Really? Do we need scout pants?

Have you ever priced out a pair of scout pants? Oh golly! That was the dilemma set before us. I had received the "list" of required items for Rayce's leadership camp.
Sleeping bag, flashlight, bug spray, all your typical items and then... Scout shirt (2 recommended), Scout socks (4 pairs recommended) , blah blah.. Scout Pants (2 pairs long, 1 short recommended). Come on... Add that up people.. We have one of everything except those darn pants. There is no way we can outfit him like he's on the cover of Boys Life Magazine. But, on the other hand? I want him to "Be Prepared". So I got to digesting the word "recommended" hmmmm. Highly recommended? Partially recommended? Bring them or else recommended? As I read and reread the list I noticed the * noted by the uniform list. Ah, they are going to define it for me! Phewey! I scan the papers for the * and here is what it said: (My thoughts are in italics.) *It is recommended-ok good. recommended not required-that all the boys wear an official scout uniform while participating in this camp. It has been our experience that the boys that do not have all the pieces of the uniform feel under dressed and embarrassed when everyone else is in full uniform.- 2 things here; One: it sounds like, in their experience, that there are indeed boys who do not have the official pants. Therefore, Rayce may not be the only one without scout pants thus eliminating his presumed embarrassment. Two; They don't know my boy. He would be fine with everything but the pants.- Ok, that settles it. I don't need to worry about the pants. With this comfort I put all the worries behind me and off to Disneyland we go.
We would return from Disney on Friday and Rayce would leave for leadership camp the following Monday. Friday afternoon I start getting haunted by these dang scout pants again. Maybe Rayce would be embarrassed? Maybe he would feel under dressed? Maybe all of the other reindeer would laugh and call him names? Oh, why didn't I fully resolve this issue before we left. Now, it's Saturday, oh the agony. So much to do and so little time. Off we go to D.I. If we can't find them there, then he'll have to deal with the consequences. We scour the racks. No scout pants. I'm ready to give up. The anxiety is weighing heavy on me. Then I see it. That green that can be no other than.... dang not official shorts. But they would work.. better than nothing!
To wrap up a long story... In the end.. Recommended meant Required. When we arrived to pick him up on Saturday, he informed me that he couldn't wait to get out of those shorts. He wore them for 6 days straight. And the scout socks, well that's gonna have to be another post.
Go ahead. Click on the picture. Not only will you get a close up of those lovely green shorts.. if you look really close you will see Porter, Ryann and someone with a hood and a purse.. yep you guessed it.. David.