Side Note One to the 2015 Review: On the Last COH

It felt hollow, our last Court of Honor. People shared their memories from a bygone era and mourned the lost of that which they left. I'm sorry I don't know the troop 831 of the 90s or 2000s, and that I barely recognize anyone that showed up. Here's my sidebar: yes it was a magical reunion of yore, but it was the mourning of something completely preventable. They mourned their memories of 831, not the 831 that held that court of honor.

As the scouts from years past walked up to speak about their memories or advice or whatever, each one of them recounted memories and punctuated their speeches with a near-condemnation of the current administration for ending it. Here's the deal: we had 4 scouts legally under 18 and on the books.

I saw this coming back when I was SPL: we lost our feeder pack because the Cubmaster pulled the jenga blocks and left, leaving it to collapse in the hands of someone who supposedly abused the money or something, and while that's a nice little excuse it isn't a good one. In 2010 and 2012 we needed to look at recruitment, not sustainability. Because without the first one, the second was and proved to be impossible. Not once did Troop 831 take up an independent scouting recruiting effort. I understand that it's hard to recruit teenagers into scouting: I attempted to do it and it didn't work once. We reached out nowhere packwise, and this grand network of alumni remained silent and detached until April 26th. That's the reality.

It wasn't overnight, people just didn't join. And those of us that were there aged out. So before you fault the scoutmaster for overnight killing your childhood, realize that you detached yourself from it, and ignored the Eagle Promise to give back to scouting. The time it could've been saved was between 2010 and about 2013. I will admit I was SPL within that window, but at the same time this needed to be a boy and adult-led effort. It's done, and over. Just don't blame us.

<<< BACK

Christmas Letter 2015/2016

Here is the annual Christmas Letter enclosed within the cards we sent out this year. Enjoy if you're the kind of person that like that kind of thing!

Hello!

We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits.I’m not entirely sure if we sent out a letter last year, but to be completely honest I find it hard to believe that it’s already Christmas time. Then again, with the weather the way it is the only thing dictating Christmas is the turning of the calendar. 

Speaking of that calendar, here’s a recap of 2015 for our family, a year most notable for its transitions. If I went month-by-month, this letter would end up being three pages long, and most of that timing would be pure guessing based off a Google calendar. So here are the highlights by person.

First, my brother Matt. He has been involved with the local volunteer fire department (Glendale Hose Company #1) for about a year and a half now. He has completed all of the training he is allowed to as a junior fireman. There’s some sort of magic training he can only do after he turns 18, so he hasn’t done that yet. He did turn 16 this year and after a test he has a driving permit. Pennsylvania drivers beware: he is planning on taking the driving test for his license in January. He’s a fantastic driver honestly; I say beware because adults generally say that, also he could possibly show you up with his skillset. 

He’s now also employed at the Shop ‘n Save in Scott. Last I checked (he’s not around much) he’s working in the stocking department and seems to be enjoying himself there. If nothing else, I’ve enjoyed his stories from working on the front lines of a grocery store. He is excelling at Parkway West Career and Technology Center studying electrical systems technology. As for what he’s doing with the other half of his day at Carlynton, I plead the fifth.

Rotor the Killer Wiener Dog is also in good health. I’m pretty sure. He does some weird stuff sometimes, but then again he’s a dog and not actually my brother. Then again, at times he’s nicer to me than my actual brother but that’s neither here nor there.

My mother is working at Saint Clair Hospital in their Pathology department typing and filing documentation for the stuff that comes out of people from surgeries. I enjoy her stories also, but they tend to center around fickle doctors instead of bizarre grocery incidents like my brother’s stories. She’s also slowly going insane with two teen drivers in the house, a schizophrenic dog, and a college student (yours truly).

My father is about the same as last reported. He doesn’t change much: he works for the state (his stories are a mix of gripes with Marcellus shale workers and state lawmakers), he’s a homeless scout leader (our boy scout troop folded in April unfortunately (much to my personal chagrin)), and does general priest-like things like making bulletins and answering phone calls from people the state over. Recently he’s been doing sleep studies in hopes of figuring out what makes him snore, but reports from my mother lead me to believe this isn’t a new thing and personally I’m not sure this is a fixable thing. My reasoning? When we were staying over for a recent family function, my brother, then father, then dog, then mother all started snoring causing me to sleep on a couch in another room.

Which brings me to, well, me. This year I became an Eagle Scout, graduated Carlynton High School (with a 4.0 GPA), and began working toward a degree in journalism at Point Park University. I live on campus there with a group of guys and girls whom I’ve come to call my second second family. My first family is the people actually related to me, and my second family is the people in Slickville. Already I’ve become involved with the campus newspaper as an editor, with the campus radio as a DJ, and with the student government. I work part-time for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a high school sports stringer: those guys who take calls from high school basketball coaches seeking score reports for print. 

For us, this year has been crazy busy and 2016 shows no sign of this trend stopping. 

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and a Blessed New Year!

Sincerely,

        [Signed Alex, Matt, Gina, and Father Bob Popichak]