Sep 12, 2011

Guest Blogger - The Dog Walker - Dozens and Dozens of Badges


Shell at Things I Can't Say always seems to know just when and what I want to link up. I’ve told you before about my amazing autistic son. He’s 17 years old and he just finished ALL the Merit Badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. We are so proud of him! He has wanted to guest blog about this forever and I told him that he could right after his final Court of Honor which was tonight. So here he is, the Dog Walker, in all his Scouting glory…

Adding the link now...just couldn't wait until tomorrow.
Here is his interview with KSL's Sandra Yi.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=17211431&nid=1010



I would like to say that all my life in Boy Scouts has been so much fun and lots of hard work! It really helped me learn a bit better how I could accomplish my goals. With all these badges I have on my sash I just have like 132 on here. And every one needed a counselor and lots of them needed interviews and special lessons and helpers. The only reason I earned them all was because of help from all my neighbors and friends! So the first thing I want to say is a big THANK YOU!

Now I would like to tell all of you about the badges I liked and disliked. The first badge I liked the most was Cycling, because riding a bike on the Miller’s Sports Park Track was exciting because there were professionals and people on the bleachers. A guy named Rodger Miller was my cycling partner. (His dad was Larry H. Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz.) Rodger made sure I didn’t quit or get dehydrated. I rode 51 miles that day!

I kind of enjoyed the new Chess badge, because it helped me learn a lot of ways on how to become better at chess. I usually just lose, but Friday at school, I beat one of my friends with some of my new skills. Then it was, Scuba Diving, because it was so exciting to be underwater without drowning, but to save yourself from drowning, you breathe through a regulator. I got to dive at the Crater. It’s so much fun to scuba dive, I want to go again.

The next badge was Scouting Heritage, because it told me how exciting scouts would be especially learning about the person who started scouts named Baden-Powell.
Then, Camping, because it was exciting to sleep in a tent at any place like sometimes we campout at my Grandma’s house, or in our backyard or in the mountains. I like learning lots of things at camp.

Next, Robotics, because it had a lot of learning about how using a robot can be very important on difficult locations while working, like in space, the ocean, a volcano, or a crumbled building. Building my own robot was fun. I put black tape on the floor in our entry way and people were surprised to see that my robot could follow the path all by itself.

The next one was Climbing, because I did most of it at the climbing gym in Sandy called Momentum, and it was kind of scary, but fun. Gym Rat and Alex and Princess and Crafty went with us. Gym Rat started to slip off the wall when a rock turned, but Alex saved him which is kind of funny because she is a skinny little girl and Gym Rat is a big strong muscle guy.

The next badge I liked was Animal Science, because I really enjoyed learning about different kinds of farm animals like my grandpa’s sheep. Then the next one was Wilderness Survival, because it helped me learn how I could survive in a wilderness if I ever got lost or far away from a group. It was fun sleeping outside in a shelter I made all by myself. I don’t like lightning though.

Next was Personal Fitness, because it helped me know about how to stay fit and that it’s important to have a physical exam. The next one was Horsemanship, because I learned a lot about horses from my neighbor. I even remembered that I liked riding on her special black horse named Lucky. I had a lot of fun with Lucky.

And then the last badge I liked was the grape soda cap…I’m just teasing. The owner of the UP house actually gave it to me right when the family and I went to see the UP house in Herriman. Seeing the Up house was a lot of fun. The inside was almost exactly like from the movie.

Anyway, there are some badges that I didn’t like when I did them, like Backpacking, because I had to walk three fifteen-milers and one thirty-miler in hard environments like Hayden’s Peak. I didn’t really like Orienteering, because it was so hard to try to use a compass while trying to get the degrees right to get the degrees and paces. Another badge I disliked was Surveying. It was kind of like Orienteering, but sometimes you have to measure the distance and degrees there. Math isn’t my favorite subject and I don’t like having to get everything just right.


Passing off the merit badges with all of you was a lot of fun! The last two merit badges I passed off were Inventing and Chess. Now that I have passed all of those merit badges off, I will remember each one and it will help me in my grownup life. I will always be a Boy Scout no matter how old I am.

27 comments:

Tracie said...

You are an inspiration to us all! Congrats on such a wonderful accomplishment. You definately deserve it!

Emma Frances said...

