Posted by
oldscout on Thursday, June 18, 2009 6:00:00 PM
TO MY GRANDSON
Dear Keirick;
Your eighth birthday is fast approaching, and I wanted to
put down some thoughts as you finish up Second Grade, and prepare for next year.
I was very proud on your first day of school, when you were
the only one in your class of five and six year olds who knew the pledge of
allegiance.
When your teacher asked you
to lead the class in the pledge, my heart swelled.
You surprised me when you asked Grandma to get you a
policeman costume for Halloween. I had
not appreciated how much you admired your uncle and two cousins who are police
officers. Your comments about police
protecting and helping people were wise beyond your years.
I put copies of the pictures you and I took at the Gold
Star Military Museum
at Camp Dodge
on your Mom’s computer. That way, you
can look at them any time you want. I
know from the questions you ask, that you worry about your Uncle Patrick and Cousins
Keith and JoAnn while they take on their very important jobs. I hope you understand my answers, and know
why they can’t always be with us when we want.
I worry about them too, but we both know they are very smart, and they
know what they are doing and how to take care of themselves and their friends. Like
all of our family, they want to protect you, but sometimes must be away while
they do that. Just remember to include
them when you say your bedtime prayers, and all of the men and women in the
military.
You won’t understand this part for awhile, but you were a
very big help to your Mom when she was sick from the cancer medicine. She tells me that you have even made dinner
for both of you when she was too tired from her college classes and medicine to
cook. I don’t know how or when you
learned to do some of the things you help your Mom with, but I do know that
every time you help it is just like saying “I love you” to your Mom.
When you started first grade, you were able to officially
join the Cub Scouts. You have already
been to Scout Camp many times, helping your Mom and me with different Scout activities. That means you know some things the other
Cubs won’t know yet, and will be able to do some things they haven’t
learned. Don’t be a show off about the
things you know, but help your fellow Cubs learn how to do those things
themselves.
Like all parents and grandparents, I wanted my children and
grandchildren to be smarter, healthier, happier, freer and more prosperous than
my generation. Your test scores have
already shown that you are much smarter than I was, and your level of activity
is an indication of your health. What
worries me now is the prospect that you may not have the same freedoms and
opportunities that I had. And for that,
I take responsibility.
I had the duty to future generations to insure that the
principles upon which our Nation was founded were protected, nurtured and
grown. And in this regard, I have not
kept that duty well. While so many
adults are worried about the economy, jobs and finances, we have looked in the
wrong places for the answers to our questions.
We are relying on others to fix things, instead of fixing things
ourselves. And the ones who we look to
for help are often the same folks who caused our problems.
As a Scout Leader, I have tried my best to be true to the
twelve points of the Scout Law. To me, the
most important is to be Trustworthy. But
I have broken that law, by allowing people who are not trustworthy to become
the leaders of our country. Many of our
elected officials have lied, cheated and even stolen from others. Yet I, and others like me, have not cared
enough for your future to demand better behavior from those who have authority
and power. And now, they are taking away
the freedoms I had all of my life. By the
time you reach adulthood, I fear you will have been given a country very different
from the one I found as a young man.
I want to make a promise to you, and I know that you trust
me to keep my promises. I will do
whatever I can to help bring our country back to our values and character. I will not just let things happen, but will
take a more active role in becoming a true citizen, trusting in our founding
principles to give you a country and a future that cherishes our freedoms and
opportunities. I cannot guess how things
will be as you grow up, but I will do my best to give you a country where you
can make your dreams come true; and that will make my dreams come true.
With Love
Grandpa