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Troop 5 of North Bergen, New Jersey was founded in 1916. In its long and storied history, it served generation upon generation of boys and young men, touching their lives in myriad ways and always true to the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
I was lucky enough to be a part of one of those generations. Occasionally I’d meet—most often quite by accident—a fellow alumnus of the same troop.
The way we’d each sort of “discover” the other was that we’d notice something about how they stood in a crowd, or how they reached out to help another in a pinch, or how they seemed to embody a particular set of values. It never took one or the other of us long to ask, “You were a Scout, yes? Was that by any chance in a troop in Hudson County, New Jersey?”
This is how I first met Steve Vartan Jaharian. It was through Rotary; we were both on our pathway to becoming District Governors, and quickly became friends, even though we were a Scout generation apart in Troop 5 and had never met one another as Scouts.
This past Monday, Steve told the story you’re about to read on Facebook. It’s such a wonderful message that I’m impelled to share it with you here…
When I was a little kid, my mom liked to make breakfast for dinner every now and then. I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after coming home from a long, hard day at work.
On that evening so long ago, Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad and the rest of us. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed or would say anything!
All Dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at Mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing…never made a face or uttered a word about it!
When I got up from the table that evening, I could hear Mom apologize to Dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said – “Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then.”
Later that night, I went to kiss Dad good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your mom put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides—a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!”
As I’ve grown older, I’ve thought about that many times. Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
And that’s my prayer for you today…that you’ll learn to take in the good, and lay aside any bad, or ugly parts of your life.
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or a parent-child or a friendship!
“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket—keep it in your own.”
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
And please pass me a biscuit. Yes, the burned one will do just fine.
Please stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!
Happy Scouting!
Andy
Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to askandybsa@yahoo.com. Please include your name and council. (If you’d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that’s what we’ll do.)
Although these columns are copyrighted, any reader has my permission to quote or reproduce any columns or column parts so long as you attribute authorship: “Ask Andy” by Andy McCommish.
[No. 642 – 6/6/2020 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2020]
The NetCommish web site was selected by Scouting Magazine in 1998 as one of ten "Quality Scouting Web Sites." The article, entitled "
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