I am glad Brian Chlouber was there for me the day I was choking in the school cafeteria.   I just took a bite of bread when a friend made me laugh and I started choking.  I tried to cough it up but I couldn’t.   Brian was sitting at the other end of the lunchroom table from me when he heard my friends yelling and saw me turning purple and in a panic – banging on the table. 

My friends got the lunch monitor who slapped me on my back.  Nothing was working.  I thought I was going to die.  Brian came up behind me and did the Heimlich maneuver (sort of like a punch in the stomach).   All of a sudden I coughed out the bread. 

I learned that Brian learned the Heimlich maneuver at a Scout Camporee.  Brian was awarded the Medal of Merit by the Boy Scouts of America for his quick actions and I have a new best friend. 

Few Cub Scouts ever had the opportunity to spend the night on the battleship USS Arizona.  Ten year old Tom Gillette, a Cub Scout, whose Pack was chartered by Punahou School of Hawaii, was thrilled to hear he was invited by Captain Van Valkenburgh to spend the night onboard just a few days before Thanksgiving, 1941.  It was incomprehensible that just two weeks later on December 7, 1941, the USS Arizona and 1,080 of her crew would be sunk and forever entombed in Pearl Harbor.  The Pacific Fleet suffered heavy damage and President Roosevelt referred to the attack as  “the day of infamy.”

Since Tom's dad was the Industrial Manager for the Naval Shipyard the family lived on base facing “Battleship Row.”  On Sunday, December 7th, they unwillingly had front row seats to devastation.  The first wave of Japanese planes flew directly over Tom’s house just before 8am, releasing their torpedoes. The utter destruction included many family friends. His greatly admired friend, Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, made his way to the bridge taking reports, directing resistance and trying to restore order out of chaos.  He died in action from a direct bomb hit on the powder room.

Tom’s family moved to the mainland weeks later and he now lives in Houston.  Although Tom was unable to continue his Scouting activities as a boy – he made sure that his son, Baxter didn’t miss out on the Scouting experience.   Baxter Anderson Gillette earned his Eagle in 1983.  Baxter served as the first Student Body President at Episcopal High School and now is a consultant in Portland, Oregon; where he has retained a love of God, family and the outdoors.   Baxter still retains a love of God, family and the outdoors.  Baxter recently hiked the entire 2,167 mile Appalachian Trail and enjoyed fishing with his father in Canada.

While attending Baxter’s Eagle Court of Honor in 1983, Baxter’s grandfather, John Harold (Andy) Anderson mentioned he too was a Scout from one of the first troops in Houston Heights.  He recalled back in 1912, Scouts stowed gear on a two-wheel cart with large wheels.  They towed the heavy cart all the way to the camping area near Memorial Park area of today, by pulling the wagon tongue.  Andy also mentioned swimming in the crystal clear waters of Buffalo Bayou near South Shepherd.

That is the story of three Scouts.  Related by blood and also linked by the golden legacy that turns boys into men and continues to govern those who love God, family and the wonderful outdoors.

After the ceremony, I returned home and saw the morning paper sitting on the kitchen counter.    A front page story described the conviction of a 17-year-old youth who, with a friend, tortured and sexually brutalized another young man, apparently out of motives of racial hatred.    The convicted youth was shown weeping as the guilty verdict was read.   His partner in crime already was sentenced to life in prison.
 I was jolted by the contrast between these two experiences:  the Eagle Scout Court of Honor and the newspaper report of the crime, trial and conviction of this young man.    He was the same age as the Eagle Scouts.   What separated his heinous crime from the hard work and perseverance of his peers? 

Human behavior is always more complex than we can imagine.   Not even Dr. Phil would presume to explain everything we do in a few sound bites or quick-and-easy generalizations.  It does seem to be clear, however, that young people who have loving parents, stable homes, the opportunity for religious faith and the challenge to stretch themselves and do for others have a tremendous advantage in finding a happy life and inner fulfillment.   Praying and believing, worshiping and serving can seem old-fashioned.   They are now sadly illegal in some institutions in the United States, and yet they do make a difference.

