From
January-February 2005
The
Ball in the Box
By Angelo G. Coppola, Sr.
Like whittling a ball suspended in a block of wood,
life’s challenges and Freemasonry offer unexpected
rewards.
In every person’s life there comes a time when something
magical happens. It can take place at a very young age, during
one’s senior years, or anytime in between. It is that
moment when something hidden is found, often only after hard
work, rather like carving a ball suspended in a box of wood.
Here are some examples of how I discovered the “ball
in the box.”
Earlier this year, I was honored by the National Council
and the Quapaw Council Boy Scouts of America with a certificate
and pin for 50 years of service. In those 50 years, I experienced
a great deal of change in the presentation of the Boy Scout
Program but never in its values. The Boy Scouts of America
have an oath and law which have never succumbed to the tests
and trials of time.
I can remember my early Boy Scout experiences going to
Camp Tamarack in New Jersey and spending many nights camping
under
the stars smelling the heavenly odor of smoke from a burning
fire. I can recall my first trip to a Scout summer camp and
all the enjoyments and adventure it brought me. I can still
recall learning how to step off my pace, to measure the approximate
height of a tree with nothing more than a stick, to tie the
basic knots, to find the many pressure points located on
the body to stop bleeding, and to carve a ball in a box.
I remember learning Morse code which was a requirement to
become a Scout First Class. At the time, it was the one requirement
preventing many young Scouts from attaining the rank. Scouting
requires a young man to overcome many obstacles which would
prove useful in later life. Morse code is just one example.
When I joined the Navy in 1958, I immediately became qualified
for Radioman (RM) “A” School. While in RM school
there was a requirement to copy Morse code at a minimum of
30 words a minute with battle noises coming into one side
of the head set. Again, it was a challenge met, an ambition
fulfilled, and a “ball in the box” achieved.
In order to complete the requirement for Eagle Scout, I
needed only two merit badges, which I hoped to complete at
Scout
camp. One was first aid and the other was nature. I had my
heart set on going when, in April prior to summer camp, tragedy
struck home, and my dad had a sudden heart attack and passed
away. It was a traumatic time for the family, and I asked
my mother if I should cancel the trip. She sat me down and
informed me that I would go to camp, no matter what. She
stressed how much my father wanted me to become an Eagle
Scout and how proud he would be the day I received the award.
I hugged her and told her I would go to camp that summer.
In 1957, with my mother at my side, I was awarded the rank
of Eagle Scout. On that day, my mother with tears in her
eye looked to heaven and smiled. I knew I had achieved a
truly significant “ball in the box.”
From that day to this I have give my heart to the Boy Scout
Program and its never-changing values. I gave back to Scouting
what it did for me by serving as a Weblow Leader, Scoutmaster,
and member of the local district and council committee. I
even had the honor of being a Camp Director for three summers
giving back to the program what it gave to me. What a pleasure,
what a “ball in the box” experience!
No wonder one of my favorite hobbies, learned as a Scout,
is to whittle a ball in the box suspended from a wooden chain.
When my wife, Evelyn, had a preschool, I use to come by and
assist her by watching the children on the playground. Once
in a while, I would bring a block of wood and begin to whittle
a ball in the box. The children, being very curious, would
sit in a circle anxious to know what I was doing. I would
tell them, “There is a ball in this block of wood,
and I am going to find it.”
There is a lesson in the ball in the box. For those of
you who can remember cameras before instant reviews, it was
necessary
to send the film enclosed in plastic out to be developed.
The picture was made the moment the shutter flashed, but
until it was developed, it was not possible to see the results.
Children are like the ball in the box. There eyes, like the
shutter of a camera, are constantly taking pictures which
are concealed in the films enclosed in plastic, not unlike
the ball hidden in a block of wood. The pictures will remain
enclosed until the film is developed, like the ball remains
in the box, the block, until it is carved out of the wood.
The magic takes place the moment whatever is enclosed emerges
from the box.
Masonry and Scouting work hand and hand to develop good
pictures and to allow the “ball” to come from the “box,” the
good to evidence itself in the man. Two years ago, seven
longtime Arkansas Masonic Scouters were awarded the Daniel
Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award, a beautiful silver medallion
with the Masonic Symbol and “G” emblazed on the
center suspended from a blue and white ribbon (photo above).
Together these men totaled over 250 years of dedicated volunteer
service to ensure every child in the Scouts would have the
opportunity to experience “the ball in the box.”
Angelo
G. Coppola, Sr.
is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a doctorate in public school
administration. He has served as a teacher, principal, school superintendent,
Arkansas State Department of Education Field Specialist, and, upon retirement
in 2002, the Deputy Director for the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Bro.
Angelo is Past Master of E. H. English Lodge #237 and presently serving as the
Junior Warden for Albert Pike Lodge #714. He is a member of the York Rite Body
serving as Secretary of Fay Hempstead Chapter #144 Royal Arch Masons. Dr. Coppola
is a member of the Quapaw Council Boy Scouts of America Executive Board and Chairman
of the Eagle Scout Committee for the Scottish Rite Bodies of Arkansas. Bro. Coppola
and his lady, Evelyn, travel extensively between home in Arkansas and a small
residence in Italy.
