Chapter 18

On Saturday morning I was wide awake at the crack of dawn. Well, 7:51 a.m. to be precise. After all, it is winter. I knew the time because it was on the radio when I went down for breakfast. This was to be an exciting day. I would receive my Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts. Unlike many things that had happened to me in the last year, I feel like I had worked for and earned this.

The ceremony was at two o’clock at the Lutheran Church. That is where my scout troop met. We had to be there by one o’clock to do a rehearsal. The ceremony is fairly simple, but we still had to do a run-through. Mum had received the programs back from the printer, but I hadn’t managed to see one yet. They were always somewhere else when I thought to ask about them. Today they were all in the possession of our Scoutmaster Mr. Geist.

I wasn’t nervous about the day, I just wanted to hurry up and have it happen. Time seemed to crawl. I went out in the garage and messed around with my electronics for the hairdryer. I didn’t really accomplish anything, but it did help pass the time. I was so desperate that I even cleaned my room. Mum caught me at this.

All she had to say was, “You poor boy.”

After those encouraging words, I went to the kitchen for coffee. It was now all of 9:30. After another half hour of babbling about nothing, Dad sent me out for a run. It was a light drizzle, but Mum said.

“You won’t melt.”

I asked her, “Will I catch my death.”

Her response was, “Better you out there than with us in here!”

I know they love me. Don’t they?

I ran and walked for an hour. By the time I got home, I was soaked through but felt calmed down. A hot shower warmed me back up. I put on a clean pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. I wanted to keep my uniform creases sharp until the last minute.

Mary came to me with a request to help her set up her dollhouse. So I went to the basement and moved dollhouse miniature furniture. I now understand women and putting furniture in place. They practice it while young, the directing of men that is, not in the actual moving of furniture. I felt Mum’s fine hand in this exercise. It did help pass the time.

Time does pass even though it may be at the speed of a glacier. We had lunch at noon and then Denny and I put on our uniforms. Eddie wasn’t interested in scouting.

Denny is a Star Scout. Mary is too young to be a girl scout, but next year she can start as a Daisy.

The more expensive uniforms I had bought were worth the money. The fabric held their creases nicely and didn’t show wrinkles. Denny looked sharp in his uniform but it looked like he had been wearing it all day by the time we got out of the car. Eddie as most eleven-year-olds looked like he had been sleeping in his clothes for a week.

We did a walkthrough of the program. I finally got to see the formal printed program. Now I knew why it had been kept from me. There were all the normal events. Where it differed from other programs was the presentation of other awards. The Scouts presented Awards in a Court of Honor. At an Eagle Court of Honor, they only presented the Eagle medal and badge. This Court had an exception.

There was a section on, other awards. These were the lifesaving awards. Another item that set me back was the special guests. I had half expected our District and Council Scout Executives and Commissioners or at least some of them. The Mayor of Bellefontaine would be present which was again expected. The Mayor of Vincennes was a pleasant surprise. I really liked Mr. Hobbs.

Our local Representative to the Ohio state legislature was on the list to speak, also our United States Representative, and U. S. Senator Robert Taft. There would be a presentation from the White House by an Aide to the President. The last presentation was from the Court of Saint James. I had no idea what that was.

To top it all off there was a camera crew from Warner Brothers in the back of the church. This day could go on forever.

All of a sudden it was time. All the guests were seated. The church looked like Christmas Eve, standing room only. The Honor Guard led by my brother Denny presented the colors. We all stood for the pledge. Pastor Bowers gave the invocation.

I was led to the front by an Honor Guard of previous Eagles in our Troop. One of those was Bob Chapman in his Navy uniform. He is a Captain in the U.S Navy. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy he was home on leave and led me to the front. There were six Eagles present and they all were successful people, it made me proud to be joining them.

Mr. Geist started the program by telling us that the Eagle Award was the highest award that could be earned in Scouting. He told its history and a description of what it meant. Candles were lit to show what the parts of the award stood for. The Eagle was a majestic symbol, the red in the ribbon for cheerfulness, the white for loyalty, the blue of courage and the scroll symbolizing service.

Our District Commissioner gave the keynote address. Then the National Court of Honor was called to order. After that my Scout Oath was reaffirmed. I was given the Eagle charge which was the same marching orders all scouts had been given. Then my parents advanced and Mum pinned my Eagle Award to my shirt.

After that were the other awards. The Council Scout Executive read the citations and presented these. I received an Honor Medal and an Honor Medal with Crossed Palms. These were pinned to my shirt. With my three medals, I would jingle while I walked. I thought of this while they were being pinned on. I wondered if Mum would take to calling me ‘Jingles’? At least my Arrow of Light from Cub Scouts was a patch rather than a medal.