It should break every one of our hearts to see a 17-year-old throw his life away.   And it should – and does – offer us hope to witness not one but five young men claiming the name of the Eagle and believing that, with faith, family and perseverance, their lives will soar above the dark and the ordinary. 

The Sam Houston Area Council, Boy Scouts of America produces almost 1000 Eagle Scouts annually through the efforts of more than 21,000 volunteers in churches and institutions like Prince of Peace.

 Sleeping under the stars  is synonymous with Boy Scouts.    But how many  Scouts have done it every  night for two weeks in a row, during Christmas vacation?

 Edward E. Martin did! Although not  quite  12, and small for his age, Ed joined  the Boy Scout Troop in the little country town of Italy, Texas. The Scoutmaster pursued scouting with a zeal that attracted  25-30 boys of various ages.  He and his   assistants, some of whom were  fathers of  troop members, planned a monumental project to coincide with Christmas vacation. The Troop would build a log cabin!    By themselves! Out in the wilderness!   Five miles from Italy!

 Chambers Creek, abundant with fish, would provide food for the hungry  Troop and the surrounding forest  would share its wealth  of wood for the cabin. Each Scout brought his own bedding, cot , tent, frying pan and eating and   drinking utensils. They had to learn how to prepare their own  meals.  No mother was there to cook for them and clean up afterward.  Watching, copying, asking questions, plus hunger accelerated the learning process. (Then  they  learned how to dig a  trench,   sprinkle it with lime and  cover it up.)

 As the smallest and youngest of the Troop, Ed did not participate in the heavy work but  made himself useful as a gopher, keeping fires going, getting clay from the river bank, and cleaning up. After choosing a gentle rise not too close to the  creek, the    boys were coached on the fundamentals of  building a cabin.  They  had no  chain saw but used hand saws, hatchets and   axes. The Scoutmaster  and assistants guided them but did not do it for them. They  learned how to     tie ropes to logs and drag them to the site; how to get clay from    creek banks to fill chinks between logs; put in  a  wooden floor;    shingle the roof and    build a loft reached by  a ladder. The cabin had a door and a window. It was so well planned   that  the construction  proceeded smoothly
.
   Built entirely  by   amateurs, the  cabin    served as headquarters for the Troop for many  years.   Arriving eagerly   on weekends and for special occasions, the Scouts continued  to learn and practice  the principles of  Scouting.  The pride of accomplishment and ownership, and appreciation   for the Scoutmaster also bound the Scouts together. He taught them things they  would  find useful all their lives.

 So what happened to Ed Martin?  After four years in Boy Scouts, he enrolled at Texas Junior A&M Military School  in Arlington, (now UTA), then went to TCU, pursued an active business career, and is  living in Dallas. He   remembers fondly the excitement  his Troop had building and using the log cabin on Chambers Creek. Eventually  the cabin became a victim of time and termites -  not too  unusual since it was built in 1918!  But surprise, surprise! Ed Martin remembers the Scout salute and just celebrated his 100th birthday  on December 13, 2006!

Scouting has taught me to think of others, to be helpful and courteous.  I had a chance to put some of these ideals into practice, the day before Thanksgiving, when I noticed a woman with a flat tire pulling into a parking space at the grocery store.  Being the evening before a holiday she couldn’t reach anyone to come and change her tire.  After changing her tire, she offered to pay me and I told her “just pass on the good deed to someone else in need”.   I had shared some of my Scouting experiences with her as we chatted, and I guess that is what inspired her to make a donation to the Boy Scouts of America in my name.  

I am glad she was inspired to do a good deed for someone else.  This is a large part of what Scouting is about, to put the Oath and Law into practice in our daily lives, and help make our Country a better place for all those we come into contact with.

Diamond in the Sand
Contributed by Matt Rainey, Troop 223

Scouts of Troop 223 held a campout at a state park on Galveston Island.  There were lots of other campers all around us. 

After what was a tasty dinner for some, and less that satisfying for others, the group was scattered about looking for something to do.  About that time, a college aged young man in a swim suit came running up to us, half out of breath.  He asked for help to find an engagement ring lost on the beach.  A girl in their group was engaged to a man now serving our country in Iraq and the ring he gave her a month earlier was now lost in the sand and surf. 

