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February 2020
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The Good Ol’ Days as a Boy Scout Memories Stirred by National Boy Scout Day
anniversary over two years, but they did.) I may have mentioned this hike before, but despite the hundreds of people who were there walking the trails, we only saw one very small piece of trash. It was the cleanest and most organized camping area I’ve ever been to. Every year, we would plan what the “theme” of each monthly campout would be. Sometimes, we would go rock climbing at Lake Mineral Wells State Park or join other troops in our council and have a “camporee.” Once a year, we had a “pioneering” theme. We learned how to make different knots and how to lash logs together and make tripods for bridges or zip lines. We would practice our timber hitch, clove hitch, or our one-handed bowline (which I can still tie). One year, we built a monkey bridge. We built two tripods about 10 feet high and pulled a 2-inch rope between the two of them that we tied off on the ground. The two ropes made handholds along the side. Often, we built these over a small ravine that was maybe 50 yards across. It was a lot of fun to walk across. The zip lines were also fun. We would make larger and smaller tripods and attach a rope with a pulley along the top. Then, we would hang on to a handle and go screaming across the campground. Good thing no one fell off (or almost never did, anyway). Eventually, I earned my Eagle Scout award, which I am still very proud of. My parents never pushed me into joining the Boy Scouts
When I was much younger, I always wanted to join the Boy Scouts and go camping. I finally got the opportunity when I was around 13 years old, and I had a great time in the Boy Scouts. I learned a lot while canoeing, swimming, practicing first aid, tying knots, starting campfires, cooking, hiking, and camping in the nearly six years I spent as a Boy Scout. I’ve written about some of the camping trips I went on before, including the one where a snake fell into our canoe — that was certainly memorable! month. One campout was so cold that the eggs in the cooler froze. Sometimes, it was so hot that we would just sleep in our hammocks. The consecutive monthly campouts started way before I got there and continued for some time after I left. The troop started sometime in the ‘70s (I joined sometime in the mid-1980s, I think), and it’s still around today. At some point while I was there, we celebrated our 450th consecutive monthly campout as a troop. It was great! Every summer, we would go to summer camp and camp for a week at a time, but the biggest trip we went one while I was there was to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. It’s a place that any Boy Scout should visit at least once! At the time of my visit, the ranch was enjoying one of two 75th anniversary celebrations they threw. (I’m not entirely sure how they managed to spread a 75th What I loved best about my troop was that we would go camping, rain or shine, every
or to advance along the ranks, although many boys in the troop had parents who did. I became an Eagle Scout at the last possible second. To be an Eagle Scout, the last requirement is to have a board of review. The board of review makes sure we meet all the requirements for the award, and it had to be finished by my 18th birthday or I would have stayed a Life Scout for life. Thankfully, I was able to have the board of review about two weeks before I turned 18, just making it by the skin of my teeth! There are more stories to tell, and I’m sure they’ll pop up here from time to time. As you can probably tell, I enjoyed my time as a Boy Scout immensely.
-Aaron Miller
“What I loved best about my troop was that we would go camping, rain or shine, every month.”
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Meet Conan THE DOG WHO HELPED TAKE DOWN AL-BAGHDADI
“To me, they’re the first line of defense,” United States War Dogs Association President Ron Aiello told Vox after the news about Conan came out. “They’re such a great asset to our military today.” Military dogs are put up for adoption after 6–8 years in the service, which means a lucky civilian could take Conan in as early as 2022! Meanwhile, dozens of other smart canine heroes are looking for homes. To learn more about military and other working dog adoptions, visit MissionK9Rescue.org.
In college, arriving late to class might earn you a stern look from your professor, and turning in homework late normally results in a docked grade. For one student, however, these actions resulted in veneration from the academic community and a story that has become legend. George Dantzig, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, arrived late for a graduate statistics class one day in 1939. He saw that his professor, Jerzy Neyman, had written two problems on the board, and guessing they were the homework assignment, he wrote them down to solve later. A few days later, Dantzig delivered his answers to Professor Neyman. He apologized for turning them in late, remarking that they seemed more difficult than usual. When Neyman told him to just throw the answers on his desk, Dantzig reluctantly did so, fearing his homework would be lost forever in the sea of papers already there. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Six weeks later, Neyman went to Dantzig’s house and excitedly asked him to read the introduction he had written on one of Dantzig’s papers. Of course, Dantzig had no idea what he was talking about. Over the course of the conversation, however, he found out that the two difficult problems he had thought were homework were actually examples of famous unsolved statistical proofs — and Dantzig had solved them! On Oct. 28 last year, President Donald Trump tweeted a photo that quickly went viral. It showed an adorable snapshot of a bright-eyed Belgian Malinois, tongue lolling, still wearing its camo military vest. In the caption, President Trump explained that the pup, Conan, was a national hero who was instrumental in taking down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. With four years in special operations forces and roughly 50 missions under his collar, Conan was selected to be part of the team that pursued al-Baghdadi through a network of underground tunnels in northwest Syria, where the terrorist ultimately died. It’s unclear whether Conan was there to track al-Baghdadi or to spot improvised explosive devices that may have been planted on the route, but either way, he performed well. According to NBC News, Conan was injured by some live electrical cables during the mission, but he recovered quickly and was back on duty within the week. Meanwhile, President Trump invited the brave pup to the White House and tweeted out a doctored photo that showed him awarding Conan a Medal of Honor. President Trump captioned the photo “AMERICAN HERO!” and he’s not alone in his appreciation for the hardworking dogs that have been helping our military since WorldWar II.
