Scoutmaster's Minute

Scoutmaster's Minute - September 2005

On a warm and wild evening last month, I stood in my living room fixed to the television. I was standing because I kept popping outside to check the skies, looking for the telltale rotation that spawns the nasty stuff. I had seen the rotation not too many years before, poking my head out of the basement of Saffran Lodge and watching a cloud skip over our little heaven only to unleash on the other side.

By the time the front passed over my house, it had already produced several tornados to the west. Quickly, a powerful cell developed fifteen miles south and reports were pouring in of a large twister on the ground. When the dust settled we learned that a F3 tornado had rolled through a subdivision, killing one man, injuring many, and completely destroying dozens of homes leaving families without shelter.

But, what struck me most is what followed. Hundreds of volunteers, driving from nearby states and counties sifting through rubble and carting away downed trees. Mother and daughter teams riding busses into secured areas, collecting priceless photographs and family heirlooms for complete strangers. And then, in the background, uniformed Scouts.

What makes America great is not high-speed internet, powered moon roofs, or Kitchen Aid mixers. It is not 110 story towers, 700 foot dams, or supersonic fighter jets. What makes America great is you, the average everyday American who digs into his pocket book and his vacation time to help a neighbor in need. No agency instructs you to volunteer, no law mandates your donation, it just happens. The question is not 'When will they get help?' but 'When can we get started?' America extends her hand.

With all of our powerful machines, no tiny humans can match the power of Mother Nature. But, as the days and weeks pass, be sure to witness the manifestation of another power. The power of Love.

To all who have contributed themselves and their possessions, God Bless. You are America.