Scout’s Honor

My son proudly carrying the American flag.

 

Before your,  as promised for every Sunday,   ” Good News “  story,  an apology.

I have been pretty sick all week and not quite fully functional, so my communications with all of you have really suffered.

I truly regret this, as all of you and this Blog mean the world to me.

Reading about what  this Museum  is doing for those with physical limitations,  or who  are physically challenged,  while I was so sick this week,  made me truly grateful to be alive and feeling pretty guilty for my indulgence in self-pity.

It also brought back a flood of extremely good memories.

You may be wondering why this week’s  story,  is NOT about a wild animal,  it is instead about a unique place that could be a beacon of light for others to follow.

Reading about it made me smile,  when I felt so awful,  I hope it will  do the same for each of you.

There were three connection points in this story to my own life that will explain why I chose it.

As you may know, my education was in Anthropology, point one in the connection here and you may  also remember,  the story of my son and his heartfelt comments upon  seeing a blind child, connection point two.

As a former Nurse, I can honestly say that what this Museum is doing, is such a refreshingly welcome and positive approach to bridging the gap between the two worlds of those with and without, physical limitations, connection point three.

Raising a child with physical limitations was challenging and having facilities and opportunities such as this one, was always a blessing, which was never taken for granted.

We need so many,  many more just like them.

When my  young son joined the Cub Scouts at his ” special ” school,  his small Troop needed a Den Mother, so I volunteered.
This decision began a lifelong friendship and presented an opportunity for personal growth for me and for him as well.

Our little Troop did things others said that we could not or should not do, like taking a field trip to the Van Nuys Airport with our boys and their varying degrees of physical limitations.

I can still remember standing  at the base of the Control Tower with one of the Control operators who looked at me and then at the boys and said, ” you want to do what? “

But, he saw the look  in my eyes and within minutes,  every one of those little Cub Scouts was up and in that Tower.

They had the time of their lives and made memories for a lifetime.

What they learned that day was, that if you want something, regardless of your physical  limitations, if you really  want it bad enough, nothing can stop you.

This was the lesson that I repeated to my son his entire life, that nothing could ever stop him, if he wanted it bad enough.

And as he grew into a man, I can tell you, nothing ever did.

He has accomplished some pretty unbelievable things in his life, despite what could have been severe restrictions from the confinement of a wheelchair.

This inspiring story about a very special  Museum in Pennsylvania,  made me remember those years as a Den Mother to some remarkable little boys and a Co-Den Mother,  whose son also had physical limitations, and who to this day is still one of my dearest friends.

Please do enjoy the story:     Please Touch

 

 

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