We're having our first multiple-Eagle ceremony this afternoon. These three guys in the Sharks patrol have been together since Tiger Cubs and have all earned Eagle over the past six months, so they decided to combine their ceremonies.

They've got another patrolmate who's involved in theater for their MC and they have a theme of "Eagle in 3-D" since there's three of them and a play on all the 3-D movies being offered. It should be a fun time.

For the past few years, I've been carving fire pistons for scouts that reach Eagle. I carve the troop number on one side and their initials on the other, plus some sort of design. In this case, it's supposed to be waves since the Sharks are in the ocean, but maybe they look more like flames of fire, I don't know. :-)

Anyway, I just finished polishing and testing the pistons this morning after working on them all week - nothing like pushing it to the end. Luckily, the weather has been great so I've been in the sun on the front porch cutting away and remembering some of the fun we've had together.

When reviewed all at once, it's amazing how many adventuers an active scout can have. These guys will have traveled from the bottoms of oceans to the tops of mountains; from dessert heat to arctic cold; from urban congestion to wilderness isolation. It's an amazing collection of memories.

Thinking of their adventures, it reminded me how important it is to prompt the scouts planning our troop outings for next year to stretch their imaginations and not fall back on the old, trusty, safe activities. Those campouts and trips will not only make memories to enjoy years from now, but they will help make young men of character.

Scout On

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