Boy Scout
Beginning as a Cub Scout I went on to become a Boy Scout and Explorer Scout. I acquired numerous merit badges as I advanced in the Boy Scouts from Tenderfoot, to Second Class, First Class, and Star, and was only two or three merit badges short of Life; however, scoutmasters kept changing and for long periods there was none. Former scoutmaster Gary Elam has in later years expressed his regret to me, saying that otherwise he knew I would have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the BSA's highest.
