Outpour of Rain Didn't Dampen Outpour of Support for Brookfield Boy Scouts

Written by Melissa Marici

Support couldn’t have been stronger as you walked into St. Paul’s for the Court of Honor Annual Family Annual Picnic for Brookfield Boy Scout Troop 5. Instead of the outdoor affair it was intended to be, you were happily greeted by a respectful, lanky, uniformed scout at the door manning the grill filled with hot dogs and aromas of what was to come. You entered the typically big open space that was now set up in an orderly fashion with scouts seated in deep discussion or focused on a task they were given to handle. Adults were shaking hands and animatedly catching-up. A table filled to the brim with home-made salads of every variety lurked in the back awaiting attack.

Everyone had made it through the awful rainstorm, that took us all by surprise just an hour before, and we were all relieved and relaxed to be with our families and friends to celebrate our children’s achievements, our families’ unity, our community’s strength and the simple pleasure of sharing a meal together.

Over hot dogs and homemade salads we observed our boys turning into men around us. We watched as the many leaders in the room, each in their unique way, interacted with the kids and guided them with words and actions. The scouts were asked to come up and speak, others were given special tasks and many were recognized for good works and advancements. We listened as the younger boys spoke of their new adventures in boy scouting and the young men, many of them Eagle Scouts, spoke to the younger scouts about the importance of safety and the exciting experiences that would be theirs soon.

In the end, we left the picnic full – full of many good memories, none of which had anything to do with what the weather had taken away. For it was the weather that placed us all in the bubble of that one singular room together.