40% Eagle

I have started several entries in the past few weeks, all of them faltering. I am tired most of the time, and when I’m not tired I’m working. Or commuting. For instance, I’m typing this in notepad on the Commuter Rail in the double decker car on the top floor, the guy across from me looks a lot like Adam Levine and both of us are equally frustrated with the lame wifi we’re connected, maybe, to. 

The guy next to me has given up completely and put his laptop away. 

The guy catty-corner from me has had to re-log into his VPN three times because the internet connection times out.

I do not know why we bother. 

So I look like I’m getting something done, fingers moving quickly over the keyboard. I think I was able to send three email responses in the train station while we were waiting for everyone to get on board. Now, I may as well wait for getting home. 

Thing is, when I  get home, I can’t just collapse into the couch with a glass of Pinot Grigio, the way I want to. 

Tomorrow is the first big day in Geoff’s Eagle Project. 

It will all be fine, it’ll be great. He’s got this. I’m just standing behind him.  Here’s the update: 

Long time readers will remember that he wanted to do a flag retirement ceremony. His project was submitted after I got out of the hospital, and it was rejected because they found it lacking. They made some suggestions on how to make it more robust, more “Eagle” worthy. We spent the summer ignoring it, he went to Summer Camp. And then school started and I realized dude — If you’re going to do this we have to do this now. We resubmitted, they had feedback again, he resubmitted immediately but forgot to include the guy who actually approves the projects on his email. Luckily after 3 weeks of waiting and me borderline Chernobyl, our Scoutmaster realized what was going on and Geoff sent it to the guy again. 

And it was approved. 

So. Here we are. Right on top of it. Right on the very bleeding edge of it. Here we go.

Part 1: Geoff secured permission from the town to do this.  And the fire department. And the park that is hosting the event.

Part 2: Geoff put the word out that he was collecting the flags. Within a few days, we had 100. As of right now, I think we have about 210. He wrote press releases. I made posters. He sent information in to the elementary school to tell families to come to the events. He has a Facebook group, and wrote an announcement for the school PA system. 

Part 3:  Tomorrow is the Veterans Day Ceremony in our town, and after that’s over, we will host anyone who wants to come into the conference room at Town Hall to cut and prepare flags. Did you know you were supposed to cut and prepare flags, you don’t just throw them on a fire? Yeah.  Hopefully we will get all the flags cut and folded right proper. 

Part 4: Sunday we will host the actual ceremony. Cotton flags will be burned. Nylon cannot. I am still searching to see if poly/cotton blends can be burned or if that violates the Leave No Trace policy of the BSA. We’ll see. We have to see. 

Part 5: Before Part 4, we have to write the ceremony and submit it to the VFW and American Legion. They want to see it first. We were supposed to do that this weekend. I really would like to have it complete for tomorrow when he sees them. He wrote is speech. He knows he wants his friend Taylor who is a Marine, and his grandfather who is an Air Force veteran, to place the first flags on the fire

So consider that part 3a. Or 2a. Or something. Really. 

Part 6. After this Sunday’s festivities, he has to build a new box for the town hall entry way. There is a container there now but it is really beat and really ugly. So he’s got to measure the area, get the materials. Build the box. Present the box to the VFW and the American Legion. And then establish an annual event where this will happen “in perpetuity” and as a “legacy” going forward between our Troop and the Veterans of the town.

Part 7. He also is replacing 25 flags (maybe 30 if we are feeling generous) and he has to organize and deploy a fundraiser, and send out fundraising request letters to people to get money for the flags, the box, and the possible cost of recycling the nylon flags. Which is all going to be stupid expensive in the end.  There are companies that recycle the flags, but they don’t give Boy Scouts a discount for their projects. Thanks. That’s awesome. 

Does that sound Eagle Worthy enough to you? It does to me. 

He also has to finish 2 Eagle Required Merit Badges, and 2 non-Eagle.  And then turn all of his paper work into the Council office. All be for January 7th, 2015. 

We got this? Do we? Jeesh I hope so. 

He has a learning disability, but my friend Deb went through his IEP and through the BSA Documentation on getting an extension if you have a disability, and he doesn’t have the right disabilities so he won’t qualify. so any concept of an extension is out the window. 

Here we go. I’ll be sure to update you 3 readers with news on how it goes.

And, if anyone felt like making a donation to his project you can comment, I’ll let you know where to send it. I think he needs to fundraise at least 500 bucks. 

Adam Levine guy is fast asleep. My time card that I opened in Chelsea still hasn’t loaded. I really want to call Nick’s Roast Beef in North Beverly and see if they can have a bag ready with a junior beef 3 ways and some chicken fingers for me that I can lean out the door and throw 20 bucks at them. Man, I really want some Nick’s. 

Half hour to home. And home-work. And instead of tech support it's Geoff support. And yeah, maybe a glass of Pinot Grigio. We’ll see.