Part of our charter in this new life we have as Scouts and Scouters forces
us to touch others.

Touch

Of all of the senses we have, touch is perhaps the second most important to
me. Sight beats it out slightly, only because there's so many things to see
and have my brain process. But touch is second-most.

I became aware of this sense as many of you probably have: from the touch of
our mother's fingers and hands against our bodies as we were first held. An
entire bevy of doctors and nurses and health-care professionals all state
that this touch -- the first touch between mother and child -- starts the
brain's connective tissues called "synaps" to form. It's like turning on a
personal computer and waiting for the bootup sequence...the connections
occur, and the small child's brain starts recording. We start remembering.
And thinking.

When we were little children, certain touches repelled us or attracted us.
Remember the first time you felt water? Remember the first time you felt
HOT water?? Even today, how do we "measure" the temperture of water coming
from a faucet?? Not with our eyes, or with our nose. It's with our
fingers...and our fingertips in particular.

The same held true when we held things which burned our fingers. In my
case, it was the end of the cigarette lighter. I wanted to find out how
that red thing felt so I stuck my finger to touch that red thing inside the
cigarette lighter. Not only did I learn that it's VERY hot...but I also
learned that it could heat paper, which is one reason why you will NEVER
find a cigarette lighter in any car I drive. I take them out and replace
them with plastic plugs.

As we grew, there were some touches which we appreciated. The touch of a
round stone. A soft spring leaf. A smooth surface. The grip on a ball bat.
The handle separating it from the rest of the coffee or soup mug. There
were other touches which we did not appreciate. The rough hands of someone
about to punish or attack us. The roughness of an unsanded board. The
coldness of a pipe.

In middle school, I learned two very important lessons about touch: it can
assist one in determining the heart rate of a person and pressed down
between artery and bone, it can stop blood flow to parts of the body. Those
two things form some of the basics of self-care and later first aid.

Watching "Kung-Fu" and "Star Trek" gave me an appreciation for the mighty
finger jab, which could knock a person right out and the Vulcan Mind Meld.

In eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, where I was blessed to have worked for
the BSA in, I attended a lot of churches whereby people -- no more different
than you or me -- laid their hands on someone who was ill, or someone
needing change in their lives...and it happened. They felt better, they
felt the need to change their lives. I won't say cured, because some people
may not feel that a simple touch, blessed by their Creator, could make a ill
person well. But I will say that many hospitals use what they call
"holistic touching" as part of their regimen toward curing cancers and other
diseases...and for some reason, it works. Faith and that touch.

As I grew older, I was introduced to another touch. That's the emotional
touch, frequently realized when something moved you unexpectatly to tears.
Or anger. The punchline which made you laugh uncontrollably. Or any other
set of emotions in between.

"That really touched me!" Nothing really physically touched you...but the
emotions which came from watching something, or hearing something, or
walking through something -- your experiences all gang up on you, and you
feel "touched". The show "Touched by an Angel" is more about this form of
emotional touching than it is a physical laying on the hands by Tess or the
other angels.

Synaps. Working. Connecting.

Part of our charter in this new life we have as Scouts and Scouters forces
us to touch others. That one smile may have brightened up the day for a
mother and family. Those one sets of hands, assisting someone with their
work and taking it to their vehicle; or holding their things while they go
through their pockets or a purse to fish out the keys to the door. The
watchful eyes, looking after their children while they take a pause to the
ladies or men's room. The voice, which yells "Taxi!" for a woman who could
not call for one; or which calms down a group of people engaged in a
conversation which has gotten out of hand.

It takes a lot of bravery to touch someone, especially when they don't want
to be touched. But that's our lot in life...to be of use to others. Part
of the Order of the Arrow's Obligation sums it up: "...even in the midst of
toiling tasks and weighly responsibilities, to be unselfish in the welfare
and devotion to others..."

We know how to touch and we know enough not to be burned nor to do things
which are harmful to ourselves or others. But somewhere a lot of us forget
about the power of our fingers and hearts.

Scouts and Scouters -- those of us who try our best to live up to those few
words in the promise and laws we speak and repeat -- we know.