My Hobbie

Two years ago I was not able to answer the question: What are your hobbies? The truth is, I didn’t have one. I realized the other day, that now I have a hobby: Boy Scouts. I come from a family where scouting was stressed since the 1920’s. My grandfather received his Eagle scout award in 1926. My own father received his in 1946 and I received my award when I was 15 in 1995. In addition, when my Grandpa and Dad became adults they were selected to be scoutmasters and were proud to serve. Now, as an adult I am following in their footsteps serving as an assistant scoutmaster for a local troop.

Why do I do it? you ask—Family tradition?—Pressure from the troop sponsor? Maybe both those reasons were true, but now the truth is, I do it for boys I get to work with.

It would be easy to justify not having enough time. Most weekdays I leave home about 7:30am and return about 9:30 pm. I’m either studying, in class or at work. How can I fit in one night a week and one weekend a month to already overbooked schedule? Well, I just do, and its worth it.

After a recent campout, I tried to explain to Lynette why scouting is so important to me. I had a hard time articulating my thoughts, and I’m sure I didn’t express them very well. No doubt, I participate because I love to camp and being outdoors. But to me scouting is so much more. Scouting is where boys become men.

A smile comes to my face every time I see a kid cast away his fears and do something he has never done before. As a leader it is very rewarding to be apart of a program that builds boys to have successful futures. I feel lucky to be apart of such a good program, and a little fearful of the responsibility that is mine as their leader.

I hope I can be a good influence to the boys in my troop. As leaders, my father and grandfather prepared many boys to become men. I respect and honor that legacy, and am glad I have their footsteps to follow.

Here are some more photos of me and my boys.

Scott