Volume 6 Issue 3
October 1999

 

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

 

Heritage Lost
Great Sauk Council

Narrator: Our American Heritage is filled with heroes.  Everyone here has heard of Paul Revere and the story of his heroic ride to warn the people Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts about the approach of the British army.  His famous ride took place during the revolutionary war, on April 18, 1775.  Paul was able to take his ride because he was signaled by a sentry, who watched for soldiers from the tower of the Old North Church in Boston.  Paul and his sentry worked out a simple set of signals: The sentry would light lanterns, one lantern if the soldiers were approaching by LAND and two lanterns if they were arriving by SEA.,  Paul, mounted on his horse would be watching for the signal, and ready to ride and warn the people of Lexington and Concord to be ready for the soldiers when they arrived.

Have you ever thought what a hard time Paul and his sentry would have had today?  Just think of all the ways those British soldiers could come!  Let's rewrite a little American history and you can help me and you'll see just how confusing it would be today.  I want you to stomp the floor with your feet when I say the following words:


Stomp once every time I say the word LAND
Stomp twice when I say SEA
Stomp three times for AIRPLANE
Stomp four times for TRAIN
Stomp five times for SUBMARINE
Stomp six times for ROCKET

Now we are ready to take another look at history!

In a steeple of the old North Church in Boston, a sentry looked out over the SEA.  His eyes strained as he looked across the land.  All was very still.  It was late at night.  Next to him was a lantern.  He took a sheet of paper that a Boston citizen had given him from his pocket.  It read a signal with your lantern when you see the British army approaching.  The signals are: 1 if by Land, 2 if by Sea, 3 if by Airplane, 4 if by Train, 5 if by Submarine, 6 if by Rocket. 


After reading it, the sentry began to put it in his pocket.  Just then a gust of wind blew the paper out of his hand.  Out across the Land and into the Sea it went.  The sentry thought, "I'm sure I can remember it".  Just then he saw a Submarine surface a short distance from the Land.  He grabbed his lantern to wave it 4 times.  "Oh No!" he thought.  "4 times for Rocket, or its it for Land?  No, it's 1 for Land, so it must be 2 for Submarine, no, 2 is for Airplane.  It must be 3.  As he started to raise his lantern, he remembered that 2 was for Sea, not airplane.  Oh dear, what is a Submarine?  Let's see, Submarine comes after TRAIN but what's ROCKET?  Oh, now I remember, ROCKET is 6 and TRAIN is 4 so SUBMARINE must by 5.


While the sentry was trying to remember his signals, the British SUBMARINE had loaded it passengers onto launches and hundreds of British soldiers were now on LAND.  "Oh my," though the sentry," they are not in a SUBMARINE anymore they are on LAND.  I'll have to signal that.  But he couldn't remember what the signal was for LAND.  He desperately tried to remember.  I remember ROCKET and TRAIN.  That leaves SEA, AIRPLANE and LAND.  Oh now which is it?  He sat there hopelessly confused.  He just couldn't remember any signals.  He couldn't unscramble ROCKET, AIRPLAINE, LAND, SUBMARINE, SEA and TRAIN.  The British marched onto Lexington and Concord and since all the people were sound asleep the soldiers had no trouble in capturing them.
The only person they met was a man sitting on a horse.  Who he was or why he was there, no one seemed to know.

Thanksgiving Sparkler
Heart of America Council

Personnel: Divide the audience into 4 groups.  Assign a part to each group and let them practice.  Narrator reads story, and groups respond to appropriate words.

Father: Stand up and say "When I was your age, son"


Car:
Stand up and say "Chuga, chuga, chuga


Farmer: Stand up and put hands in suspenders and say "Where's my horse?"


Turkey: Stand up and say "Gobble, gobble, gobble"

Once upon a time, just before Thanksgiving, a father, a mother, and a Cub Scout climbed into the family car and drove into the country.  They were looking for a farmer with a turkey.  They all got out of the car and the father purchased the turkey from the farmer.  "Now, if you will remove the turkey's head, we will get into the car and drive home, " said the father to the farmer.
As the father, the mother and the Cub Scout were riding home in the car an amazing thing happened!  The turkey although its head had been removed by the farmer began to speak!  "Please don't eat me for Thanksgiving," the turkey pleaded.  "I will make a fine pet for you."  He told the Cub Scout.  The father ___, the mother and the Cub Scout talked about this astounding request as they rode in the car.


And so it happened that the turkey joined the father , the mother and the Cub Scout in their Thanksgiving dinner of hamburgers and French fries.
The turkey became a very good pet as it did not chase cars , cats, or fire hydrants.  The father enrolled the turkey in college, as everyone knows, with a good education, it's much easier to get a head.




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