abbydaddy
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2014
- Messages
- 3,020
It has been another year, and what a year it has been. I hope you are all doing well.
For those of you who haven't seen this little annual tradition of mine, it is a GAW I do in memory of my baby brother. He would have been 28 this year if he was still with us.
Background About My Brother
On May 14th, 2014, my baby brother died in a car accident. He was 13 years younger than me, but we were very close. When he was a baby we shared a room, and so I woke with him and fed him and changed him as an infant (which led my dad, at one point, to mistakenly claim that August slept through the night from the beginning). For a good chunk of his early childhood it was just him, me, and my dad, so my brother had a hard time understanding that he did not have two dads. As he got older that changed, but the semi-parental character always stayed a part of our relationship. After I moved out he moved across the country to live with his mom, who he stayed with for the most part until his death. Nonetheless, he always made sure to call me at least a couple times a month until he died. He was very good about keeping in touch. Much better than I am.
He did not have an easy go of it in life, and as he got on into his teenage years he had a lot of trouble with drugs and alcohol. He had a series of stints in rehab and a school for troubled teens. After high school he continued the same trajectory, and though he enrolled in a community college he was not able to keep clean and quickly dropped out. After dropping out of college he finally seemed to get serious about his recovery. After another stint in rehab he started going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings regularly.
After years of expecting to hear that my brother had died of an overdose, he suddenly seemed to be back. His speech was clear, he was happy, he went back to school and was doing better this time. He held down a job and was active in the recovery community. He was optimistic and doing well, and I stopped expecting bad news. As it turned out he stayed clean for the rest of his life.
Almost eight years ago, my daughter was born, and my brother was thrilled to be an uncle. My wife and I made plans to fly him out with her brothers so all the uncles could meet Abby together.
A month after my daughter was born, late at night, he gave a friend a ride home, and then on his own way home, lost control of his car (driving way too fast) and wrapped his car around a telephone pole. His system was clean, he wasn't drunk or high, he was just driving recklessly (much as I had done at his age). He was 20 years old.
Though his car was just ten feet off the side of the road, near a housing development, it was more than four hours before anyone stopped to check on his car. In my brother's case it probably wouldn't have made a difference if he had crashed next to an emergency room, but we'll never know for sure. I include this detail just as a reminder that we are all in this together, and you can save lives just by stopping to check. I've saved a few folks over the years by checking on wrecks, and I've known other people who were saved by a passerby stopping. It doesn't take any special knowledge or skill to call 911 for a person in trouble, but you could save their life.
But on to the giveaway.
After my brother passed, his mother sent some of his things to me that had special sentimental value. When my brother was little he was very impressed by my sword collection, so when he turned 13 I bought him a replica saber. His mother sent his sword back to me, along with his babyhood favorite stuffed Barney for my daughter, and for my father she sent my brother's knife. My brother's knife was my dad's old Camillus Boy Scout Knife, and it was in turn my brother's adventure knife. Though my brother was not a Boy Scout, that old Boy Scout knife was special to him.
I wanted to be able to share that, or to help someone else share it. So my idea is to send a Boy Scout Knife out to someone to give to a youngster for their first knife. So I'm asking you to nominate someone else who you will give the knife to, but this year you can also enter for yourself (so that more people will participate).
Unfortunately, Camillus went bankrupt a while back, and even the new Camillus doesn't make an official Boy Scout Knife. I like to give away new official BSA licensed scout knives, but ScoutShop doesn't sell the classic pattern anymore.
However, you are in luck! Thanks to the generosity of W willintheweeds I have a NIB classic scout pattern BSA knife, as well as a made in the USA Bear and Son Cub Scout Knife.
I have also purchased a deluxe pattern Boy Scout knife (they have an added Philips head screwdriver and no bail). So there are good options available for the winners.
At first I was not sold on the Cub Scout pattern because it wasn't what I was used to, but I have to admit that the locking utility blades are really handy. My daughter has a selection of knives including an older Girl Scout Knife, but she likes the Cub Scout best. So if you are picking a knife for a younger kid, the Cub Scout is a very nice option.
This year's knife offerings:
This GAW has a history of inspiring generosity from the community (obviously, that is not something that I can guarantee, but with this crowd it is pretty reliable. I even got gifts from Case a few years back that allowed me to give away some really nice Case BSA knives for a few years running.), so it is possible that new prizes might get added, but I think I am set up pretty well this year thanks to W willintheweeds
Rules for this year:
I am going to let this run for a couple weeks. There usually aren't many entries, so the odds are good if you decide to enter
Note:
I was inspired by a
Charlie Mike
giveaway seven (or so) years back, when he gave away a knife as a mitzvah following the passing of a friend and fellow recoverer. Since my brother was also in recovery when he passed I thought it was an extra fitting mitzvah. As I was nearing the anniversary of my brother's death, I thought this would be a fitting way to help make his memory be for a blessing. When I do this giveaway I like to mention the history of the tradition.
Sadly, Charlie Mike left us far too early after he too managed to stay sober for the rest of his life. He had just passed his five year sober mark when he died in January 2019. May his memory be for a blessing.
For those of you who haven't seen this little annual tradition of mine, it is a GAW I do in memory of my baby brother. He would have been 28 this year if he was still with us.
