Of Soldiers, Boy Scouts, and Paperboys

Vaughn was a soldier who stood tall in his green uniform.   I may have been trying to emulate Vaughn. I know I never wanted to disappoint him.   

I became a boy scout for the uniform.  I became a paperboy for the money.  I became doggedly persistent because of Vaughn. I was ready to quit being a paper boy at 4:30 AM, on a rainy and cold fall morning, but Vaughn had mentioned he’d drive me if the weather was ever bad.  I woke him up.  For that whole winter, it became our thing.  

In the dark, on the worst days of the winter, I could wake Vaughn and ask him to drive me on my route.  Of course, I had get out of the vehicle and trudge through the snow, but I did get to keep all the money and he did have to wake up at 4:30.  I learned the importance of never quitting, of finishing what I start, and keeping to my promises these are credos of which Vaughn lived by every day of his life.