Even though i hated my time "in the cut" now i can see where it created adversity so that the pledges would be forced to bond together (or the line would break up). It was a time of "testing" so that you knew that your line brothers/sisters would "bump" for you in a time of need and it taught the individual line members to carry their share of the task. Even though your heartwarming gifts ( paddles with turtles on them..lol) sounds "hunky dori" i am secure with the knowledge that my "sands" with be there for me in the most dire time of need (Because we were tested with adversity when online (taking wood was just one of the obstacles)). Every rite of passage has ( or should have) some type of "stress" test, to see how strong the bond is. Marriages/relationships have stress tests. Families have stress tests. Lifelong Fraternal organizations should have stress test also. If someone is to be my lifelong Fraternal brother then i need to know that that person can handle extreme pressures and adverse conditions (wood is just one of the techniques). I personally dont want fair weathered (or untested) friends sharing a Fraternal bond with me.
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