Christine Goodwin

Be prepared!  That’s the Girl Scout Motto that I learned as a Brownie and later as a Girl Scout.  Raised in 1950s suburbia, I loved being part of a Girl Scout Troop along with my school friends.  We’d meet in the basement of the Scout leader, a stay-at-home mom, as were most women in those days.  We worked together on practical projects like sewing and cooking, earning badges for accomplishments in things like babysitting, ice skating, knitting.

During the summer I attended a local Girl Scout day camp, and along the way acquired a Girl Scout knife, with its many useful tools.  We made braided lanyards to attach to the knife for easier identification.   At camp we learned useful lessons, like how to make a campfire, how to identify poison ivy, how to find green sticks on which to roast marshmallows, and how to sharpen and strip the bark off the sticks with the blade of your Girl Scout knife.  We were introduced to S’mores, campfire stew, overnight camping in the woods, and participated in the time-honored snipe hunt.

I’ve kept that Girl Scout knife all these years.  It went to college with me and has accompanied me in my many moves.

Although I don’t have much use for the Girl Scout knife and its tools nowadays, recently I opened a can of tuna with my manual can opener, and the top was not cut all the way around.  Two spots of the top were still connected.  What to do?  Then I remembered my knife and its handy can opener and voila!  I’ve continued to have the problem with other tuna cans (maybe my can opener needs replacement?).  But not to worry…I am prepared with my still useful knife.  A good lesson to remember: Be prepared!