By Richard Mabey Jr.
This is a condensed chapter of the book that I am presently writing about my journey to earn scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout. This is a true story; however, I changed people’s names.
In June of 1969, at the age of 15, I had just completed my sophomore year at Boonton High School. I began taking classes for the Swimming Merit Badge. I had had Rheumatic Fever when I was 12, and up till that time my Cardiologist, Dr. Martin Rosenthal, felt strongly that my heart was not yet strong enough for the strenuous challenge of the Swimming Merit Badge classes.
The classes were held at a docking station of the Rockaway River in Boonton Township. The beach area was owned by a Scout Commissioner, who loaned out the use of his large dock for the scouts to have an aquatic center. It was known as the Boonton District Aquatic Merit Badge Center.
I was not as strong and coordinated as the other boys were. My Swimming Merit Badge Counselor, Mr. Taylor, was quite a tough man. He was stern and strict. He had a continuous facial expression that seemed to convey that he was always upset about something. We met three evenings, every week, in the pursuit of earning the Swimming Merit Badge.
In mid-July, the first class of that summer’s Swimming Merit Badge classes had completed. There were about 25 scouts in the class. I was the only scout who failed the course. But, there was good news, another class was going to begin the next week.
My biggest challenge was swimming upstream. You see, we would be required to swim quite a distance downstream, then turn around, and swim upstream to return to the large riverside dock. It was during the swim upstream that I fell woefully behind the other scouts. Sadly, Mr. Taylor once again failed me for the Swimming Merit Badge classes.
A fury burnt in my heart. Fire filled the marrow of bones. I was more determined than ever to earn the Swimming Merit Badge. I was not going to let Mr. Taylor defeat me. That night, after being told that I failed the Swimming Merit Badge classes for the second time, I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to help me earn this most coveted merit badge. The long and short of it was that the Swimming Merit Badge was one of the required merit badges to earn the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.
So, in mid-August, I began taking the Swimming Merit Badge classes for a third time. It was during these classes that Mr. Taylor’s anger toward me took on an even greater height. It was in early September, when I turned 16 and began my junior year at Boonton High School, that my third attempt at passing the Swimming Merit Badge classes concluded. Once again Mr. Taylor failed me.
But it wasn’t enough that Mr. Taylor failed me for the third time. With anger in his voice, he told me that I was wasting his time, taking the Swimming Merit Badge classes. Mr. Taylor’s last words to me, as I walked away from the big riverside dock to the driveway, where my mom was waiting for me in her car, were these words. “Maybe, you’ll never make it to Eagle Scout!”
As the tears flowed down my cheeks, I got into Mom’s car. Mom asked me what happened. I simply replied to my dear mother, “I failed again.”
To be continued.Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer. He has had two books published. He hosts a YouTube Channel titled, “Richard Mabey Presents.” He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@gmail.com.