Introduction
Kevin Pate (kevinpate@YAHOO.COM)
Tue, 26 May 1998 14:42:13 -0700
Greetings to all on the list. I only recently
discovered this resource, but have enjoyed it
greatly over the past week or so.
As a youth, I grew up in the Indian Nations Council in SE Oklahoma. I
left both the Cub
program and later the Scout program long before
reaching AOL or First Class. In retrospect, I
don't know why my commitment was not there, but I have no question it
had nothing to do with either my den mother or my Scout master. Lola
was the best and John to this day is the SM, guiding my nephew toward
his Eagle.
My entry into scouting as an adult came at the tug of a hand roughly
three years ago as my son stopped at the scout table on first grade
back to school night. I was blowing on by because I did not know
Scouting had a first grade program and was too rushed to even inquire.
The heart and eyes of my boy that night began my (very much needed and
too long delayed)transformation from an attorney with children back
into a father who happened to engage in the practice of law.
But for his keen eye on a Pinewood derby car, we might have missed
Tigers all together that year. I was unaware and (believed) I was too
busy to boot, perfectly content to shoo him on with the explanation of
Scouting would have to wait until he was old enough.
But, after donning an orange shirt with him shortly after that night
and attending our first meeting, a flood of scouting memories began to
come back. It must have shown at the first pack meeting as well,
because the CM and his spouse seemed to zero in on me throughout the
year.
Since then, I have fully enjoyed my role as CA, aiding the Tiger group
which came after us, my son's Wolf and Bear meetings. And, I
discovered Roundtable toward the
end of the Tiger year and knew I was hooked.
A boy's heart and eye for a simple pinewood derby car has seen him
grow to the energetic new Webelos Scout I tucked into bed last night,
and has seen me go from a too busy lawyer to a CA, course director for
several Cub Basic trainings, Cub Roundtable commissioner, Train the
Trainer staffer, de facto Asst. DL and Tiger Coach and now proudly
working my tickets from SR-CS-10 last August.
The folks I have met as an adult Scout, boys, men and women, have
generated a peace in me that was dormant to the point of missing for
far too long in my life.
The memories of Lola, my den mother and John, my Scoutmaster, are
again vividly with me. I had forgotten so much and the learning side
by side with my son and my many many new friends is wonderful.
Scouting also opened my eyes that my daughter's girl scouts was not
just for her and my spouse and that avenue has also been a wonderful
exploration as I watch her complete her Junior program level and
prepare to move forward with her and our girls into Cadettes.
One additional piece of peace is the joy of looking forward to my
nephew's Eagle COH near summer's end,
and the opportunity to put a big ol' Buffalo hug on
John, so that my Scouting will have come full circle
as it enters a new level of growth.
Sorry for the length, but I look forward to the additional education
available here, and hopefully, from time to time, I can also
contribute and assist
someone.
YiS,
Kevin H. Pate
Pack 271, Adams Elementary, Norman, OK
Sooner District Roundtable Commissioner
Last Frontier Council
SR-CS-10 "burn baby burn ...... Buffalo chips!"
Troop 248, Norman, OK, Sooner Council, GSUSA
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