My second oldest Grandson, Patrick Dinsmore, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in an Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony over the weekend. As you can guess, Judy and I are very proud of him and his accomplishment. It was an emotional ceremony bringing one of the assistant scoutmasters, Virginia Alegre, aka Mom-squared, to the point of tears. I also participated in the program with my guitar by providing a humorous counterpoint to the ceremony. I sang an old Homer and Jethro parody song, “The Battle of Camp Kookamonga.” Several of the Troop 792 scouts helped me out on the song.

I thought it would be interesting to explore the motivation of a young man who has just pulled off a major life accomplishment, so we played Paparazzi and celebrity. I even had my tape recorder, but the battery died after 30 seconds. (Some Paparazzi)
First I wanted to know when Patrick decided to go for the Eagle Scout goal. It is not something you put together on a quiet winter weekend. He responded that it was five years ago while he was in Scorpion Patrol that his Scoutmaster, Mr. Viarengo, showed him what had to be done to accomplish the goal. Patrick admitted that both Mr.Viarengo and Ms. Alegre kept the pressure on to keep him working toward his goal. He also mentioned that his parents kept him going too.
I asked him how he has been able to put the lessons he has learned to good use. His example was from a time at Camp Hi-Sierra when one of the younger scouts was somewhat terrified and suffering from a bout of home sickness. Patrick helped him through the homesickness by reminding him of the fun he was going to have, and provided some companionship for him. His reward came at the end of the week when the scout came back and thanked him for guiding him and helping him through the first days.
Mr. Viarengo told an interesting story about Patrick. It seems that one of the younger scouts had his pack prepared for him by his mother. Something about including the kitchen sink! About half way up the mountain trail the poor scout was reduced to tears because he just couldn’t go any further with his heavy pack. Patrick came to the rescue. He traded packs with him and he carried the heavy pack and gave the younger scout his compact, lightweight pack. The folly of this arrangement came to light in the dark of the first camp. The scouts had divided into two groups and they set up camp in different areas and well after dark. Patrick’s roomy sleeping bag, suitable for his six foot four inch height, was with a young five foot boy and his short bag was with Patrick. He survived with some extra coats, but was glad to get his own sleeping bag back the next night.
If there are Eagle Scouts in the ranks of my blog readership will you please take the time to log in and give us your name, the year you made Eagle Scout and your troop and city.
One other thing about the date this blog was written: Forty seven years ago today, on February 20, 1965 Judy and I were married in Spokane, Washington. You bet, I would do it all over again.