Super Bowl blunder

One of my many hats is that of scoutmaster for Cub Scout Pack 210 in St. Petersburg. I teach the boys how to tie knots, build fires, track wild animals etc.

Occasionally, the dads and I get together and take the boys on a "family camp" since the outings are not sanctioned by the Boy Scouts of America. I plan these forays into the wilderness months in advance, since group campsites are often hard to secure.

Our next outing is planned for Sunday Feb. 3, which also happens to be the day of the biggest sporting event of the year, The Super Bowl. When I realized my error, I thought about canceling, but the lads were so looking forward to another night hike in search of the Swamp Ape.

What's a guy to do? Stay home to watch one of the most historic games in decades and disappoint the lads? Or stay true to the ideals of the Scouts and keep my word?

Thanks to my friend, Campmeister Joe Springsteen, I can now do both. Springsteen is the pack's scrounger, sort of like James Garner in that classic World War II flick The Great Escape (remember Steve McQueen jumping his motorcycle over the barbed wire fence?)

Springsteen has secured a generator for a TV and fashioned a 16-foot antenna out of a paint roller handle and telescoping rod.  We normally don't take electrical items on our expeditions into the wilderness, but extreme times call for extreme measures.

I am not sure how this contraption will work, but Campmeister Joe gets an A for effort. I'll take photos and report back soon. Don't worry. We'll save a seat for Swamp Ape.