Background About My Brother
On May 14th, 2014, my baby brother died in a car accident. He was 13 years younger than me, but we were very close. When he was a baby we shared a room, and so I woke with him and fed him and changed him as an infant (which led my dad, at one point, to mistakenly claim that August slept through the night from the beginning). For a good chunk of his early childhood it was just him, me, and my dad, so my brother had a hard time understanding that he did not have two dads. As he got older that changed, but the semi-parental character always stayed a part of our relationship. After I moved out he moved across the country to live with his mom, who he stayed with for the most part until his death. Nonetheless, he always made sure to call me at least a couple times a month until he died. He was very good about keeping in touch. Much better than I am.
He did not have an easy go of it in life, and as he got on into his teenage years he had a lot of trouble with drugs and alcohol. He had a series of stints in rehab and a school for troubled teens. After high school he continued the same trajectory, and though he enrolled in a community college he was not able to keep clean and quickly dropped out. After dropping out of college he finally seemed to get serious about his recovery. After another stint in rehab he started going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings regularly.
After years of expecting to hear that my brother had died of an overdose, he suddenly seemed to be back. His speech was clear, he was happy, he went back to school and was doing better this time. He held down a job and was active in the recovery community. He was optimistic and doing well, and I stopped expecting bad news. As it turned out he stayed clean for the rest of his life.
Almost eight years ago, my daughter was born, and my brother was thrilled to be an uncle. My wife and I made plans to fly him out with her brothers so all the uncles could meet Abby together.
A month after my daughter was born, late at night, he gave a friend a ride home, and then on his own way home, lost control of his car (driving way too fast) and wrapped his car around a telephone pole. His system was clean, he wasn't drunk or high, he was just driving recklessly (much as I had done at his age). He was 20 years old.
Though his car was just ten feet off the side of the road, near a housing development, it was more than four hours before anyone stopped to check on his car. In my brother's case it probably wouldn't have made a difference if he had crashed next to an emergency room, but we'll never know for sure. I include this detail just as a reminder that we are all in this together, and you can save lives just by stopping to check. I've saved a few folks over the years by checking on wrecks, and I've known other people who were saved by a passerby stopping. It doesn't take any special knowledge or skill to call 911 for a person in trouble, but you could save their life.
But on to the giveaway.
After my brother passed, his mother sent some of his things to me that had special sentimental value. When my brother was little he was very impressed by my sword collection, so when he turned 13 I bought him a replica saber. His mother sent his sword back to me, along with his babyhood favorite stuffed Barney for my daughter, and for my father she sent my brother's knife. My brother's knife was my dad's old Camillus Boy Scout Knife, and it was in turn my brother's adventure knife. Though my brother was not a Boy Scout, that old Boy Scout knife was special to him.
I wanted to be able to share that, or to help someone else share it. So my idea is to send a Boy Scout Knife out to someone to give to a youngster for their first knife. So I'm asking you to nominate someone else who you will give the knife to, but this year you can also enter for yourself (so that more people will participate).
Unfortunately, Camillus went bankrupt a while back, and even the new Camillus doesn't make an official Boy Scout Knife. I like to give away new official BSA licensed scout knives, but ScoutShop doesn't sell the classic pattern anymore.
However, you are in luck! Thanks to the generosity of W willintheweeds I have a NIB classic scout pattern BSA knife, as well as a made in the USA Bear and Son Cub Scout Knife.
I have also purchased a deluxe pattern Boy Scout knife (they have an added Philips head screwdriver and no bail). So there are good options available for the winners.
At first I was not sold on the Cub Scout pattern because it wasn't what I was used to, but I have to admit that the locking utility blades are really handy. My daughter has a selection of knives including an older Girl Scout Knife, but she likes the Cub Scout best. So if you are picking a knife for a younger kid, the Cub Scout is a very nice option.
This year's knife offerings:
This GAW has a history of inspiring generosity from the community (obviously, that is not something that I can guarantee, but with this crowd it is pretty reliable. I even got gifts from Case a few years back that allowed me to give away some really nice Case BSA knives for a few years running.), so it is possible that new prizes might get added, but I think I am set up pretty well this year thanks to W willintheweeds
Rules for this year:
- Open to everyone
- You can enter one time for yourself
- You can enter a second time on behalf of someone else, preferably a child that you will give the knife to (make sure it is someone that you can give the knife to without any problems), or someone working hard at their recovery.
- I will send the knife to anywhere in the US and Canada (And if you are a regular porch participant, I will send it internationally as well)
- your entry will be your post in which you say "I'm in" AND tell me who you will give the knife to (whether to yourself or to someone you are nominating)
- You don't have to tell me why you are nominating someone, but I would appreciate it if you did
- Don't enter if there is some reason that it would be legally problematic for you to enter
I am going to let this run for a couple weeks. There usually aren't many entries, so the odds are good if you decide to enter
Note:
I was inspired by a
Charlie Mike
giveaway seven (or so) years back, when he gave away a knife as a mitzvah following the passing of a friend and fellow recoverer. Since my brother was also in recovery when he passed I thought it was an extra fitting mitzvah. As I was nearing the anniversary of my brother's death, I thought this would be a fitting way to help make his memory be for a blessing. When I do this giveaway I like to mention the history of the tradition.Sadly, Charlie Mike left us far too early after he too managed to stay sober for the rest of his life. He had just passed his five year sober mark when he died in January 2019. May his memory be for a blessing.
