The REAL Dangers of the Water Front

Okay, so I know that the LAST time I talked about the dangers of the water front, it was just a drill.  This time, however, it was real.

So here's the story.  A kid had 'excaped' from the water front without his buddy tag.  This of course means that there was the possibility of the kid still being on the water front.  Which means we had to start looking.

And this is where MY story starts.  Sean O'Connor and I were standing in the doorway of my condo.  The alarm went off and the piercing noise reaches us part way up the mountain.  Sean and I looked at eachother.  "That's the alarm..."  He nods.  "The LBD (Lost Bather Drill) alarm..."  Again he nods.  "And it's not a drill this time..."  He shakes his head.  Almost simultainiusly, we say "crap," grab our bags from off the floor, and start to sprint through the trail.  It took Sean and I just over two minutes from when the alarm went off to get down the hill, into the waterfront, put on our flippers and masks, and get in the water.

Isaac, Jordan and I started a cross sweep in the boating area as Sean joined the group running perpendicular to us in the same area.  Long story short, we spent twenty minutes diving about thirty feet under water for a kid that turned out to not even be in the waterfront.

We are all tired, both physically and mentally, but we did our jobs.  Every one's safe and that's what counts.  There's just one more thing I ask for: Please no more excitement this week.

The Magic of Scouts

Hey everyone.  I apologize for not posting lately.  I have been working so much I find it difficult to get at the keyboard long enough.  But I do have pleanty to write about.

We are currently in week two of scout camp: really it's week three for staff.  And this has been such an amazing week already.  Sunday my home troop arived.  The water was choppy due to incomming storms, so not many of them managed to pass their swim test.  The following day, however, several did; this includes Sam.  See, Sam is autistic.  Passing this test was a huge achievement for him.  It's not the fact that he managed to pass he test that really amazed me, though.  It was how supportive, how excited the rest of the troop was for this achievement.

That night was the Fourth of July and, like all good scouts, we always find a reason to celebrate.  The orrigional plan was to go up Black Cap mountain and watch the Bongor fireworks.  At the last minute, Josh and I decided not to go.  We turned around and went up a different mountain.  With Abdulla and Katie, we grabbed my guitar and trecked up to Mountain View campsite.  There we started a fire, enjoyed the company, and sung campfire songs until one in the morning. 

Finally, yesterday braught what I have been working towards for nine years.  I finally sat on my Eagle Board.  I was surprisingly calm going in, and we were all joking and having a good time throughout the board.  And the great news came: I passed.  I'm still on a happy high from last night.  This morning, it was announced at breakfast.  And here again shows the amazing thing about scouts -- the unfailing support you recieve.  The announcment was followed by an eruption of aplause and cheering, a large amount coming from people who don't even know me.  A co-worker even came over, picked me up, and carried me back to my table.

So I leave you with some thank yous and a final thought.  First I would like to thank mom and dad.  There are many times where I would not have remained in scouting were it not for them.  The second thank you is for Rod Cherrette.  Rod has always been there by my side no matter what.  He's always been availible to talk or give me advice.  He even stepped in as my Eagle advisor when my dad and I started to have some differences.  FInally is a general thank you:  to my leaders, my friends, my mentors and my teachers.  None of this could have happened without them.

So here's my thoughts.  Some people go through life just taking the open doors.  They are to afraid to find their own paths.  But others, the successful people, find the hard to reach doors.  They find ways to get them open, then explore the other side.  But no one can open every door by themselves.  The only reason they can do this is because of the support they recieve.  So open all the doors you get, you may be surprised as to what's on the otherside.  Now it's time to get my Ranger award, eh?

The Dangers of the Water Front.

