To the Editor:
I have received several calls and letters of congratulations from old Scouts of Troops 7, 8 and 21 and people I met at Camp Lewis over the years. It was due to the announcement printed in your publication regarding the dinner dance which will be conducted in my honor on Oct. 16. There are many conversations centered around the possibilities of having a reunion in conjunction with the dinner. Every time I meet friends from my old scouting days in Bayonne, they suggest we all get together to have a reunion. They always want to get reacquainted and talk about the good times we had. But unfortunately we never set dates, places or times to have the reunion. Well now we have the place, the date and the time to have it: at The Boy Scout Mackin Society Award Reception. This is a great chance to meet again and reminisce. After all, we’re not getting any younger you know.
I really would love to see all my friends in the same place at that same time. It is a chance also for my family to get together. We are so spread out now; we hardly see one another anymore. We all seem to be drifting apart. I know we all have our own families now, but time is getting short for all of us. We need to get together and the sooner, the better. So often I hear one or two of our guys expiring. When I ask, “How is so-and-so doing?” or “Have you seen this one that one lately?” I get the devastatingly grim replies of, “Oh, he passed away.” I do not think we have all that much time, so we had better get together as soon as we can. The Mackin Dinner Dance kills two birds with one stone.
I wish everyone would call and make reservations. I wish all my friends and family members would make time in their busy schedules to come celebrate with me. I hope we could have so many friends and family members there that some of us would have to eat and dance out in the parking lot. But the real joy is being there with all of them.
I am so proud of the award that I am at a loss for words. I don’t have the words to express my feelings.
RODNEY TOWNES