Alcohol

Fiorella's mother grew up in a house that was dominated by her father's alcoholism so Fiorella grew up in a house that was alcohol-free.

But she was fascinated by the concept of drinking.  Not like the drinking her grandfather engaged in, but like the sophisticated people on television and in the movies who had a beer with friends or sipped a glass of wine before dinner or carried around a cocktail at a toney parties.

Fio had her chance when she was eighteen and departed stone-sober Waco for the more mellow halls of The University of Texas.  She drank on dates and at parties.  She even got drunk a few times.  But she never liked the taste.  Finally she quite trying.

Make Fio's water.

Sex and the Scouts

I was catching up on the latest news and thinking that when I was a Scoutmaster, we, the adult leaders, never discussed sex with each other, partially because we didn't want the boys to overhear us, but mainly because we considered tobacco, alcohol, and sex talk to be inappropriate to bring along on camp-outs.

I really do not think having a gay Scout in a troop will make a lot of difference. The rules would continue to be the same for all boys, most of whom would continue to follow the rules, and Scoutmasters will continue to preach one Boy Scout value loudly and sincerely: TOLERANCE.

And the whisper in the background will be: "No choice."