If you followed my Eagle Project Part 1 post, you know The Boy was making a Hail Mary pass to complete his Eagle Scout Project before he turns 18 on March 8th. The actual project took place on Saturday, February 19th. And believe it or not - he got her done.
The Boy and I got started around 7:30AM loading the truck with tools and getting everything prepped at the school for the volunteers who would arrive at 9:00AM. We had bright sunshine, temps in the mid 40s but high winds gusting to over 50 mph. It could have been worse.
When we pulled the plastic up we found that the ground was thawed although there was still ice around the perimeter of the work area. As the day progressed we found that this corner gets no sunlight at all.
Here the boys (7 in all) are digging and leveling.
Here's the stump they had to take out.
Meanwhile, I supervised The Pudge and his buddy, Simple J in the assembly of 3 garden benches. We set up in the schools all purpose room where it was nice and warm.
We set up tables in the main hallway for pizza for lunch. The Boy was able to get some of the pizzas donated.
Here's the completed project. We had some minor excavating and leveling problems that The Boy fixed. It took us longer than we thought (by 1 1/2 hours) because the boys took too much dirt out and we had to bring back about 8 wheel barrows of dirt from the dump area about 200 yards away.
The Boy owes a few favors for the effort his buddies put into this project. It was interesting working with The Boy's friends and overhearing the conversations and joking that went on - constantly. When one of the guy's sister walked by, our job site turned into your stereotypical hard-hat wearing teamsters job site. Good Boy Scout fun.
Now every things done except the paperwork, but this was definitely the last big hurdle to clear. The principal of the school needs to sign-off on the project, his eagle application with 5 reference letters needs to be submitted to council and he needs to learn 5 fishing knots to finish the fishing merit badge (the last badge he needs) all before March 8th. I think he'll get it done but I'm sure it will take some nagging on my part.Then it's an Eagle Scout board of Review before council (which can happen after the 8th) and he's done. I still can't believe it. I'll probably go through this again for The Pudge in 3 or 4 years.
19 comments:
Awesome job all around!
grrrrrrrrrherhahahaha. oh the agony of bring back heavy loads of fill dirt. Ive been there myself. bravo to the Boy! (and you)
Congrats on a job well done! You hiring those boys out by any chance? I got a few home improvement projects on my plate . . .
Excellent work by all!
Wow! That's not easy to get things level and I like the pattern in the pavers. SMART man to pick the project that can be done inside. You must be very proud. :-)
and Moi's right, I have a few projects around the beach house.........
Add me to the list of projects .... great job future Eagle scouts! Is there a special provision for dads who shoulda Eagled? I think there should be!
Congratulations Buzz. Eagle scouts are rare, second generation even rarer.
Dani
You can't see it in the pictures but the wind was really kicking all day. It made finishing this project that much better.
Chicky
I was tied up with the benches and by the time i got back out to see what they were doing, too much dirt was already gone.
Moi
This group is what I collectively call "the locust". They come to my house and there's not a blade of grass left when they leave. In other words, if they work at your house, they will lay waste to your fridge and pantry.
IE
Thanks, but this last minute fire drill is killing me. The Pudge has already promised to be eagle by the time he's 17.
Boxer
I am proud. But he really relied heavily on the kindness of others. Even though I let the Pudge and his budddy do most of the work, I had to supervise or else they would stop and play basketball. Being warm was just gravy.
Pam
Thanks and yes there is. I get to pay for the eagle Ceremony and party.
Madman
Well, the 1st generation never made Eagle, so I have to live vicariously through the 2nd generation. Hell, if it gets him a job after graduation and out of the house, it will be worth it.
The smell of women roasting on the beach, bottled:
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess
Serge Lutens Datura Noir
J-Lo Miami Glo, which can be had for pennies at any drugstore around, including Wal-Mart.
Moi
I'll have to see if I can get the Mrs to wear the J-Lo Miami Glo...and a tattoo.
But not just any tattoo, remember. Gotta be a tramp stamp, with flip flops and a thong strap showing above the Juicy Couture sweatsuit.
Good evening Buzz Kill,
Glad to see it all came together. All parties involved deserve a big pat on the back. Goes to show what can be accomplished when young folks apply themselves with a little mentoring (well probably a lot). From what you written, I can tell you that I'm impressed by the level of involvement the boy could generate from outside sources.
If he needs any help with knots, if he tries this site he should be able to get through his remaining merit badge quickly.
uh, how does a dude get the name of "simple j" ?
I can think of some ways...none of them good. grrrrrrrehahahaha
Moi
She already has that look. Bwahahaha
Karl
Getting him to the day of the project was most of the work for me. He ran the project pretty well and his friends all listened to him. They made fun of him, of course, but did as they were told. Thanks for the knot site. I think he knows the knots he needs. It's just a matter of him showing me.
Chicky
The kid doesn't have a nick name that I know of, so I made that one up. It's actually a play on his real name but fits him to a tee - unfortunately. He's a good kid (although he has ADD or something like it) and he and the Pudge are good friends. I stepped out a couple of times and listened to them work (when they weren't shooting hoops) and they sounded like a couple of old assembly line workers chattering away while they worked, bad mouthing their boss - oh wait, they.were.talking.about.me. bwahahaha
Drop by whenever you get a chance. I have declared a Haiku Winner.
Well done to the boys! Nice to see kids that age doing something constructive. I hope they all relished the sense of achievement!
So, Buzz, what ARE YOU GOING TO COOK while wifey's away? Inquiring minds want to know!
Diva
We had crock pot chili last night. It dried out on me a little because I was late getting home but we all still ate it. Tonight might be fish and calamari (frozen) or hot dogs and beans. We're (the boys and I) living the life of Reilly.
Sounds divine! By the way, you can check out my label for "Caveman Cooking" to see how I braised lamb shanks last year. Same dif! Have a warm weekend!
Those boys look exactly like the boys who trail thru our house, Eagle Projects in hand. The Engineer is attending an Eagle ceremony tonight. The puppies loves boy scouts almost as much as girls (girls pet more and make nice doggy noises).
Post a Comment