It has been a good journey so far.

[dan]

Attended an Eagle Court of Honor yesterday. This was the first scout from my den that has made Eagle. It was kind of a special day for me!

I was proud that one of my boys made it. Two others from the den have also made it but he was the first and the first to have his Eagle Court of Honor.

His parents keep thanking me, this boy has been quite a handful all the way the way through scouts. I am an ASM in the troop now.

Over the years this scout and I have had many trying times together. Of course I had to get up and tell a few stories of things that have happened (good things) over the years. At one point I said that this scout and I are like brothers and that maybe we had spent to much time together. Fours years in Cub Scouts and six years in Boy Scouts. His mom came up to me afterwards and said you two do act just like brothers.

And I really do not think the trying times where that trying as I look back on them.

[jethro]

Dan, what a wonderful post! Congratulations!

 

I try to keep my eye on a similar future vision. After tonight's Webelos I den meeting, where seven typical active fourth-graders pushed several of my buttons, I hope that maybe, just maybe, there's the seed of an Eagle in one of those boys. (Or, at the very least, a boy whose life is changed for the better by Scouting.) And even though I'm moving on to Cubmaster in January, they'll still be "my den," as they have been since Tigers.

[jr56]

A very nice post. Thanks for sharing.

[mk9750]

Dan,

Congratulations! And you do deserve congratulations, along with the new Eagle and his parents.

 

What you are feeling is something I have felt numerous times during my opportunity to be in Scouting. It's a feeling kind of like a shudder and a warm glow all rolled into one. And it doesn't just happen to me during Courts of Honor for guys I have a special affinity to. It happens whenever one of them give me reason to be proud to have been part of their life.

 

I've tried to put this feeling into words, and the best I have come up with is to express how much more I have gotten from Scouting than I have ever put into it. I don't think it does my pride justice, but it's the closest I've come so far.

 

I've been fortunate enough to meet, mentor, and become friends with a West Point Graduate, a State Department official, a graphic artist now working for Nintendo, a Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Management Officer, and plenty of other guys. But the two I have become most proud of are a guy who is teaching history and coaching wrestling at a local junior high despite the fact he is blind, and a young man who has earned a scholarship to a very prestegious Jesuit college despite a huge learning disability. But all of these guys, and a decent number more, including my two sons, have made my 14 years in Scouting a path lined in gold memories. Thinking back, I can hardly remember the rough times I have had while serving. It truly has been an honor to be a part of so many quality young mens' lives.

 

I meant it - You have every right to be congratulated! But now, keep going!

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[dan]

Thanks, but I do not feel like I really did much. I feel I am only along for the ride, and a great ride it has been!

 

I know what you mean about the special feeling, watching a boy turn into a man, is the only way I know how to describe it.

 

[gwd-scouter]

I know just how you feel, Dan. Last year I was invited to an Eagle Court of Honor for one of my former Cub Scouts. I was CM of the very large Pack he was a part of, so I didn't really get to know all the boys that well. But, for some reason, this Scout remembered me and introduced me to others as "his Cubmaster."