Of the many people who had a strong influence on my life, aside from my father, was Mr. Van, our scout master. A tough old mud Marine, who had very distinct ideas on many subjects, most of which he tried to pound into our young minds. He was a wealth of good information, and we kids absorbed it in like dry sponges. After all, he was the demi God of our troop. We looked up to him, and if he told us we were going on a hike to hell, we'd not ask any questions, but simply look for some asbestos underwear.
One day, at the regular meeting in the basement of the church, a new scout has a knife dangling from his belt on the official brass hanger. Mr. Van was going down the line inspecting our scout knives. Mr. Van was a stickler for all gear being spotless and ready for use, including our scout knives. Woe to the scout who had a knife that was not clean and sharp. He got to the newbie and went to open the knife. He had a bit of a hard time with it, and he felt the edge and handed it back to the scout, closed.
"Let me see you open that, son." he said.
The boy took it, and after a bit of a struggle, got it opened on the second try. He cracked his thumbnail doing it.
"The man at the store told me it would break in." the boy said a little sheepishly.
"Break in, huh!" said Mr. Van. He muttered something under his breath that we didn't quite make out, but it was clear he wasn't happy. He finished his inspection, and then stood in front of us with that strait backed parade ground stance.
"Alright!" he said, his voice echoing off the ceiling. "Listen up. There's things everyman should always have in his pockets. A knife, bandana or two, something to make a fire with, and maybe even a small flashlight. When you walk out your door in the morning, you can't predict what's going to happen before you get home that night. You may need a bandage, and a clean bandana will help, maybe even save a life. You may end up needing to make a fire, for some reason. Matches or a lighter is good. You may need a sharp knife. Some days you may not need a knife at all, but someday you may need it so bad, it just may save a life. Maybe even your own."
He paused, those light blue-gray eyes drilling into each of us in turn.
"If some day, you need that knife, it may be under less than ideal conditions. It may be under very bad conditions. You may be cold, or wet, or both. You may have just survived an accident of some sort, and be injured. The last thing you need then is to have to fight with your knife. The last thing you need in a time of crisis is to cut yourself trying to open a stiff hard sharp blade. Like this young man's knife! You don't need a spring to keep a knife open. The act of cutting takes care of that, if you use it right. All the spring has to do is keep the thing closed in your pocket. "
Mr. Van turned to the unlucky young scout.
"Where did you buy that knife, son?" he asked the scout.
"The sports store up by the grocery store, sir."
"Okay, scout, I'm going to pick you up in the morning bright and early, and we're taking the knife back to the store and get you one a little better. Okay scout?" he told the surprised boy.
"Yes sir!" replied the scout. "But I don't know if I have the receipt for it. He may not take it back."
"He'll take it, let me worry about that." Mr. Van said quietly.
And he did. Billy, the young scout, told us the next meeting how Mr. Van had the store owner lay out almost all the scout knives on the counter, and Billy tried them all, picking out the best, smoothest one. The store keeper made a token protest, but after getting the stare, he backed off. Mr. Van had that effect on people. We knew that stare well. The feeling of twin blue laser beams searing the very depths of the soul was not a pleasant thing.
Like most of Mr.Vans teachings, that stuck in my mind. To this day, I still try out a new knife, and ask myself if I could open this with cold or wet hands with no problem.
One day, at the regular meeting in the basement of the church, a new scout has a knife dangling from his belt on the official brass hanger. Mr. Van was going down the line inspecting our scout knives. Mr. Van was a stickler for all gear being spotless and ready for use, including our scout knives. Woe to the scout who had a knife that was not clean and sharp. He got to the newbie and went to open the knife. He had a bit of a hard time with it, and he felt the edge and handed it back to the scout, closed.
"Let me see you open that, son." he said.
The boy took it, and after a bit of a struggle, got it opened on the second try. He cracked his thumbnail doing it.
"The man at the store told me it would break in." the boy said a little sheepishly.
"Break in, huh!" said Mr. Van. He muttered something under his breath that we didn't quite make out, but it was clear he wasn't happy. He finished his inspection, and then stood in front of us with that strait backed parade ground stance.
"Alright!" he said, his voice echoing off the ceiling. "Listen up. There's things everyman should always have in his pockets. A knife, bandana or two, something to make a fire with, and maybe even a small flashlight. When you walk out your door in the morning, you can't predict what's going to happen before you get home that night. You may need a bandage, and a clean bandana will help, maybe even save a life. You may end up needing to make a fire, for some reason. Matches or a lighter is good. You may need a sharp knife. Some days you may not need a knife at all, but someday you may need it so bad, it just may save a life. Maybe even your own."
He paused, those light blue-gray eyes drilling into each of us in turn.
"If some day, you need that knife, it may be under less than ideal conditions. It may be under very bad conditions. You may be cold, or wet, or both. You may have just survived an accident of some sort, and be injured. The last thing you need then is to have to fight with your knife. The last thing you need in a time of crisis is to cut yourself trying to open a stiff hard sharp blade. Like this young man's knife! You don't need a spring to keep a knife open. The act of cutting takes care of that, if you use it right. All the spring has to do is keep the thing closed in your pocket. "
Mr. Van turned to the unlucky young scout.
"Where did you buy that knife, son?" he asked the scout.
"The sports store up by the grocery store, sir."
"Okay, scout, I'm going to pick you up in the morning bright and early, and we're taking the knife back to the store and get you one a little better. Okay scout?" he told the surprised boy.
"Yes sir!" replied the scout. "But I don't know if I have the receipt for it. He may not take it back."
"He'll take it, let me worry about that." Mr. Van said quietly.
And he did. Billy, the young scout, told us the next meeting how Mr. Van had the store owner lay out almost all the scout knives on the counter, and Billy tried them all, picking out the best, smoothest one. The store keeper made a token protest, but after getting the stare, he backed off. Mr. Van had that effect on people. We knew that stare well. The feeling of twin blue laser beams searing the very depths of the soul was not a pleasant thing.
Like most of Mr.Vans teachings, that stuck in my mind. To this day, I still try out a new knife, and ask myself if I could open this with cold or wet hands with no problem.
