It was, of course, my wife’s fault

Priscilla has a camp bag. The bag contains: a set of single bed sheets; a pillow and pillow case; and, a lightweight quilted single bed coverlet. Priscilla augments the camp bag, depending on season and inclement weather.

She developed the camp bag about 25 years ago, when she first became a fulltime, professional Girl Scout. Some work required overnight stays at camps, or even stays of several days. Priscilla knew from experience about limited amenities at Girl Scout camps -- a bed and mattress under a roof and between walls, or, a bed and mattress inside a large tent.

Sometime last fall, Priscilla’s previous boss scheduled a senior staff retreat at a camp in western Arkansas for a few days in December. By the time the retreat days rolled around, that boss had retired and a new boss had been hired.

Priscilla and the new boss decided to travel in Priscilla’s car, since Priscilla knew how to get to the camp, two hours away. Priscilla and her new boss packed their things in the car, and they left the main office in North Little Rock.

About an hour into the trip, the new boss looked into the back seat and said, in a surprised voice, “Is that a pillow sticking out of that bag?”

Priscilla said it was, indeed, a pillow. She explained her camp bag and the contents. The new boss said, “Why, I don’t have any of that! You mean we won’t have sheets and blankets at camp?”

Priscilla said, no, and she explained amenities were limited to a bed and a mattress under a roof, and etc.

The new boss again expressed surprise that camp would not have a made up bed with sheets and pillow and blankets. Since she had nada, zilch, nothing in the line of camp necessities, she had Priscilla stop at a WalMart on the way, where she bought enough for the retreat.

Not long after the retreat, Priscilla learned from another senior staff member that the new boss said “It was Priscilla’s fault” that she, the boss, was not aware of camp limitations.

I figure this: If you are CEO of a Girl Scout council, you should know what your camps have. And, there are these words: “Do I need to bring anything?”

Priscilla doesn’t have to worry about any of that, since the new boss decided Priscilla and two other senior vice presidents were no longer needed, and she had friends who would take those places.