I was at a delightful dinner a short while ago and the conversation was as good as the wonderful food. We were discussing achievements and a range of other linked topics when an old question popped into my mind. I think partially stimulated by this picture I took of the moon only a few days before.
How many people had walked on the moon? Well, the answer is 12, and after a light challenge regarding the accuracy of my number, I did return home and check my facts. The answer is correct.
The follow-on question was how many were Boy Scouts? Again I had a light challenge regarding the answer – which is 11. I also checked this fact, and again the answer is right. But when looking up this fact I was astonished to find that the one person, Pete Conrad – Commander of Apollo 12, who was not a Boy Scout had been a Cub Scout. So all of the 12 people who had walked on the moon had been in the Scouting movement. Amazing!
Fortunately, not all people who had been involved in the Scouting movement have been to the moon else it would be a pretty crowded place! This conversation was taking place only a few days after World Thinking Day (renamed with the ‘World’ in 1999). This day falls on 22 February every year. A day special in both the Guiding and Scouting calendar as it was the birthday of both Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the scouting movement and his wife Olave who was so heavily involved in the Guiding movement.
I was in Scouting right from the earliest age I could become a Cub, through the Scouts and Venture Scouts into Scout Leadership. My parents were hugely supportive and also became very involved too. On many a clear night I have slept outside under the moon and I wonder if this is what inspire those intrepid pioneers to risk so much to become astronauts? Whether their dream had been hatched under a moon-lit evening when they were in the scouts?
It is great that the scouting and guiding movement still grows and is such an amazing character builder for so many people.
- Were you in the scouts or guides?
- What did you learn that you have carried forward to this day?
- What did you learn that you have forgotten but with a little ‘thinking’ could be valuable still today?
- Have you still got that adventurous spirit that the was such a part of being a scout or a guide?
- If not, why not?
I still smile with pride having been a scout – I hope you do to.
- You made a promise to do your best – do you still honour that promise?
Now that last question is a tough one, and rightly so. I am sure it helped 12 out of 12 people who stood with pride on the moon. Just think what new horizons it could help you reach too!
My good wishes,
Peter
