| Observances
Bob
I'm glad to see you back and swinging. Keep your guard up.
Second is the observed part.
I belong to a very old fraternity. It too suffered from being very conservative to a degree. We missed young men joining our ranks, mostly from the Vietnam WAR and not wanting to be part of any organizarion. We lost two or three generations of men due to this. However in the last few years, our membership being the average age of 65 or better realised that change was necessary to survive. Even more it was realised that when the fraternity was strong the men of the present was running it.
We had a few younger men knock on our door each year. Then came the first Desert Storm and the desire for the young men to be a member of an old organization, something bigger than they were. Then the second Desert Storm and more from the first war started showing up in even heaver numbers. Those of us older members realised as stated before that when the organization was flourshing the men of the time were running it. The elders gave advice in sticky situations. A couple of chrasmatic men joined and the flood gates opened. We went from 3 to 5 new members a year to 12 to 15 men wanting to join a year. We, the older ones realising the above situations and stepped back. It is once again a meeting place of popularity. The old rules are still in place and are followed to the SPIRIT, but we have come to realise that the old rules are vague enough to allow vitality and growth. The new guard is in their thirtys, the rest of us are in our late fifties AND MUCH OLDER and are feeling younger and revitalized by the mew bloods enthausim (yea I know its mispelled) but the change,... I have been moved.
I am new to the organizaton. I have had my Airstream only a couple of years. But I realise that Wally was about camping and organization. You needed the organization to accomplish the wonderful things (caravans etc) not I think the organization for the organizations sake.
Once upon a time a man had a job from his twentys to retirement. Those days are gone, so are a lot of things, however, the WBCCI can flourish again with the needs of the younger couples in mind.
I look forward with great anticipation going to the Wilder West Caravan, I just hope it is still offered when I retire, and other things, seeing this country as part of a caravan or not. The WBCCI has wonderful things to offer, they just need not to get caught so much in the nit picking details and remeber the root pholosiphy (yea I blew that one too).
By the way, the time is way off as I am in Mountain Standard Time instead of Eastern Standard Time as usual (8:40 PM)
My two cents worth'
Still a
Beginner
|