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Memoirs of a Sea Scout: The Story So Far

We've published 11 entries so far from the journal of a sea scout that ran away from a camp. Before we proceed further with this series, let's recap the events that have transpired so far.

In Introduction, we were thrown straight into the life of a scout that was running away from a camp. An enthusiastic scout that loved camping. He loved camping so much, he even packed his bags one week before the camp. The very same scout that decided to jump into a chasm instead of facing his pursuers.

In Entry 001, we followed the scout take his first few steps in Penang Free School (PFS). We also learn why he joined 8th Georgetown (South) and how he managed to persuade his friends to tag along. In Entry 002, we learn about his experiences being in the troop for one week and how he prepared for the first camp of the year at our second home, Pantai Kerachut. The journey to Pantai Kerachut was also chronicled in this entry.

In Entry 003, they reached Pantai Kerachut to be greeted by two ex-scouts he called "Double-A batteries". Who are these ex-scouts whose names start with the letter A - one being tall and another being short? They are supposedly legendary sea scouts who like to boast about their achievements and are also known to give some serious lecturing. This conclusion comes from the very thought that taking only 20 minutes to reach Pantai Kerachut is a total exaggeration but seasoned scouts will tell you that 20 minutes is not impossible at all.

In Entry 004, we discover that our scout is in some serious trouble for having dozed off on the job. He experienced his first taste of the EXCO Kopitiam. The two excos that operated the coffee session were who he called A&W - one being tall, fair and skinny while the other was fat and lawak. Apparently, former ATL Phuah Wen Hoong knows W very well, as we can see from the comments in that particular entry. So who are they, this A&W?

Entry 005 gives us a taste of a Court of Honour (COH) in progress and the revelation that the scouting movement was facing problems and some brainstorming was done to alleviate the situation. In this entry, we also get the first indication that his passion for sea scouting was fading. The scout seemed to have some suggestions but was not sure if the excos would be open to suggestions from a newbie scout. In Entry 006, we discovered that excos are not the man-eating monsters we perceive them to be and they are more than willing to hear you out. Moral of the story? Talk to your leaders. They are human too.

Entry 007 revealed to us some hard decisions our scout had to make - to choose between his long-time friends or his new found passion in scouting. In Entry 008, we discover that he chose to stay with the troop and the reasons behind his decision to remain a sea scout.

We learn from Entry 009 that it was gathering season. The scout related about an embarrassing incident during a past gathering involving some of the troop's leaders and how the passing down of experiences from former scouts are helpful in guiding the present scouts. Of course, we know this is no longer happening.

In Entry 010, we learn a bit more about some important ceremonies in the troop such as Troop Takeover (TTO) and the Annual General Meeting (AGM). These two events determine the succession in the troop and is pivotal for the continued existence of the troop.

In the latest entry, we discovered that the scout was preparing to attend a surprise camp and he was among the few selected. The camp he mentioned was Leadership Training Camp (LTC), a camp that was announced at the very last minute to be held just before TTO. Will this be the camp that he eventually runs away from?

It would seem unlikely. In Introduction, the scout named the camp he was running away from and he mentioned it a few times. The camp he pointed to was the Annual Training Camp (ATC) or Annual Torture Camp, a name he coined while running away. Another indication that LTC would not be the camp he runs away from is that it was announced at the very last minute, thus not giving him enough time to pack his bags one week before the camp. So it seems our scout is still in high spirits after LTC since he was so looking forward to ATC.

So the question remains as to why would such a passionate scout make a 180 degrees transformation and decide to run away from something he loved so much? Will ATC be the camp he runs away from or did he make a wrong reference to the name of the camp? Are we going to hear more about his friends who abandoned him and the troop? What is the significance of the new word he learned on his very first day at PFS? Is this purely a work of fiction or did all of this actually happen? Are the "Double A batteries" and A&W characters real? Who are they exactly? Is there really a journal containing all these entries? What does this scout have in store for us in future entries?

I guess the most important question that's keeping us at the edge of our seats is if the scout is still alive after jumping into the chasm. I guess we'll just have to wait and continue reading to find out.

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