Kicking and Screaming

I never wanted to go to Boy Scouts. I never knew anything about it much until the first night my Dad drove me down. "It started out as a group of boys that helped the military." Not the best thing to tell a 12 year old boy who wanted to get into cinematography, not "military". It wasn't until I walked in the door of the police station where the Troop met, that I realized he just didn't really explain it very well. My pastor's son was there as well as many other boys of various ages. One boy in particular, Kurtis, came right up to me. "I'm Kurtis! You aren't in my school. Welcome to Boy Scouts!" Kurtis and I were best friends almost immediately. 2 years later RJ joined Scouts right out of Cub scouts and the 3 of us were pretty inseparable. In Scouts I learned many skills and found out many things about myself. One thing I took to heart was that I am a natural leader. I held many positions within my Troop and OA Lodge ("OA" Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of Boy Scouts.) Positions I held were Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, OA Chapter Chief, OA Lodge Secretary, Assistant Scout Master; In that order as a matter of fact. I also taught a few Merit Badges and was on Staff at Scout Camp. I became and Eagle Scout in 2009. I was on staff at The 100th anniversary National Scout Jamboree in 2010. However Scouts took a bad turn. Rules started to change and Troops were falling apart. Just 2 years ago (2020) Boy Scouts had to file for bankruptcy because of mostly low attendance due to the change in National Rules. A few guys I heard even denounced their Eagle Scout because of the decisions made. Today I still claim the rank of Eagle Scout as an achievement in my life. But Boy Scouts threw away their morals and values so I no longer support the movement.