That's awesome Dog Walker! It's amazing how many different things you got to do through scouting. My brothers never really got into it so I didn't know how awesome it is! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on completing so many merit badges!!

Cathyjo said...

Wow,Congraulations.And what a grate post.Thanks for sharing.Some day you maybe a scout letter yourself.

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

Way to go! That is awesome. congrats.

Jenny said...

WOW! Congrats to your son...such an achievement. Definitely a magic moment.

Missy | Literal Mom said...

What an amazing accomplishment for him - and YOU, Momma! Congrats to you both!

Sara Lucinda Bell said...

Congrats to the Dog Walker! That's very impressive. I don't know that I could do all of those things these days. My body is what some might call "lazy."

Grammy Staffy said...

What an amazing post. You have worked so hard to earn all of those merit badges. It is inspiring that you worked hard even on the badges that you did not like. We all need to work at times on things we do not like to do. I am proud of you and all that you have accomplished. You are a good example to me. After our bad car accident, I am doing physical therapy that is painful and I don't want to do it... but it is necessary if I am going to be able to regain the use of my left arm. When I am doing my PT this week I am going to work harder and think of how hard you worked to get all of those merit badges, even the ones you didn't enjoy doing.
Congrats, Grammy Lura

Jaclyn M said...

Great post!! Congrats on earning all your badges!! Being an Eagle Scout is the best! My husband still talks about earning all of his badges. This will stay with you forever!

LOVE MELISSA:) said...

What a wonderful accomplishment!! Awesome . I'm a new follower. Found you thru other mommy bloggers. Love a follow at www.the-mommyhood-chronicles.com

Amanda said...

phenomenal!! excellent work young man! you make all of us proud, and some of us don't even know you in real life!

Galit Breen said...

This? Is pure heart warming! Love it!

Shell said...

what fabulous accomplishments!

Ann Marie said...

Congratulations!!!!!
What an accomplishment!!

I come from a large family of scouting.. and I know firsthand how much work goes into it.. the scout, scoutleaders, Mothers and Fathers! I applaud everyone who works hard on their goals and accomplishes them! :)

Middle-aged Mormon Man said...

Sweet! That is a manly man!

LeAnn said...

Congratulations to Dog Walker; that was an awesome post. I am impressed that you did all of the badges. All three of my sons and 3 son in laws are Eagle Scouts and they all are great men and much of that is attributed to the scouting program. Enjoy the moments of this one and blessing to you!

Jennifer said...

Just saw the Channel 5 report featuring "Dog Walker". Congrats!
Just think what you will accomplish next.

Marvett Smith said...

What an awesome achievement! Way to go Nate! You are such a great example. I love your determination! Keep up your hard work! Thank you for sharing!

Leighannn said...

Incredible!
Great job on everything you have done!
I had a hard time walking 5km and you walked over 15!!! AMAZING!

Grumpy Grateful Mom said...

Amazing! I'm so impressed! I love that you set your goal and worked so hard to achieve it. I think you're a wonderful example for anyone! I saw you KSL too--great job!!!

Honey I'm Home Blog said...

Sandy, Thanks for letting me know about this. You have every rite to be the proud, doting mother. I watched the news report about Nate & my heart was touched.

Warmly, Michelle

Connie said...

I know that Moms are very involved with their son's merit badges. So I have to say congratulations to both of you. However, I have a feeling that this young man worked very hard to earn every one. I loved reading about his likes and dislikes. What a great "guest post"!

Arkansas Patti said...

I am totally impressed. I had no idea how much was involved in becoming an Eagle Scout. Now I know why so few make the grade.
You can be so proud of toughing out the difficult and bulldozing through the unpleasant.
Kind of understand now why so many of our leaders were once Eagle Scouts.
Be proud and keep on that same path of determination, you can only win.

Emmy said...

Congratulations! It would have been fun to ride a bike at the sports park! Thanks for sharing your experience.

Anonymous said...

I bet a lot of hard work went into this wonderful achievement.

Anonymous said...

I love everything little things about this post!! Congrats to your son! Those are some mega accomplishments!! I love the post in his own words! Came by from magic moments. :)

Dog-Walker said...

With all those merit badges passed off, I'm going to write story series on each one. I'm going to make them a commedy on the stories of Scouts.