We always knew our Eugene was cut from a very specific piece of fabric. We also knew there had to be others.
It turns out they were in Troop 2717.
That's right, we have Boy Scouts..
way over here. It is a registered troop with Boy Scouts of America. I know that Scouts has changed a lot in recent years, but try to imagine Boy Scouts circa 1955 and you've got a pretty good idea what this troop is like. The boys are bowing their heads together and pledging their allegiance together just like the good ole days. Even the scouts who are not Americans stand respectfully during the Pledge of Allegiance, and even the scouts who are not Chrlstians recognize a moment of silence during prayer.
And few of them - arguably none of them - are as devoted to Scouts as Gene. He eats, sleeps, and breathes Scouts. Our son, who could
not be convinced to wear a button-down shirt under
any circumstances during the first 11 years of his life, now proudly sports his heavily-buttoned uniform.
Troop 2717 was given its name in reference to Proverbs 27:17 which reads, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
Like I said, this is a very special troop.
You can see in the picture above that Gene is the scribe. He takes that job very seriously, as you can imagine (if you know him).
He's always been serious, always been focused. For years he would get himself caught in a black hole of focus, from which we could hardly pull him. What he was lacking was forward motion. The carrot needed to be ever out in front of him. And there's no place like Scouts for a bounty of unachieved goals! There are more merit badges available than he could ever earn (and he is currently working on four of them simultaneously, of course). Now he can put all that focus into getting somewhere, instead of spinning his wheels until he's buried under ground.
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| Building a structure 6 feet off the ground with nothing but rope and bamboo. |
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| Gene is the one with his hands on the rope a lot of the time:) |
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| They found a very long piece of bamboo! |
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| Gene flanked by George and Andy. |
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| Andy celebrated his birthday on a campout. |
Eugene earned the Scout rank in time for the Court of Honor ceremony two weeks ago. He was so...proud. There's no other word. He is comfortable in his own skin, which makes us very happy parents. There is nothing like watching your child come into his own.
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| The pack is almost as big as him:) |
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| Early morning risers sending him off on his first Scout campout. |
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| Court of Honor ceremony. |
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| His fanclub (and future Scouts) |
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| Receiving the rank of Scout. |
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| Refreshments afterward with Reister and Josiah. |
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| Iron sharpening iron. |
