Doing the Beaver dance…
Last week, I got some bad news; a member of my Wood Badge patrol (we were the Beaver patrol) from two years ago, had been killed a week ago. Richard Schoek (there was an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution if you are interested in more information). Yesterday, I joined his family and friends and a group of close to 75 cub scouts, boy scouts, and scout leaders at his funeral.
It was doubly hard for me (for obvious reasons). On the one hand, I had lost a friend and brother in scouting. Richard and I did not keep in close contact, but we always were able to find time to chat at scout gatherings. By all accounts, Richard was a great husband, father, son, and brother. Clearly, he was loved, as the church was filled with those of us coming to pay our last respects.
On the other hand, however, I could not sit there and not think about my situation. As I listened to the people extol the virtues of Richard, I questioned if such positive qualities could be attributed to me, as well. This is not fishing for compliments, but more a reflection on my past and wondering if I have (as I always said I tried to do) done more good than harm during my life. The judge is still out on that one.
I will say, as I did when my Dad died, that I hope that when I do pass, that if people are crying it’s because they are laughing so hard at the stories being told about me. I fully expect that my brother Sid will regale the crowd with a description of the time he “pantsed” me while we were setting up for a party. I was standing on a chair; family members (including my father and step-mother) were sitting on the couch watching, as my brother grabbed my shorts (and apparently my underwear, too) and pulled. One good thing about my cancer is that I was able to get my brother to agree not to pants me anymore until April, 2013 (when I hit the 5-year survival mark).
I will leave you with one of my lasting memories of Richard. During Wood Badge, Richard taught us the Beaver song:
Beaver One, Beaver all; Let’s all do the Beaver crawl
Beaver Two, Beaver Three; Let’s all climb the Beaver tree
Beaver Four; Beaver Five; Let’s all do the Beaver jive
Beaver Six; Beaver Seven; Let’s all go to Beaver Heaven
Beaver Eight; Beaver Nine; STOP! It’s Beaver Time
Go Beaver! Go Beaver! Go Beaver!
Now imagine 8 adults singing that in front of several dozen other scouters! Richard was able to get us to do that and we had everyone in stitches!
I’m sure Richard is up in Beaver Heaven right now, singing away. He will be missed.
Merle