Midnight Rambling

     "Popcorn! Popcorn!" shouted two boys standing outside a church in Ohio. Bags of popcorn balanced on their heads, competing with a breeze. The popcorn was being sold to fund their Boy Scout troop.
     Watching them evoked a memory.
     I joined the Scouts at the age of eleven. It was awkward being the youngest boy in the troop. None of the kids were from my school grade level.
     My first outing was a weekend trip to New Hampshire. The troop visited a camp near Mount Monadnock.
     Upon arrival we disembarked from a bus. Nearby, another troop of scouts watched us. Some of them hassled us with snide remarks.
     Later a prank was hatched. Some of our boys conspired to sneak up and cause mayhem to that other troop. Our chaperones and senior patrol leaders were unaware of the plan.
     One of the ringleaders asked for a volunteer to stay awake until midnight, then wake the conspirators up.
     I took on the job of clock boy. For a couple of hours I lay in a sleeping bag, fighting off sleep as other boys snoozed.
     The winching hour arrived. I woke up the boys. We slipped out into the night. Flashlights led us down a road.
     Nearing the target, we turned off the lights. We crept forward on our and hands and knees. Some  boys held knives with their mouths. Back then, the television show 'Combat' was popular. The boys were mimicking actor Vic Morrow.
     We came upon a collection of canvas tents--the kind that shelter at least four people. Rope guy-lines extended all over the place.
     Blades sliced through rope. Tents collapsed. Angry voices were heard from within them.
     We hustled off.
     Needless to say, the other troop was outraged. During the next morning, their adult chaperones confronted our chaperones.
     "It's horse sh--!" one of them repeated to our leaders. He was referring to our midnight raid.
     Bad vibes were boiling over. The men from both troops devised a solution to restore harmony to the campground.
     That solution was a wrestling match. Both troops chose a single boy--a big kid--to represent them.
     The two boys went at each other. As they rolled around the dirt, all of us other boys cheered them on. After a spell the men put a stop to it.
     From that moment on, both troops got along with each other.
     I was no longer a newbie trying to fit in. The clock boy had earned some acceptance.