Last week, I covered an Eagle Scout program for the West Pittston Troop 302 when Joe Breck, Drew Dixon and Daniel Feeney received their pins. No doubt it’s a great accomplishment for all three young men.
At the dinner, there were representatives of family members from all of the families as well as past and current Scouts.
I was not a Cub Scout way back when and maybe I should have been. I was very much interested in sport and that was my main focus.
The sense of pride that exuded the three and their families was pretty awesome to see.
I want to congratulate Scoutmaster Pat Messina and his wife Rosalie on graduating, with the new three Eagle Scouts, their 50th Eagle Scout. Can you imagine, the Messina’s have dedicated their entire life to Scouting and 50 is a large number of boys they helped turn into men.
I realize Scouting isn’t a lifestyle for all, but what young men and women learn from Scouting carries a lot of weight.
U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, who was on hand to present a proclamation from the U.S. House of representatives to the trio, informed the audience of his participation in Scouting with him and his sons.
He rattled off the Scout Laws of being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent, off the top of his head without reading them out of the program booklet was impressive.
Once values like that are instilled in you as a child, they stay with you forever.
He commented to the new Eagle Scouts and urged them to list Eagle Scout on any job application going forward. Being an Eagle Scout carries a lot of weight.
Cartwright went on to say if an employer has to decide on an employee between two people and one is an Eagle Scout, they would, more than likely pick the Eagle Scout.
Scoutmaster Messina spoke to the audience on the importance of Scouting and how it is a dying discipline. Numbers of Scouts are down and down to the point where, after graduating 50 Eagle Scouts, Messina feels Troop 302 is in jeopardy of dissolving.
He went on to say if new recruits don’t come in over the next few months until the end of 2024, by Jan. 1, the West Pittston Troop would be no longer.
Even though I wasn’t a Scout, Scouting was very healthy back then with maybe two dozen in every Troop or Den. Even Brownies and Girl Scouts had many members when I was 10 and 12-years-old.
Granted, with the local population dwindling, it’s a matter of it being a numbers game and you organically won’t have huge numbers.
Scouting was the thing to do back then and there’s a chance many of you reading this were Scouts.
The numbers game is an issue as well as social media being a problem as well. My high school class had 315 classmates at Wyoming Area. This past year, the school graduated just 169 students. That’s a big number of losses over time.
I’m not even sure if there are any Brownie or Girl Scout Troops in Greater Pittston anymore. I sure hope there are few hanging on somewhere.
So the plea goes on for young people, boys and girls, to check out their local Cub Scout and Girl Scout Troop and get involved.
What you will learn as a child will be with you for the rest of your life and nowadays, every person needs everything and anything possible to get ahead.
I don’t know if you are aware, but this but we just left Heart Awareness Month with February and getting and staying heart healthy is never an easy thing to do.
It always amazed me how some of my family members, growing up Italian and loving food as much as we do, would love to ripe old ages.
Back then, everyone at the fat off of the steak and people would fight to see who gets the skin off the chicken at the dinner table.
Obesity ran in my family but yet, my mother and her mother lived to be in their late 80s and middle 90s, respectively.
Growing up with McDonalds and Burger Kings all over the place, not to mention pizza joints on every corner, watching what you ate wasn’t a big concern. Well, there is an age in your life with you need to be concerned and one way to find out how heart healthy you are is by getting a Calcium Score.
A Calcium Score will tell you how much calcium is stored or I guess clogging your arteries. To me, it’s one of the best tests you can take for your heart, but what’s really odd is, most insurance plans don’t pay for the test, it has to come out of pocket.
I watched a bit of Kelly and Mark this past week and the cardiologist that was on suggested a Calcium Score test.
I had one done and so did some of my family members and let me tell you, it was an eye-opener for me.
It’s always great to be proactive with your health and many of us just don’t do that, but yet, we have to get our cars inspected every year.
Do yourself a favor, get tested.
Quote of the Week
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa
Thought of the Week
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Bumper Sticker
“Do not let making a living prevent you from making a life.” John Wooden
