If you had, he would not have fallen and he would be able to run and play capture the flag instead of sitting all the time in pain.”

And the leader stopped chewing on a black birch twig for a moment. And then finally said ”I have failed you as your leader. Here we are a great tribe. We’re at peace and the land provides all we need. And my great Scouts,who see everything, who sometimes even see what will
happen, saw what needed to be done, and did nothing. I cannot be the leader in every aspect at all times. When you see the path clearly, then you must lead.”

And this is the story I heard.

Dear Parents,

Our gratitude to the Kuceras for hosting this Track and Sign on their beautiful land. We enjoyed the south-facing woodland edge for our camp and the bounty of oak leaves for our shelters. Thank you!

We opened this day’s Track and Sign with a fire and a talking circle. It was a time for us to reconnect with the many events of our last gathering. Liam, with the assistance of Kole, produced the fire; Luka and Daniel tended. Joining our circle were David Kucera and Michael Gaston, each for 1/2 day; and Patrick Draper (University of the Wild), who was one of the instructors at this years AoM Teen Rendezvous. We missed David Soberman.

Our circle opened with a song and then a story. Talii led us in the Spirit Lifting Song. Twice we sang the four rounds. It was a good way to begin–opening our hearts, inviting unity and stimulating our breath. Peter told a story: one of a tribe, their chief and their scouts. The story described the scouts as deferring to the chief in times of urgency. It called upon us to examine the balance of our interior king/warrior archetypes. Its message is one of personal empowerment. It is an exciting moment when we create our stories (our culture), stories that meet us where we are and guide us with a prescient image. The people are stimulated to look at life a-new and are nourished by the content. Peter did a great job in both the creating and the telling.

Our circle was then opened to exploring the events of our last T&S gathering: our experiences, lessons, questions. The boys were able to revisit what they learned from their efforts to boil water, make cordage and carve the intricate and sensitive stick configuration that is the figure-4 deadfall. Before we broke the circle we concluded with another song that supports our unity: yo-y oh-way hah!

Peter, Bosch and Talli worked with the younger boys in creating an excellent debris shelter for one person. Each shelter is tailor-made for the individual as sizing is critical. If it is too roomy then air pockets form and it gets cold. A large quantity of leaves is necessary to contain our body heat and sufficiently insulate a shelter against the cold. Because it requires a great deal of effort to collect enough debris for the shelter to function well, it’s nice to learn with the help of others. The guys did a great job and made an excellent shelter that was also beautiful–appealing to that part of us that loves a good pile of leaves.

After the shelter was complete, each of the boys spent time within soaking up the dark, quiet and warmth.

The older boys were making another version of the debris shelter: this one for a group. If you are many and don’t mind close company, a common shelter is more efficient to make, and all benefit from the heat of others. The principles of construction are the same: an internal frame covered in leaves; the interior stuffed with leaves. The frame needs to be strong and capable to supporting much weight. The endeavor is a bit of an engineering project and calls on the boys to make real choices, along with a sustained effort to collect the large amount of leaves necessary.

It’s one thing to make a shelter and another to sleep the night in a shelter you have made. This experience sensitizes one to the finer points of construction and sharpens ones attention to detail. A seemingly minor choice can have significant consequences in the cold or rain. Unfortunately, the boys didn’t have the opportunity to have this learning experience. (It was very cold that night.) Perhaps the spring or summer will offer them the opportunity.

Before our day was complete we took some time for our ‘sit spot’. The sun was low along the horizon as the day was waning. It was a perfect time to rest and reflect on our intense activity and monumental constructions. Afterwards we circled up for our Story of the Day. This is a practice that we are still developing. At first the tendency was to recount all the activities and events of our day–and the boys have done so with great fun and creativity. This all-inclusive approach, however, lacks the distillation of experiences into practical, usable information. We get all the events, yet without the valuable lessons contained in the experience. So we asked the boys to consider what has come to pass this day and share the lessons of their experiences. After discussing for a while in their groups they offered what sounded like a lesson list: these are the experiences and these are the lessons. What was lost was the narrative we understand to be ‘story’. (The pendulum swings…) Hearing their insights and understandings we know that they are incorporating their experiences. For us the question is: how can we offer the image of ‘story’ so that they can share in a way so that others can hear?

Luka was just back from the College of the Atlantic where he had been jumping into the sea each and every morning. (This day he even spent some time relaxing in the Kucera’s pond–watching his toes through the ice!) We asked him to share this experience. Over the years, Luka has learned to listen, to track his life events, distill them, and eventually incorporate them as new understanding. As he told his story of waking each morning to plunge into the chilling Atlantic waters and of the shifts in his perceptions of ‘cold’, he gently wove into the fabric of his narrative deeper universal images. Rolando then told of his one-time experience of accompanying Luka into the ocean; again folding in shared perceptions that we often find in our daily lives–fear, trepidation, release, joy, new understanding.

These stories fed us. They are food for the people and we were nourished by their words.

Feeling full and fat, we released our fire and closed our camp. (Thank you David, Paula, Cameron and Lia!) The sun had set and the temperature was continuing to drop. Our families were waiting. It had been a rich day and we were good tired. –Charles

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