Flights of Fancy

 

Flights of Fancy

Noel Laflin

8-2-25

 

I received an email from a Boy Scouting site reminding me I successfully passed my Eagle Board of Review on this day in 1967.

 

"Once an Eagle always an Eagle' they concluded in the post.

 

Now, 1967 was a long time ago, but I have vague memories of meeting with some gentlemen reviewing my application and asking questions - none of which I could quote you today.

 

But it was with a sigh of great relief when I left the meeting, handshakes all around and told congratulations.

 

It was a time of final personal completions regarding school grades, church obligations, and Scouting. However, I vividly remember just how tired I suddenly felt with all of the self-imposed pressure I had put upon myself in order to have accomplished these goals. But suddenly, it was time to relax and enjoy the rest of that long ago summer break. There were over the line pick up ball games and around the world basketball contests with a best friend to get back to. There was a family vacation to look forward to. There was a place called Camp Ahwahnee to also look forward to.

 

There were friends to enjoy. There was youth. There was life.

 

There was peace, even during a time of social unrest, city riots, student protests, flags and draft cards being burned, a daily climbing death toll in Vietnam, a brother who has just enlisted in the Marine Corps ...

 

Scouting changed over the years. It's not even recognizable to me anymore. But I had changed too. That's life in a nutshell, I suppose.

 

I don't even know why those folks at the Eagle web site have even kept me on their mailing list. I should write them back one of these days and remind them that it was their organization that cut ties with me long ago.

However, every once in a while, I open the old wooden box in the desk and check to make sure that the slightly tarnished Eagle pin dangling from its once vibrant but now faded ribbon, hasn’t just upped and flown away.

 

Help

 

Help

Noel Laflin

8-6-25

 

The Beetle's fifth album, Help!, was released on August 6, 1965.

 

The album cover was originally to have portrayed the four band members spelling "help" in semaphore, but the result was deemed aesthetically unpleasing, and their arms were instead positioned in a meaningless but aesthetically more pleasing arrangement.

 

I learned semaphore when I was in the Boy Scouts and am not sure how aesthetically pleasing my arm positions were either as I flapped about with those little flags practicing in the living room with my dad.

 

And I think I only broke one lamp in the learning process. My mom requested that we continue with our flag placement practice outdoors thereafter

.

Fortunately, I never had to use it to ask for help. I was never asked to oversee their photo cover either. But in my defense, I was only twelve.