It’s been all over the news. If you haven’t heard yet, you’ve been in a cave for two days. Despite the widespread media attention, I have to comment on the four scouts killed by a tornado in Iowa.
Certainly, this is a tragic event, and I can’t imagine what the parents of those boys are going through. I don’t want to discuss that, it’s been discussed enough. What I wanted to discuss was the survivors.
These kids knew what to do. They were attending a leadership training session, so these were experienced scouts. They knew the first aid necessary to prevent any additional deaths.
Did you know that scouts are required to know first aid to advance? Did you know first aid merit badge is required to earn the rank of Eagle? They also have to earn Lifesaving or Emergency Preparedness merit badge for Eagle. The Potawatomi Area Council in southeastern Wisconsin has an annual first aid meet, where troops compete against each other in performing first aid in situations they do not know until the scenerio is read. I know this quite well because my old troop won first place in the late seventies or early eighties.
This tragedy in Iowa is a testament to the boys and to the leaders who trained them. That’s what scouting is all about–being ready for whatever happens, serving others, and being prepared.
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You can tell that we’ve moved into the desert portion of my landscaping. We won’t see much but desert trees and shrubs for quite a while, broken only by an occasional palm tree.
Here’s the sage that grows a the left side of my baskeball court.
