My Summer Vacation

Sorry I have been gone for so long. I have been out hunting stingrays. But I am back and I finally have some new posts. Below is an addition/combination I made to two local news articles. In order to fully understand my article, you really need to read the articles linked below. They are both short and worth reading.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640199335,00.html
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=397534

Ok, now you may proceed.


The paragraphs that didn't make it into the newspaper...


Meritorious Scout earns 121 badges (cont.)
And a whole bunch of new friends in the process

By Scott Brown

(cont.)…Dallin says that his favorite merit badge was the “working it undercover” merit badge where he was able to participate in a sting operation to crack down on gay sex in public parks.

"As first I wasn't so sure about walking alone through the park wearing a leather vest and some chaps with nothing underneath," Dallin said, "but the police told me that was the only way I could earn my merit badge."

Dallin's apprehension soon turned to excitement, however, when he found that many of the friends he made in the park shared similar interests with him.

"Whenever I try to talk to my dad about Dance Dance Revolution, it's like he just zones out and stops listening," Dallin said. “He always seems to have something else come up on the days of my tournaments."

"But these guys are all the same age as my dad and they love DDR. Big groups always form whenever I start dancing and they never take their eyes off of me. It is a little uncomfortable in the chaps, but I also don't get as hot."

For Dallin, all his work paid off, but he will be the first to tell you it wasn't easy.

"It was hard. It was really hard." he said, "but after awhile, you don't even realize you are working anymore and you actually start to like it."

Dallin has more than just a merit badge to remind him of his time in the park.

"The merit badge is great, but that is way down my list of cool things I got. My new friend Bryan gave me a Barbara Streisand greatest hits cd, Frank gave me a wonderful pants suit, and JD gave me his phone number."

For Dallin, the Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared" has always been something he has tried to follow. His time in the park, however, was full of new and exciting surprises.

"This experience has opened a whole new world to me. I had a lot of guy friends before, but not like this. This is definitely different."