Scouts along with several leaders grabbed their flashlights and hurried  off with the young man.  Imagine for a moment, a sandy beach that has been trampled by several dozen people walking back and forth.   To no one’s surprise,  Scouts returned 40 minutes later without finding the ring. 

Later that evening Scouts held a campfire and after a few spirited songs  were somehow energized and regrouped sometime after 11:00pm -  ready to head to the beach for  ‘ghost’ crab chasing.  After many failed attempts to capture the illusive creatures, one Scout had a crab frozen in his flashlight beam.  Approaching the crab for what was going to be a sure capture, something sparkled in the light.  It was the ring they had searched for hours before.  Not knowing exactly where the college students were camping, this band of young men went site by site late in the evening to find the distraught owner.  Upon their return leaders asked the boys what she said.  They reverently admitted that she just cried.

Lessons Learned
by Patrick Ireland

I grew up in Oklahoma and now call Houston home.  I am an Eagle Scout and was active in order of the Arrow.  Not unlike geometry class there were many lessons I learned in Scouting that I did not realize the value of until later in life.  We tied knots and practiced lashing, we discussed knife sharpening and how to organize a pack, and we had lessons in leadership and responsibility.  We wore patches on khaki shirts.
 
I still wear a khaki shirt with patches and sharpen knives and tie knots.  On a daily basis I perform those lashings I didn't understand and tie bowlines with my eyes closed.  I work as a commercial diver for the offshore oil and gas industry.  I went to a specialized school to receive my training however; they did not teach me a fraction of what I learned in Boy Scouts. 

The lessons I learned in the Boy Scouts have given me an incredible advantage over other divers in my industry and I am proud to say that I am compensated very well for it.
 
You wouldn't believe how important knot tying is and how funny it looks when there are thirty year old men practicing their knots.  I am constantly approached with questions on what knot would I use in what situation.  All the while I'm thinking "I learned the sheet bend when I was a tiger cub". 

Hospital Art

Tommy Le, an Eagle Scout, has donated artwork for Ben Taub General Hospital's Radiation Therapy Department.
Le's artwork is designed to look as though you are in a tropical destination.
"Instead of just drawing a sky with a tree branch or a sky and a plane, I decided to draw something more challenging, more realistic," Le said. "A tropical scene tends to provide a more relaxing environment. The blue of the sea and the green of the trees create a calm, cool feeling."
Le is active in several organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, which he joined in 1998 and attends University of Houston where he plans to pursue a degree in Architecture.
Eagle Scout is the highest level attainable in the Boy Scouts, and is only reached by about 5 percent of Scouts.

It’s a kite! It’s a UFO? No, its….
by Matt Rainey

Troop 240 was encamped at Bovay Scout Ranch for the Webelos Woods event when an audible gasp was heard from the Northwest.

One of the 10 year olds asked “is that a kite?”…to which his dad said, “No, that’s a tent.

A tent from Troop 889 had lifted off the ground with a small cloud of paperwork and grass debris trailing from it.  Thanks to some pretty fast shooting with the camera Matt Raney was able to catch the tent in flight on its way down.  The flying tent zenithed about fifty feet before crashing on the other side of the road into Troop 1180 - thankfully without damage or injury.

How Many Scouts Does It Take to Make French Toast?
by Anthony Oak Troop 642

A patrol of new scouts on their second campout lost both their patrol leader and assistant patrol leader after dinner for a church related event.  In the morning, one of the scoutmasters asked 17-year-old Josh Kauffman to teach the new scout patrol how to make breakfast.  Josh opened the patrol pickle barrel, then checked the patrol cooler, and announced, “We are going to make French Toast.”  Without touching anything, Josh directed the scouts in breaking the eggs and mixing the dip. He then assembled the patrol into a “bucket brigade” one scout held the batter, a second scout held the bread, a third pulled the bread slices out and dipped it in the mix, a fourth pulled the bread out of the batter and laid it on the griddle, a fifth scout was armed with the flipper and the sixth scout manned the lid of the Dutch oven where the cooked toast was stored.