>I am a fan of things that are old, but just as much a fan of new. I like to see an axe that has been handed down through the ages, always sharp, always shiny, always having a great sheath to cover it. The smell of the leather, the shine of the axe head, the smoothness of the handle. Ahhh….

I also like some of the new things that the BSA has to offer…one in particular, the 100th Anniversary Stainless Steel Mug. I saw one at the scout shop and decided to part with my $10 and change, to get one. I was on my way to camp and I liked the fact that it has a carabiner for a handle…makes it handy to hang from your pack or belt loop.

I made my purchase and there it sat until the weekend before camp…I didn’t have the time to use it…work was really hectic, and it just slipped my mind. I brewed a pot of coffee, and poured some coffee into my new purchase…[note to readers, stainless steel conducts heat very well]. As I enjoyed my coffee, I got to thinking about scouting traditions. Look at all the things that have happened in the last 100 years. Two World Wars, a Great Depression, the brink of Nuclear Holocaust, the fall of Communism, and 9/11 are a few things that come to mind.

The Scouts have been there through it all, and in most cases, lending a helping hand…

That is one tradition that will never go away, and I am sure that will be here for another 100 years.

I hope that my shiny cup goes into storage for a while and gets shuffled around until 2110, when the BSA celebrates 200 years. I hope that someone pulls out that cup and makes a note of the logo and sees the same in it that I do…

But for now, my cup has a different purpose…

As my wife would say, “That has to be the most expensive cup that I have ever seen a 3 year old have…”