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Eagle Court of Honor
May 2003
The Mind of an Eagle
Writing Scoutmaster's Minutes often cause me to understand something about myself. It is easy for people to
criticize, ridicule and belittle others. It is more difficult to do the same to yourself.
As I sat at my computer trying to write this, I looked up at the wall, where I have a picture with a
quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt hung. The quote is this: "Great minds talk about ideas; average minds talk
about events; small minds talk about people". I thought about this, and how it reflects on my life, and I
thought about the young man sitting up here.
As people become friends, it is very common to tease them in fun. We all do it, sometimes without thinking
how the other person may feel about it. It can, and often is, very painful. Mike has been on the receiving
end of the jokes many times, and I often wondered how he was doing with it. Did it bother him as much as I
thought? I wish I knew for sure. Here is what I do know, though.
Eagle Scouts are different. They look at the world differently. They behave differently. They stand a
little prouder and a little taller than others do. They are also a lot tougher. Mike Theroux is no
different from any other Eagle Scout. Mike has dealt with the difficulties of making new friends, dealt
with the issues of getting project approvals and funding and planning and labor and weather and all of the
other issues that come with an Eagle project. He worked to earn the merit badges. He served in leadership
positions and accepted the responsibilities that go with them. He plays sports, takes guitar lessons, and
struggles with the pains of becoming a man. However, unlike the young men that are not Eagle Scouts, Mike
has an advantage. He is an Eagle, and has the respect of all that know this.
Mike has been planning for his future for a while now. He knows what he is going to do when he gets out of
High School. He has plans for a career. How many other 15 year olds can that be said about? Throughout all
of his activities, and scouting, and being a young man, he is looking to the future, and smiling.
Thinking about what he has accomplished, I remembered the picture, and recalled what I think is the
greatest quality of an Eagle Scout though. They have an innate ability to laugh at themselves. I have
never met an Eagle that did not do this. Thinking back on some of Mike's first campouts with this troop,
I realized that my concerns about how he was doing with the jokes were unfounded. Many of the jokes
bantered about came from Mike first. He already possessed the skill to laugh at himself first.
Eleanor Roosevelt's quote can be used to describe any Eagle Scout. They talk of ideas for the future of
the country, their family and themselves. They have the ability to plan and lead activities. Moreover,
they laugh about their own foibles and follies. I have decided that I do not have to worry how Mike is
doing with the jokes. He is an Eagle Scout. He is doing fine.
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