Boy Scout Troop 15, gathered into their patrols (5-7 boys per patrol) for a fire building competition. As an adult leader I had a front row seat, in a manner of speaking. For the fire, each Patrol was given one stick of firewood and one match; nothing else; no help from the adult leaders is allowed. They were to build a fire that would reach and burn through a string stretched between two stakes two feet high.
Zach, my grandson and his patrol, the Cobra Patrol, gathered around their one stick of firewood and began planning to lay their fire. Each boy had an opinion about how to start, where to start, and everything else about fire building. Of course they had read their Boy Scout Handbook!– in the same manner they read/study their school books—-if you know what I mean.
I was particularly interested in watching Zach. We had a fire pit at our house; Zach always started our fires for marshmallow or weiner roasts—or for any good reason he could think of—or for no reason whatsoever. Early on, he and I had worked together, for safety reasons, building fires in the fire pit. It was a task he looked forward to at “NanaPapa’s” house. But I digress.
The boys worked well together laying the fire; splitting kindling, shaving tinder, and standing their split wood pieces, teepee style. When Zach struck the one match they had been given, it didn’t light; the match was damp. This put the Cobra Patrol out of the contest. The boys were woebegone. Determined to show that the Cobras had laid a good fire base, Zach fetched another match.
Even though the Cobra Patrol was now out of the contest. Zach lighted the fresh match anyway and stuck it to the tinder; flames began to rise through the tinder, kindling, and teepee, then leaping to the string, burned it through. No other Patrol had a fire going yet. Even though rules didn’t permit the Cobra Patrol to win the contest, they high-fived each-other anyway; they had laid a successful fire. It mattered little that they did not win; they had proved to themselves, to the Troop, and to their leaders; they know how to lay a good fire!
Success is not always the winning touchdown, or the final trophy. Success sometimes is taking a task to the finish. The Ethiopian News Agency recently reported completion of Sheger Park. The Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed had a vision of creating a symbol of hope and fortitude for their country. Many obstacles had hindered this visionary project. With persistence, the help of the people of Ethiopia, and the Chinese government, the park was completed successfully.
The Ethiopian people expressed feelings that this park is emblementac of the courage and innovation of their people; and their ability to relate creatively as well as hopefully with their friends. Maybe the Beatles song, “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends” echoes the sentiments of us all.
(A Postscript: Zach went on to be the first, in the Cobra Patrol, to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Before they aged out of Scouts, every boy in the Cobra Patrol earned the rank of Eagle Scout).