The Scout Salute

The Scout Salute

 I believe that he thought that this was something just between me and him,

our own little secret handshake if you will.

 

I was so excited when Joshua turned 8 years old and could become a Cub Scout!  Of course, everything had to be adapted to his abilities, but when Richard Harkness was assigned to be his Scout Leader, we started a journey in Scouts of wonderful experiences full of kindness, fun and gratitude.  When Richard showed up on his bike, and rode Joshua to Scouts, with his enthusiasm, huge smile and warmth, I was full of gratitude and joy.  There was no doubt that Joshua would be welcomed and loved.  I will always treasure the Scout salute that Richard was faithfully and patiently taught Joshua.  It became their own special "hello" because Joshua knew when he saw Richard, he would do the Scout salute, in his cute Joshua style, in honor of his special friend.  [I am still looking for pictures to attach to this post, and will add them when I find them!'
 
I asked Richard to describe a few of the amazing experiences they had.  In his own words, here are a few of Joshua's Scout experiences:

 ___________

 

Where do I start? Joshua was a joy to have in my Scout group. I remember thinking that it would take some doing to get him to merge with the other boys, but Joshua made it easy. He won everyone over in 5 minutes. He was this wonderful little boy in this tall body, full of energy and wonder. I remember the first time he jumped on my back. I don’t remember if I asked him to or not. I would believe either way. And off we went for a ride.

It took a while for him to catch on the Scout salute, but eventually he got the idea and from then on it was 20 salutes/meeting. I believe that he thought that this was something just between me and him, our own little secret handshake if you will.

Once when we were working on the first aid merit badge, I wondered what I could have him do. Then it came to me. I explained that we needed someone to be the person who was hurt so we could fix him. We got Joshua to lay down and I believe that he loved the attention. A sling here, a splint there, a bandage all over. Lift the legs, he is going into shock! What fun to remember being a part of his special life. Thanks for the memories.