Three Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle Series #4
Real Life Superhero Spider-Man Miles
Hi. My name is Blue Ranger. I am from Troop 95. I was working on the geocaching merit badge when I discovered there is not a “Cache to Eagle Series” in my area…so I asked my Scoutmaster Captain America and the chairman black ranger if I could set one up.
A Cache to Eagle series is 12 caches near Eagle Scout projects around our council area. The Three Rivers Council is made up of 10 counties: Orange, Jefferson, Chambers, Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto, Hardin, Tyler, Jasper and Newton.
Eagle Scouts are like real life superheroes because they are kind and help others in the community and try to do a good turn daily. They live by the Outdoor Code and try to save and protect wildlife.
Each cache will share a story about a real-life hero and the way they served their community.
This is the story about the real-life superhero, Spider-Man Miles.
Even though Spider-Man Miles is known for invisibleness and web-shooting, his favorite superpower would be the power of knowing exactly what to say to comfort anyone who is hurting if he could pick one but with great power comes great responsibility.
Spider-Man Miles earned 24 merit badges while working towards his Eagle Rank. Climbing badge was probably his favorite to earn. He earned it by completing the requirements out at Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch way out in west Texas. One of the last things he had to do as part of that class was repel off of a 90-ft cliff and flip upside-down on my way down! It was so crazy. He will never forget the feeling of digging my heels into the edge of the cliff, making my body parallel with the ground I was 90 feet above. Not to mention pausing on the descent halfway down to flip upside-down and just look out at the beautiful desert canyon scenery. He will cherish that memory forever.
His Eagle Scout Project established the sign out in front of the Senior Citizens' Center in Cleveland, Texas and a bit of landscaping around the building. He came to learn that the director of activities there was wanting a sign built so that their building could be recognized from the road, and he was able to get in touch with someone who helped him obtain the tools needed to do that for them. He found a need and reached out to people who knew more than he did about what he was doing; that's all an Eagle Project (or any service project) really is, as it turns out. He wished he would have approached it with that simple of a mentality from the beginning.
He learned first and foremost that being a worker is much easier than being a manager. You might think, (as he did), that your workers would have the harder job because they had to actually get their hands dirty and sweat out in the sun and use shovels and other tools. But, he definitely learned that it is much more of a task to manage a team well than to just do your part on the team. You REALLY have to know your project inside and out as much as you can if you're going to communicate your vision and instruct others.
Also, you need to keep up with who is working on what and remember when to go and check on their progress to make sure they're carrying out your vision in a way that fits your standards. It's a lot to keep up with and a LOT of paperwork. He had no idea how much paperwork and documenting it would all involve. It was so incredibly important to write absolutely everything down somewhere and keep up with it, (which is a great life skill in general to get in the habit of).
Spider-Man would like to advise everyone to enjoy being outdoors, hike, and cook your own food, endure the cold, and even try to learn tying all those knots. All of it will help build your initiative and self-motivation, which is so valuable in the adult working world.
And to future scouts Spider-Man Miles says, “learn to take a chance on yourself and take initiative, and also remember to stop and smell the beautiful 10-mile backpacking trip every now and then; even the ones where it rains, all your snacks get soggy, you didn't bring extra socks, and your tent floods. If you haven't had that one happen yet, make like a good Scout and "Be Prepared"!
CONGRATULATIONS TO adcork FOR FTF!
Other Caches in the Series:
3 Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle #1: Spiderman
GC8GBRZ
3 Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle Series #2 Groot
GC8GATG
3 Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle #3 The Flash
GC8GAQX
3 Rivers Council:Cache to Eagle #4 Spiderman Miles
GC8GJFT
3 Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle #5 Thor
GC8GJHK
3 Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle #6 Batman
GC8GJJG
3 Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle #7 Shazam
GC8GJNW
3 Rivers Council: Cache to Eagle #8 Iron Man
GC8GJQ5
4 more coming soon