Hump Day

What a slow week. Last night was only Tuesday (Scout Night), Oh My God SLOW!!! Tonight is committee night for the Troop and I am on it. While it is a Scout run Troop we must approve and advise the boys and they just finished planning the entire year and we have to approve it. Last night I was asked to be on a Board of Review. Normally we are assigned to them by the Advancement Chair and I have sat on several. However this one was for an Eagle Palm and the Scout asked me to sit on it for him. To the non-Scouter an Eagle Scout is the highest rank one can achieve in Scouting, the requirements are hard, the path is long and only about 1 in 100 Scouts receive it, I am one. After you achieve Eagle if you have time (Scouting ends at 18) you may earn Eagle Palms, for every 4 Merit Badges and 3 months service. This is my 2nd Palm with this Scout and he deserves it.
While in the middle of the Board of Review I asked and question and then gave an example and then realized that this was not a question I just ask it was one that I live and then realized it is one that everyone should live and then maybe we would live in a better world.

The question was: What do you/can you do outside of Scouting to return something to the community you live in?

The answer was simple: Anything you can.

My examples were that I am an Asst. Scoutmaster, a Little League Coach, on the Neighborhood Board and an involved parent with my son. In New York I was also a Labor Leader and Classroom Parent. While they may seem simple things they are needed to improve life in my community. I would love to be more involved in local government, town council maybe even politics but an unable to at this time. The point is that you need to be involved with the outside world! As a parent it is easy to be involved with your child's activities, but that does matter and it does make a difference! It might be just being Team Mom for the 3rd Grade Football team, but you are there and active and with your kids. That is a major problem we are having at the Troop, we have 120 Scouts and many parents do not even get out of the car as they drive by and drop off the boys. While I understand that life is busy and those with more than one child are pulled in many directions but it is important to be involved. Monkey see, Monkey do!!

One cannot sit on the sidelines and bitch about the way the game is going, so get in the game!