Ustensiles that last forever
My first tour in uniform happened when I was still quite young, able to show my age using the digits of my fingers. The polite ones of course. I had done like so many others before me enrolled in the local scout movement. Without really understanding the implications. The idea of clothing with insignia and badges and the ability to progress through my merit seemed very alluring. I was able to count my age using my fingers an I had little understanding of what was really involved here. This was the gateway drug to the military hand signs and special language. Our town was large enough to have a specialty store just for things that a Boy Scout might need. Better caps and better jerseys and camping gear. Owning my own cutlery which had been stamped out of metal and nested together seemed like a real treasure. And realistically that knife and fork and spoon were designed to last forever. As long as you didn’t lose them in the woods. I imagine that if you searched around the homes of my friends you would still find a last spoon, or fork. Depending on the meal. What we learned was that you did not need silver to eat called slap. In fact as long as it resembled a sandwich. I do not believe that my own children ever had such treasures in their kit but anything is possible. We do not learn all life skills from our care parents. I think that the little scouting store is gone although I do not know what took its place. Perhaps the decline in enrolment in the movement was enough to make people look for better quality tools. Contrary to popular belief you need more than a pocket knife to get through life. Also you do not measure a man by the quality of his tools. We just did not know any better. I keep wondering what I would buy now. Something involving rare metals probably. Plastic is not good for the environment. But in retrospect we learned the camping did not require a whole knapsack full of gear. We were not actually out there long enough and most camping was done in some kind of large military surplus canvas structure. Leftovers from bygone war. I think as for my uniform I would love to believe that it is folded away carefully in a drawer but that would too much to hope for.
