Who is the “Pup Tent Papa” and Why This Blog?

A young man sits in my class trading off dozing with disturbing those around him. He often starts each day, before the official first bell, dragging in just before the ringing and slouching in his desk, finishing his breakfast and poking fun at the surrounding students. The intercom interjects, “Please stand for the pledges!” He continues eating or pestering and I remind him what we are doing. He slowly rises with a smirk, half-heartedly slips his hand somewhere just below his actual heart, and says nothing while the majority of the classroom honors “Old Glory.” Later, as I walk the students through a lesson on reading fiction, the young man shrieks, jumps out of his seat, and runs to the back of the room. I whirl around to regain the class’s attention and I spot the reason for his disturbance: a cricket hopped under his desk. I couldn’t help but shake my head, I had baited thousands of hoppers like it on hooks since I was six. Bluegill fishing in Tennessee demanded boys and girls catch crickets or dig worms, and here I faced a young man (who has no qualms with chiding others on their shortcomings) that fled it like a grizzly. Then, like something you’d read in a children’s book, a sweet and quiet girl asked if she could catch it and take it outside. I nodded my approval. She pushed up her glasses, walked around the desk, and reached down to capture the “monster.” She cupped her hands and headed out my door to release it. The young man sighed his relief, he was saved, and if it were up to me, I would’ve revoked his “pre-man card” immediately. It is for those two scenes that I’ve started this blogsite. Kids can take all manner of selfies and manipulate virtual images, but they can’t bait a hook, set up a tent, or cook a fish over a campfire. College students skip classes for “Grand Theft Auto,” but can’t change a real tire. Time honored traditions and faith seem to be bane of existence and the butt of jokes. And an understanding of what it means to be men, women, boys, and girls has become maddeningly convoluted. So this blog is basically my musings and wisdom I’ve learned from time in the outdoors and from my great teachers. I’m by nature a teacher, storyteller, and “bard of traditional living” so I can’t help but look at life and try to extract some wisdom for navigating it. Much of this blog will be stories and articles about life in the woods and on the water and memories of those who have gone before us, who lived when life wasn’t so “automatic.” It may offend, sound backwards, or even border on Neanderthal, but it’s not malicious. If anything, it’s because I’ve seen great men and women and what passes as that today is far from the adjective. So read, enjoy, think, and share—then get off the computer, get outside, or spend some time at grandma’s talking. Who knows, you just might not only learn something, you might like it. -Scott (Papa Gill)