After jamboree, Connecticut Scouter returned to his car to find this…

jamboree-garys-windowConnecticut Scouter Gary had just finished a “wonderful week serving on the national jamboree staff” when he returned to the mall parking lot where his car had lived for the past two weeks.

But when he spotted his car, his heart sank.

Here’s how Gary described what happened in an email sent over the weekend:

The bus had dropped me off at Crossroads Mall, a short walk to my car. As I got closer to my automobile, I noticed that a plastic garbage bag was duct taped to my passenger side front window. A depressed feeling came over me.

Had someone smashed my window, and will I need to call the police? I decided to unlock my car, sit down and gather my thoughts.

Then I saw this message written on a piece of cardboard from a box lid on my passenger seat: “You left the window open so we tried to help. BSA was here.”

As I looked around, everything in my car was accounted for. And they had prevented any wet weather from entering.

This is why I have been part of this organization for 45 years. Thank you to those Scouts or Scouters who were thinking of their fellow man.

These types of stories of selfless Scouting service never cease to inspire me. It’s impossible to predict whether someone would’ve tried to steal from Gary’s car with its window open, but I can assure you the rain we got during the jamboree would’ve seriously damaged his vehicle.

And you’ll notice that the good Samaritans who protected Gary’s car from theft and the elements did so anonymously. They didn’t leave their name, simply writing “BSA was here.”

Those three words say it all, don’t they?


Photo: Some rights reserved by dno1967b (Note: The parking lot photo isn’t of Crossroads Mall and is for illustration purposes only.)


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.