I am busily working on studying for my three exams this week, cleaning the house, and packing for Christmas break. I really shouldn’t be on the computer to do anything but study but I thought I’d brag about my “littlest” brother (who’s still taller than me).
A couple of years ago, my biggest little brother, Dale, received his Eagle Scout Award and now it’s Alex’s turn. I’m very proud of both of them. I got to go to Dale’s award ceremony but won’t be able to make it to Alex’s.
Mom sent a nice card to us in the mail that I thought looked very nice:
Great job Alex!
neumatikos 
Yay for eagle-scoutness!
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I asked Alex what kept him involved in Boy Scouts over the years; long enough to earn his Eagle Scout award. His answer was small, unsure and essentially the same as mine would have been at his age. The essence of his answer was “ It is fun and the people.”
While the answer is important it is the basis of the question that is the reason we are all here today; the length of time. It has been said many ways before but one, which I like, is that we are not here to celebrate the destination of the “Eagle Court of Honor” but the long journey Alex took to get here. It takes maybe a week to learn the motto, the oath and the Boy Scout law. It takes a much longer time for a scout to apply them to his life. Some will remember them only as words, some will forget them, but for some over time the meaning will be written into their character. “ Writing on someone’s character” I was tempted to use the word “branding” because it hurts so much when you stumble publicly and aches when you stumble privately. However branding is too quick and things written into someone’s character take a lifetime. It is still painful and many walk away. Alex did not. Why didn’t he? That gets us back to his answer; “ It was fun and the people.”
What makes scouting fun? When you think of camping, service projects and merit badges what brings fun to mind? We cannot deny that it is dirty, smelly and scary. It also can be bruising, embarrassing and sometimes boring. Yet there is fun in muddy pants and boots. There is fun in those week old socks drying by the fire. There is fun in working white water, hanging off a cliff, and crawling through a muddy hole in the earth. The feet may get blistered and sprained, the hands may get cut and burned but what a time we had doing it. The latrines and the urgent runs, the expert cut that burned the Easy Mac, the campfire, they all serve as fun life stories to tell and shared experiences that bring us closer to people. None of this would be fun alone.
Alex and I have shared some one-match fires and cookouts. On one occasion he said “This couldn’t be any better.” He was not referring to the fire so much as the whole experience of the sun and the hillside, the fire and the food, the family and the love. A lot of scouting is about people and relationships. Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerfully is all about relationships between people. They are more than words. Each is a cherished experience or bond, an expression of love, a very good reason to stay in scouting. I count myself blessed as one of the people Alex counts on in his scouting family. I hope all of you do too.
It is now time to mark Alex as an Eagle Scout. We give him a medal but that will be of little use to him. The confidence and self-reliance that he has learned through these years will prepare him and serve him in difficult times alone. The life lessons he has shared these years will prepare and him and serve him in the new relationships that he will forge. Lastly, we will take pride not in the metal but in Alex.
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Goodness! Have you considered starting your own blog? We promise to link to you… 😀
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