A few good deeds go a long way, Scout's honor

By IZZY GOULD
Published August 3, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - I had been playing phone tag with Joshua Nantonio a few months before he caught me at my desk Wednesday afternoon.

Of course I was shocked to hear he's a fan of my work.

That's Izzy Gould Fan Club member No. 1 and counting.

Josh, it turns out, is a 17-year-old Boy Scout. He needed to talk to me for his final merit badge dealing in personal management. Josh thinks he might want to cover sports one day and swears he's obsessed with ESPN.

I went over the basic requirements for becoming a sportswriter - earn a degree, write some stories.

Josh told me he is a few checkmarks from becoming an Eagle Scout.

The talk reminded of my Cub Scout days. My father and I once worked on a Soap Box Derby car, which turned out to be the slowest on the track.

There were troop meetings in Eric Waterford's basement and the annual camping trip where we would sleep in a tent.

When I discovered girls and sports, scouts suddenly became about as cool as my clarinet.

Now I realized talking to Josh was probably the closest I'd ever get to Eagle Scout. I couldn't even earn my Weblos badge.

Josh has been a scout for seven years and had to earn 21 merit badges and volunteer a ton of time to get Eagle. He said 3 percent of Boy Scouts make it. This last merit badge took him three months to get.

Volunteer? Commitment? Three months?

I never had a chance.

Josh volunteers at an assisted living facility and helps older folks enjoy bingo. He's most proud of his Eagle project where he raised $900 to buy materials for 317 bags he helped cut and stitch together for athletes, volunteers and coaches of the National Junior Disability Championship.

There goes my ticket to heaven.

I asked Josh why he wanted to become an Eagle Scout. He said it started by wanting to "one up" his brothers. Then it became his mission.

Somehow, Josh also manages a typical high school life beyond scouts.

He plays football at River Ridge. He's in first place in his fantasy baseball league and even has a girlfriend. If all goes well he hopes Eagle Scout will help tip the scales for a college scholarship.

"We get stereotyped when we help old ladies cross the street," he said. "We will, but we have fun doing it."

And I definitely had fun helping Josh - my No. 1 fan - earn his Eagle Scout badge.

Izzy Gould can be reached at izzygould@tampabay.com or 727 580-5315.

[Last modified August 2, 2007, 20:41:47]