Boy Scouts

There is much in the news about the tragedy at the Boy Scout camp in Iowa being hit by a tornado. It is so sad that 4 scouts died and others were injured, but it is so uplifting with the stories of heroism that other scouts did. But, if you ask the scouts themselves, they will not tell you that they are heroes. They will just say that they were doing what they were trained to do. I was a Boy Scout. I started out as a Cub Scout at Eastminster Presbyterian Church. We learned about groups and crafts. We also learned about the importance of caring for others. I then went on to be a Boy Scout at St. Martin's In The Fields Episcopal Church and First Baptist Church. We learned how to do First Aid; how to camp; and how to survive. We also had a lot of fun. One could have fun and learn stuff at the same time. There were a lot of life's lessons in Scouting. One fun lesson was that one cannot play a harmonica without breathing through one's nose, because you will hyperventilate. I did that to the song "Flowers on the Wall". But, I digress. My friend John Cathcart, who I worked with at White Oak, was an Eagle Scout. He could do just about anything, because Scouting taught him to do so. I just made it to Second Class. Scouting doesn't seem to be as important in most areas of the country. When I was growing up, just about everybody I knew was in Scouts. Perhaps if it were stressed in today's world, if more kids were in Scouting, there would be better kids and less crime. Just a thought.