A tribute to "the ultimate Boy Scout"

Meet David Croxford ... my FAVORITE brother 

(yes, Jon has been ousted from the coveted position of "Zan's favored" - sorry Jon but you kind of blind-sided me with the whole "Wendy is my favorite sister" thing

...ummm ouch bro ;-)).

Anyone who knows Dave will tell you he is the ultimate Boy Scout.  He's always on the go ... usually helping a friend, family member, or neighbor in need.  He can fix or repair anything, he can build just about anything, he'd give you the shirt off his back - even if you were a complete stranger ... he's about as loyal as they come.  

Today is Dave's BIRTHDAY!  

He's probably pretty surprised that I actually got the date right (actually I texted Jon - 6th or 7th?).  I always get Dave and Doug's birthdays confused but HEY, I have 7 siblings to keep up with...cut me some slack.  

Dave is also an extremely hard worker ... likely the result of growing up on a farm in Montana.  Getting up at 5:00 in the morning every day to feed and care for the livestock before school will instill some work ethic in ya!

 

I've always been close to Dave - partly because he's next-in-line in terms of the family pecking order and partly because we're both pretty no-nonsense straight talkin' kind of people that see eye-to-eye on most issues.

Now I have to insert a story related to Dave - from my very own "Adventures in Babysitting" ... because my blog would be TOTALLY BORING if I didn't take an occasional stroll down memory lane.  Fortunately, my life has settled down some since the days of my youth and I don't have as many interesting stories to share from current day experiences ;-)

I often tell this story because it was such a testimony-builder for me in my early youth - so  I apologize if you've heard this one before.  

It all started about 26 years ago on the aforementioned farm in Montana.  I was about 10 or 11 years old and I (along with my older brother Chad) was left in charge of my siblings for an afternoon.  I was happily bouncing on the trampoline with several of the littler kids when I heard the sound of gunshots coming from the garage and soon learned that my brothers had decided they would spend their afternoon squeezing bullets from a 22 rifle in the bench vice - ya know ... typical BOY entertainment.  

I didn't think too much of it initially (boys will be boys) but then I heard  a voice distinctly tell me to go and stop my brothers.  I'll admit it - I initially ignored that voice ... shrugged it off and continued playing but then it came again - this time louder and more urgent.  "Go stop your brothers ... take them in the house".

Somewhat begrudgingly, I decided to obey and I hopped off the trampoline and somehow managed to herd all my siblings into living room to watch a movie.  It took some bargaining to get them all inside ... and I set out to make them the popcorn I had promised to go along with their movie.  

A few minutes later, over the whir of the popcorn machine, I heard another bullet go off in the bench vice.  I was perturbed.  And after a quick head-count in the living room, I deduced that Dave had snuck out of the basement exit into the garage to fire off another bullet (evidently Chad had not given him a turn earlier).  I turned on my heel and set off to find Dave and give him a little piece of my mind ... how dare he disobey his elder sister! 

But, as I opened the door to the garage - there stood little 8-year-old David ... panic stricken ... with his hands over his eye and blood streaming down his arms.  That's one image that haunts me to this day.  Dave hadn't placed the 22 bullet deep enough into the bench vice - and as he leaned over that vice and squeezed it closed that bullet shot right up - directly into his eye.

After several surgeons attempted to extract the fragments of bullet from his eye in the local hospitals in Montana, he was eventually flown to Seattle, Washington, where a leading eye surgeon finally removed the remaining debri from his eye.  Unfortunately, they were not able to save his sight in that eye (but that has never held him back in life).

As I remember it - we were just elated that he survived (had that bullet gone an 8th of an inch deeper he'd be dead).  I can't imagine how different my life would be if I had lost him that day ... could I ever have forgiven myself - he was in my care after all.  And I will never forget the voice that spoke to me that day - the Holy Spirit that guides and protects each of us.  What a blessing to be able to gain a testimony of the power of the Holy Spirit at such a young age.  You can bet I listen when I hear those promptings now!

So one final photo of my incredibly handsome brother (yes, the striking little ring bearer with Dave is  Torbjor - he idolized Uncle Dave).  Dave - remember Torby's first original song composition "Dave's Truck"???

Dave is currently WORKING HIS BUTT OFF in Chiropractic school.  He was a machinist in the aerospace industry until Boeing pulled it's headquarters out of Seattle a few years ago and left a wake of bankrupt machine shops in its wake.  But Dave picked himself up, enrolled in local college, and earned a bachelors degree - all while working full-time at night to pay for his schooling and support his wife and 3 kids!!!!  Now that's a REAL MAN right there.  

Currently his sweet wife Daisy is working full-time while Dave focuses on his post grad studies (and they both juggle the kids).  And while life isn't easy for them ... they are living proof that the American Dream is still alive (ummm, barely).  You can still be anything you want in this country - if you are willing to get out there and work for it!  I believe that dream instills hope.  It is what keeps them motivated ... and helps them persevere the current challenges in their lives.    

Dave - I hope your birthday is memorable and wish I could be there to celebrate with you.

Hang in there.  All your hard work WILL PAY OFF (and when it does Obama's govt will be there to tax you death and give your money to people that are too lazy too get off their backsides and WORK for their own living ... oops, did that slip out?  Oh well, that's one of those things that Dave and I see eye-to-eye on).

I love you Bro - call you tomorrow.  

P.S. Annika's birthday is right around the corner.  We had a Princess Tea Party today to celebrate this milestone with her.  Hopefully, I'll find the time to share some photos soon...right now I just need some sleep ...because it turns out Tea Parties are A LOT OF WORK!!!