While at church this week, the Priest started his homily by sharing the names of several athletes who, as a kid, he thought were beautiful when they played their sport – Albert Pujols at bat, Michael Jordan on the court, and some rugby player whose name I’ll never remember. I could bring us up to modern times by conjuring “beautiful” images of Bryce Harper swinging for the fences or Steph Curry dropping a 3, but I’m not sure I can come up with a rugby player!
Most Troop 58 Scouts are well aware that I have a knack for casually adding to the Scout Law (point # 29 – a Scout does his homework, point # 37 – a Scout is nice to his sister, etc.), but I can’t say I’ve ever thought of a Scout as being beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, we have some fine-looking Boy Scouts, especially when everyone is in their Class A uniform! That being said, a Scout who lives by the Scout Oath and Law – both overtly and by having it guide all they do and say without invoking them – is truly a beautiful thing, especially in today’s times where there isn’t much beauty in our society. I think that’s the point the Priest was getting at.
Alas, I don’t expect to see anyone from Troop 58 on a future pageant stage in their uniform – but the 2nd and 3rd definitions of the term “beautiful” from dictionary.com sure do hit the mark! Maybe we should add home runs and swishes to the Patrol Outing competition at September’s campout….