Today brought onto me an interesting expirience, as well as an opportunity to present a story. Let me present the scene. It's cloudy. The sun is completely hidden from view, creating a dark, erie area. The wind is strong, probably about 20 mph. As a result, the water is wavy, easily five or six inches. The wind also brought the 54 degree weather down to feeling around 40. And there's me: floating face down in the water. The second wave (one of the rescue dive teams) swims by me. The first wave (the other dive team) is close behind. It's Issac Walton, of the First Wave that found me. I vaguely remember being turned over. Issac's well trained technique using my arms to support my neck in case of a spinal injury. He moves swiftly, bring me to the dock and sliding me onto the backboard. Another set of hands grabs onto my neck, securing my neck from moving still. I hear their muffled voices through the water, struggling to make out a word hear and there. A strap tightens around my chest. More follow: my feet, knees, and waist. The yelling around me is almost constant, although the wind and water make it impossible for me to make sence of much of it. The head support is set into it's place, and the forehead and chin straps are put tightly into place. The yelling that follows is actually somewhat clear to me, as they pull me, on the backboard, out of the water. I feel ands on my neck and chest as I'm checked for a pulse and breathing. I hear the words "He's alive" come into my mind through the water in my ears. The straps are pulled off me and I'm quickly wrapped in a blanket and towel and they help me up, bring me to the water from pavilion. Now, all this was nearly a drill: I was a victim, but a willing victim. The point of this, though, is that the efficiency and skill that these lifeguards worked with would have saved my life had the threat been real. Every one of these people is a friend, every one a coworker, every one ready and willing to put their wellbieng and safety and comfort on the line to save someone in need.

This, my friends, is the Boy Scouts of America: making heroes and life changes out of evey person that joins. Instilling the values and beliefs that allowed these people to get into the 57 degree water to help a person in need. Have a nice night, my friends, and safe camping.

Wednesday's trials

Another day living the dream, friends. Today consisted of a lot of lashes. I got the joy of singlehandedly putting up the wall on the New Scout pavilion. I then took inventory. Of all 16000 feet of rope. Yes, 16000 feet of rope. It's been a very productive day; however, that productiveness has led to a lack of amusing stories. But there is one exciting thing that happened today: we found a mother turtle laying eggs in the waterfront. It was a very interesting sight. So I am going to leave you all early tonight and get back to my guitar.

I leave you tonight with the mission statement that I myself came up with today: "It is the mission of the New Scout program to give a head start to the young saPlings of scouting to that we may be thought of as the roots of that tree"

Tuesday's triumphs

Hello everyone. How are you doing? Good? Good. Anyway, I have a couple days to go over now, don't I? Yesterday was Monday. What did I do? I set up tents. Lots and lots of tents. It was very interesting. This tents aren't your standard camping tents. No, these are huge canvas tents that take anywhere from four to six people to set up. And the rope is all old and fraying. My hands are so calused that I almost have no feeling now in my hands. It a scout's life. I also took my first swim of the year. It's nice after the first ten seconds. Anyway, I don't have much time to ramble on and on and on and on and...I'll try to post earlier next time. But there is one thing that I would like to make a habit of: I want to post a quote of the day. You know, something said by a fellow staff member. Today's was said by Zack: "Life's a game. Live it to the fullest and play it right; but have fun as you go. Because in the end, all the wins are worth nothing."

Sleep well and safe camping.

All About Camp

Hello, all my readers. Just a quick introduction here. For the next eight weeks, I'll be blogging about my adventures as a staff member at KSR: a scout camp in Maine. My current position here is to be an instructor in the New Scout program. What's that mean? Well I'm glad you asked! Basically, it's my job to teach the young kids new to Scouting all the skills they need to survive when we strand them in the woods. Eh, I'm joking, we don't ACTUALLY do that...But we DO teach them camping skills. Everything from tying nots to setting up a tent to learning how to swim and be safe in and around the water. By the end of the week, these boys will be that much closer to their next rank, and hopefully their next couple ranks. They will have even earned shat is more than likely their very first merit badge. While all this is great, I have a job that is even more important; I instill in these hound boys life values that will follow them forever in a way that makes them cry when they leave for want of more adventure. That's my job.

This week is staff week, and right now I'm just waiting for lunch. Tonight I'll post more about all the adventures I've already had in just the first two days. Until then, safe camping.