My countless fans know that your humble scribe can be un-humble at times, maybe even a tad competitive, if the cause is right. Same as everyone! Does everyone voluntarily back down, when stakes are low and friendly? You bet. We're ordinary, you and I.

Here is one fun instance from two short years ago, where backing down can win after all. I was helping out at a week-long Scout camp not too far from here. Lots of kids, lots of fun, etc. etc., not unusual in Scouting.

One of the side activities was a silent auction for Scouting-related paraphernalia. Anyone at camp may make a bid - kids or adults. It can be unfair in the sense that real money is being bid, and few kids can match the Financial wherewithal of a grown-up. But the bidding is not super serious and the amounts rarely get high. Crests are one kind of knickknack that Scouts like to trade / collect, and one part of one set hit my eye in this fine day in 2018 July.

The bidding for this package of crests started at $10 and passed $60 before too long. There might have been some inter-subcamp rivalry in there too, as a few of us bid repeatedly. Time was running out, and as a generous de-escalation, I let the Other subcamp folks win the thing.

I wandered back the final morning. As luck would have it, I ran into the winners. This handsome couple had a real Thing going for wolves, which is not unusual in Scouting. They took a real shining to the yellow/black wolf silhouette crests in the collection, which was why they kept bidding. As for me, I was only after one of the smaller bits. When I told them this, they immediately gave it to me and posed for a photo.

What a pair of nice folks, which is not unusual in Scouting! We all came away happy.