Every morning when my feet hit the floor I thank God for another day of life in Hawaii. It is not an accident that I am living here. I worked hard for a long time to make it happened. I am living the life I want, in my favorite place in the world.
This afternoon my family and I will be attending the first Troop 65 leaders meeting of the new Scouting year. Our Scouting year follows the school year. We will be planning our activities for the upcoming year.
The meeting is at Queen Liliuokalani Park on the Hilo bayfront. A beautiful place overlooking the bay - across the bay is the town of Hilo, with Mauna Kea rising up behind. The meeting is potluck and everyone brings something to share and something to grill. The kids fish and swim while the adult leaders and senior Scouts work out the schedule of activities for the coming year. These people have become my ohana. I cannot tell you how lucky I am that I have them in my life.
I'm happy to read that there are Scouts in Paris Phil! If you check the bios of the astronauts, great leaders, and other successful men, you will find that many are Eagle Scouts (once an Eagle, always an Eagle). Scouting is an excellent organization. The best part is, as a Scout leader, I get to be in the Scouts all over again, and help my son and other boys grow up to be good men.