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Hello, everyone! My name is John McGrail, I have one Eagle Scout in the family, one in the making, and another hopefully several years away, and I believe that if you’re not learning, you’re not living. Today I’m going to be talking about my three sons and our journey through Boy Scouts.
So, what’s today’s fun fact? The Boy Scout Troop we belong to here in Salisbury, North Carolina celebrated its 90th year in 2015. We have 150 Eagle Scouts in that 90-year history and 116 of them became Eagles under our current Scoutmaster! In the broader Scouting world, Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys has sold 150 million copies since 1908, making it the fourth bestselling book of all time after The Bible, The Koran and Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book. David Bowie’s first public musical performance was at a Scout camp on the Isle of Wight in 1958. David accompanied his friend George Underwood on the ukulele, while George played washboard bass and sang. And there have been five Presidents of the United States who were Eagle Scouts—John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and currently Barak Obama.
Speaking of scouting out what you out there are learning, the Friday Forum is always there ready for you—your chance to share what you have been learning. You can add your voice to the Friday Forum in several ways—by calling 3048372278 and leaving a voicemail, going to www.goldenspiralmedia.com/feedback and leaving your feedback by uploading an audio file, using the provided speakpipe widget, or you can type out an email and send it in that way.
Now, here’s what I learned yesterday:
I started Cub Scouts as a boy in the second grade back in 1978 and stayed active through Boy Scouts until my junior year in high school. I achieved a lot, I learned a lot, I built a lot of great friendships, but, I never got my Eagle Scout rank. I was a working lad from the age of 14 on in some capacity or another. By the time I was a junior I could drive and I was pulled away from Scouts by the fumes of teenager-dom—the gasoline fumes and perfumes. Sigh… I can’t say I look back on my life with many regrets but not sticking it through and getting my Eagle Scout is a big one. It’s not like I had a lot to show for all the money I spent in gasoline fumes and there certainly weren’t any perfume stories to speak of either. I simply lost the motivation to see it through.
So when our first son came along I did my homework and before he entered the first grade I knew exactly where we were headed for Cub Scouts. My wife and I discussed a lot about extra-curriculars and how we were not going to stress out our kids with too many activities. But I was steadfast on this one—the boy would go to Cub Scouts. Constance, my bride, didn’t really get it. She never grew up with brothers and so hadn’t been around the whole “boy grows up—becomes man—grunt, chew, spit as it applies.” No but seriously, she didn’t see the value that I already knew about growing up in it. She didn’t know the purposes of Scouting, why Scouts came about in the first place. Robert Baden-Powell, whom I mentioned earlier, is considered the father of Scouting. He was in the British army and while serving noted that his fellow men knew very little about first aid or outdoor survival skills and so he wrote the book “Aids to Scouting” that emphasized resourcefulness, adaptability, and the qualities of leadership that the frontier conditions demanded.
So, our son Avery did very well throughout Cub Scouts and I was and am a very proud Dad. I helped some along the way but I was grateful for the men and women that stepped up to make the program run. I even spent one year garnering financial support through the Friends of Scouting fundraising program and found how easy it was to gather donations. Most everyone had no issue with giving because they knew someone who had been a Scout, they were one, were married to one, had a cousin twice removed…you get the idea. Back to Avery…he transitioned to Boy Scouts in the fifth grade and took off quickly earning his advancements, achieving his different ranks and learning all kinds of skills along the way. First Aid, Communications, Cooking, Camping, Landscape Architecture, Personal Fitness, Personal (or Financial) Management, Swimming, Citizenship in the Community-In the Nation-and In the World. And that’s all I can remember! One of the last requirements to become an Eagle Scout is to plan, propose, and execute a service project that involves other people to make it happen. Avery saw a need for a natural barrier between our school’s soccer field and the busy road that it sits beside. He had watched balls into the road and folks going after them making a very dangerous situation. So, with the help of more than 50 friends and family we planted around 60 trees in one morning! Avery became an Eagle Scout in January of 2013 at the age of 13.
When it came time for our second son Aaron to enter Scouts we made a decision to do it together. I became the den leader and in the fall of his first grade we started on this journey that now is more than 5 years old. His Cub Scout den became Boy Scouts almost one year ago and we have had an amazing year getting them going on toward the goal of them becoming Eagles. During our first week we were able to go to North Carolina State University and they earned their Veterinary Medicine merit badge. Aaron has earned everything to receive his Star Rank, which is only two steps away from Eagle. We’ve been busy, he’s learned a lot, and we’ve had great experiences together that I am positive we wouldn’t have otherwise.
Our third son Alec started Cub Scouts in the fall of 2014 and is now in his second year. He is having a ball—but he would anywhere as we call him our “one man party” no matter where he is. I’m not as active with his group since I am so busy with Aaron’s Patrol but as my guys achieve their Eagle rank over the next couple of years I’m sure my focus will turn to Alec in helping him achieve what he wants to in his Scouting experience.
Here’s what I learned:
We are blessed with an amazing School. It is a private Christian school that teaches from a Biblical worldview in a classical methodology. My bride is the high school math teacher there and all four of our children are there. (Our second child is our only girl-and yes, she is the princess of the family.) I volunteer at school in many capacities. We love our school. Even the best school, the most ideal school, does not have the time to teach the plethora of skills that Scouts have access to. Will the Scouts become masters of all of the different areas that they are exposed to? No, of course not. But, I can’t think of another program that teaches so much by volunteers who give of their time to help these boys grow into men. By teaching practical skills, interesting hobbies, and leadership skills we are equipping these boys to be confident in approaching new situations. Avery is now a junior in high school and he was voted as class president, he is the entire high school’s co-chaplain, and he has led his classmates through fun activities together and lately he is leading them through some of the toughest lessons in life. He in turn is learning that leadership is hard and not always welcome by those you are leading. Were it not for Scouts I am certain he would not be equipped to handle what is now happening. I am so proud of all of my three sons and all they are becoming. I am also thankful for the memories we are making along the way together. When Darrell introduced the concept of this podcast I was hooked immediately. Like we all say, if you’re not learning, you’re not living! I can tell you with certainty I have been learning along with my sons for the last 10 years and have many more in front of me as well. Avery, Aaron, Alec, I am so proud of the young men that you are and what you stand for. No matter what you might accomplish you are amazing sons, brothers, students, and leaders. I love you all.
I’m John McGrail, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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