Acorns From An Okie

Allen April 23rd, 2008

Today has been a rather exhausting day. I’ve been working overtime in order to attend Dr. Belknap’s funeral tomorrow. When I arrived home, my wife and I attended the wake for Dr. Belknap at Resthaven funeral home. We had to cut out early because we needed to eat dinner and then meet…

with our next Eagle candidate — Paul. Paul is developing a butterfly garden for a local park.

Our troop has a set of adults who are Eagle mentors that assist the young men in obtaining their Eagle rank. Some time after my son David obtained his Eagle rank, I started mentoring Eagle candidates in our troop. Every Eaglet that I have mentored has probably accomplished more in terms of handling responsibility and planning a large project than most adults. And that is the key to Scouting.

Paul wanted to attend the wake as he is not able to attend tomorrow’s funeral. So back we went to Resthaven and another visit with our extended Scout family.

I will miss Doc B’s infectious laugh and his weather-beaten hat. I will miss his deep love of these young men. I will miss someone who was like a grandfather to my children.

I close with one of Doc B’s favorite quotes from Lord Baden-Powell:

It is easier to bend a boy than mend a man.

• Personal
• Comments(0)

Allen April 22nd, 2008

Dr. Hal Belknap, passed away this past Sunday morning. He was not only our family doctor and friend, but Scoutmaster to our son. Dr. Belknap and the Eagle mentors his troop set up were invaluable in assisting our son, David, in obtaining his Eagle rank. I have rotated out my current quote at the top of the page and replaced it with the following from Lord Baden-Powell.

No one can pass through life, any more than he can pass through a bit of country, without leaving tracks behind, and those tracks may often be helpful to those coming after him in finding their way.

• Personal , Religion
• Comments(0)