Scouting it Out

Every now and then I have weird flashbacks to my childhood. Lately, I've had the Ma Ku Ay song going through my head.

I'm not sure if it was the twilight stroll through the MetroParks last week. Or what exactly started this particular soundtrack going through my brain. But once it did, I had to dig a little deeper.

Following in my sister Diane's footsteps, I signed up with the Girl Scouts. I only lasted about two years or so, but it was enough to learn some cool stuff. Like a traditional Maori stick game. Thanks to the Google, I discovered the GSA calls them lemme sticks, but what they actually are is Ti Rakau. (Lemme sticks are part of a gambling game.) Stick games were used as a way to train young men in spear fighting.

We just called them Ma Ku Ay sticks, after the song that's chanted as you tap the sticks on the ground, click them together, or toss them to a partner:

Ma ku ay ko e tay O way ko e ta no
Ma ku ay ko e tay O way ko e ta no

My dad fashioned our sticks from old ladder rungs.  Back in the day, you didn't just go out and buy stuff like that. You went to your folks, told them what you needed, and they hauled something out of the garage or the attic and made it work. (In those days, EVERYTHING was recyclable.)

Also part of the Girl Scout experience was the "sit-upon." My mom made one out of an old Charles' Chips can. The concept is pretty ingenious, actually. You put your stuff in the can and carried it around by the rope handle mom put in the sides. You could use your sit-upon to plant your butt in front of a campfire. If I'm remembering correctly, mom even spray painted the can so that only we knew it was the can that wasn't returned to Charles when he delivered his next round of chips. (Yes, back in the day, CC delivered snacks to your door. When you returned the can, you got a deposit back).

Sometimes I wish I'd stuck it out with the Girl Scouts a little longer. We didn't do enough camping or hiking to suit me. But I enjoyed what we did. (Except for the outhouse thing. I still remember trying to hold it in until morning because I didn't want to have to wake up my "buddy" to walk with me through the dark.)

Unfortunately, Mr. Ginley's idea of roughing it is basic cable at a Motel 6. So I probably won't be doing any camping anytime soon.

But maybe we can take another walk in the park. I can crunch some leaves. And sing the Ma Ku Ay song to myself as we stroll.