In our weekly family home evening yesterday, I did something that I think the family will have to get used to–I spent a few minutes demonstrating Scout stuff so I could check it off.
First I explained why we use the buddy system (requirement #9), then I showed how to tie a double half hitch and a taut line hitch. I used a cheap little nylon rope that came with some camping stuff and which I’d never used.
As I tied my knots, I told the kids that when we went to Lake Powell with their grandparents last week, I tried to help anchor the boat by tying a couple of ropes together with a square knot. I did this twice, and one of them came out as soon as it was pulled. I thought I’d gotten it right, but maybe the ropes were just too big for that to work. I was a little discouraged by that, but then on Saturday this knot practice really paid off.
We went out to eat with our kids and they were each offered a balloon. They’re too small to handle balloons reliably on their own without losing them and crying as the colorful toys float away, so I usually just tie the string around their wrists loosely, but in a simple knot that can’t be undone. This time, for the first time, I was able to do better. I tied the strings with a taut line hitch, and slipped the loops over their wrists. They could adjust them, and take them on and off when needed (like in the van), but they stayed on with no problem when we wanted them to.
As I told my kids about the practical value of knot tying and showed the family what I’d learned, my wife smiled at me. But then I had to untie my practice rope from the leg of her piano.
Gently Hew Stone 