Eagle with a Broken Wing*

My son Parker finished his Eagle.  This is a major accomplishment and we are very proud of him.  Each young man who sets the goal for Eagle Rank has a different challenge.  There is always some part of the process that becomes a stumbling block.  For some it is a certain merit badge or the daunting 100+ hour project.  For Parker the biggest challenge has been in completing all the paperwork- otherwise he could have been done a year ago!!!  But, it finally got done.  Phew.

Parker's project was to build a fire ring and seating area in one of the city parks.  He had a car wash to raise the money for the project and then worked with the Fire Marshall and the Parks Department to get the project rolling.  It was a good project and he did a good job getting it organized. 

Last Thursday night he passed his Board of Review.  It is an interview with seasoned Scout Leaders to determine if the young man possesses the qualities that BSA expects from an Eagle Scout and if they understand the values and principles of the BSA and have incorporated them into daily life.  Parker passed with flying colors. 

*His wing isn't really broken- but he's been in a sling for two weeks.  Parker has a "separated shoulder" from a questionable move in his last wrestling meet.  Hopefully it wasn't his last wrestling meet!  It is healing and now we are moving into physical therapy.

Shoot!

I have never really liked guns. I didn't grow up around guns, so they seem somewhat foreign to me. My only childhood memory of shooting a gun was at Bryant Pond Camp and I may have made that up. Ed got in a lot of trouble several years ago for giving me a gun for Christmas. I was not happy about that.

On the other hand, I am the mother of three boys, two of which have severe red neck tendencies. I have gotten quite used to buying Air Soft guns and I don't even have a problem with BB Guns. When you have Parker wandering around the cabin with a BB Gun shooting any rodent who dares to show itself, you kind of get used to it.But. . . Parker wanted a shot gun this year. That gave me some heartburn, but he is 13. The one rule is that it is locked up at all times in Dad's gun safe. Since none of us know the combination, it should be safe there. He was anxious to go give it a try, so we headed out towards West Canyon on the 26th. It was about 12 degrees. Fools. . . that's us.

We went to Wasatch Wing and Clay which is out in the middle of the wheat fields in Eagle Mountain and we used their throwers to shoot clay pigeons. What a blast. It is a cool set up and it was south facing so we didn't even freeze to death.