Monday, October 6, 2008

Boys Being Boys

Boy Scouts, that is.

North Andover Scouts return long-lost pocketbook with $600 cash
NORTH ANDOVER — Nick Cote and Kyle Skelton felt like rich kids the day they found a soggy, smelly, brown leather pocketbook containing $600 in cash while cleaning up trash on the Saco River in Maine.
...

But the dreams of going out on a shopping spree didn't last long when the boys discovered credit cards and other identification inside the purse.

"We decided it would be the right thing to give it back to the owners," Kyle said.

"If I lost $600, I'd want it returned. So we wanted to return it to the people who lost it," Nick agreed.

Way to go Nick and Kyle!!!

The story gets even better:
"Unbelievable — the honesty that it took to do this. We told them to keep half the cash," Mike Dionne said.

I did have to disagree with one statement:
"They don't make kids like that anymore. I've never seen anyone that honest in all of my life. The parents of those kids should be proud," she said.

I've got a whole pack of boys like that. I can't imagine any of my Scouts not returning the money.

Not only did they return the purse and get a reward, the story continues to get better:
As for the reward money, the Scouts decided it wouldn't be right to spend it on themselves because they found the money during a troop project.

Instead, the boys decided the money will be used to buy the lumber and concrete footings for the boardwalk extension on the nature trail that leads to the Sargent School Woodland Study Area.

Those two boys have more character than 95% of our Congress, folks. Now, granted, that's damning with faint praise I'll admit...

Good job, guys. Good job.

That is all.

6 comments:

zeeke42 said...

Great story. I can't help but laugh every time I see a reference to Saco, Maine, thanks to a certain former NES poster.

knitalot3 said...

That's pretty awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

THAT'S one of the primary reasons I invested so much of my free time with our scout troop. Boy Scouts teach young men more than just how to tie a square knot. They build character.

Old NFO said...

Great news, the Boy Scouts still stand for something and that is truth and honesty! Now if we could get a few more people on that bandwagon...

Jay G said...

zeeke42,

Heh. I had managed to suppress that portion of the story. Until now...

knitalot3,

Thanks! I thought it was pretty neat, and given the Scout connection, well...

agg79,

Bingo. This story was actually sent to me by one of my (former) WeBeLos moms whose son has crossed over and is now in the Boy Scout Troop.

It's nice to see such a positive impact.

old nfo,

No kidding. I debated over even using the phrase "more character than 95% of our Congress" because it's really not much of a compliment...

Anonymous said...

Perhaps instead of the phrase:
"more character than 95% of our Congress" we should "hold congress to this standard of honesty".