Solving the Unsolvable THE BEST CONSEQUENCE EVER FOR ARRIVING LATE TO CLASS
Neyman published the first of the two proofs soon after. Then, a year later when Dantzig was struggling to decide on his doctoral thesis topic, his professor just shrugged and told him to wrap the two problems in a binder. Neyman said he would accept them as his thesis. Dantzig’s story has been retold in various versions over the years often as an illustration of what a person is capable of when they think positively. After all, Dantzig may not have solved these proofs if he believed they were “unsolvable!” However, even though some versions might lean more toward urban legend, it’s still an impressive story of the best consequence a student ever received for arriving to class and turning in homework late.
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TAKE A BREAK
FROM ZERO TO 300 Meet the Women Who Pioneered Motor Sports
While Danica Patrick and Courtney Force are well known as modern faces in motor sports, they’re far from the first women to cross the finish line. Since the early 1900s, women have been a constant fixture of automotive racing, including the following three who each left their marks on the sport. SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY Shirley Muldowney is professionally known in the drag racing community as “The First Lady of Drag Racing.” In 1973, she was the first woman to earn a Top Fuel license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and, despite backlash from competitors, went on to win the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series an unprecedented three times. Twentieth Century Fox documented her trials and accomplishments in the 1983 biopic “Heart Like a Wheel.”Muldowney famously loathed her own characterization but still lauded the film as required viewing for anyone interested in the sport of drag racing. JANET GUTHRIE Janet Guthrie had her sights set on the stars from day one. A skilled aerospace engineer, she began her racing career in 1963. After taking home two class wins in the famed 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, Guthrie became a well-known figure among racing gurus. In 1976, she became the first woman to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series when she finished 15th in the Coca-Cola 600, then called theWorld 600. To date, Guthrie’s storied career has landed her in the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, and the Automotive Hall of Fame.
EASY SHRIMP SCAMPI
DOROTHY LEVITT Dorothy Levitt is known for her driving skills on both land and water, setting the first water speed record and an early women’s world land speed record. Her motor racing career started slow in 1904 due to illness and various car troubles, but Levitt eventually went on to garner a reputation for her speed and earn the nickname “The Fastest Girl on Earth.”When she wasn’t racing, she spent her time writing. In her book “The Woman and the Car,” Levitt recommended that women carry
Make date night simple with this easy shrimp scampi recipe.
Ingredients
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1/2 tsp oregano
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4 tbsp butter
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1/2 cup dry white wine
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4 tbsp olive oil
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1/4 cup lemon juice
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1 tbsp minced garlic
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8 oz cooked linguine
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1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
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1/4 cup parsley
Directions
1. In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp of butter with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. 2. Add shrimp and oregano, stirring frequently until shrimp is pink. Remove shrimp from skillet. 3. Add wine and lemon juice to skillet and bring the mixture to a boil. 4. Stir in remaining butter and olive oil and cook until butter is melted. 5. Add cooked shrimp to skillet and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. 6. In a serving bowl, top cooked linguine with shrimp mixture. Garnish with parsley and serve. Inspired by The Blond Cook
a small mirror with them for driving in traffic, effectively inventing the rearview mirror five years before it went into production.
If you want to learn more about these women and others in motor racing, pick up Todd McCarthy’s book “Fast Women: The Legendary Ladies of Racing.”
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214.292.4225 www.AaronMillerLaw.com 2301 Ohio Drive, Suite 200 Plano, Texas 75093 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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The 1st Knot I Learned Was a Hangman’s Noose
Meet the Dog Who Helped Take Down al-Baghdadi The World’s Hardest Homework Assignment
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Easy Shrimp Scampi Fearless Women Who Pioneered Motor Sports
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A Slippery Crime
STEALING MISS HELEN ‘OCEAN’S 3’ ATTEMPT A HIGH-STAKES HEIST
The Animal Welfare Act, which was adopted in 1966, is the only federal law that regulates the treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. Interestingly, it only applies to warm-blooded animals, so if Miss Helen had needed further protection, she would be left out in the cold.
The aquarium staff was grateful to have Miss Helen back unharmed, despite her ordeal. “She’s a tough little horn shark, I’ll tell you that,” affirmed Jamie Shank, the assistant husbandry director at the aquarium. NO MINOR CRIME While many animal lovers might disagree, animals are considered personal property, so stealing them is a crime of theft, not kidnapping. The penalties for stealing animals vary depending on each state’s laws, and some states have specific laws regarding animal theft. In Texas, larceny law designates the theft of property valued between $1,500–$20,000 as a felony. In the case of Miss Helen, who’s valued by the aquarium at $2,000, the thieves committed a felony. Also, transporting certain animals requires special permits, which led to additional charges against the three thieves.
On a hot summer day in late July 2018, three people entered Miss Helen’s home, forcibly removed her, put her in a stroller, and ran toward their getaway vehicle. This might sound like a typical kidnapping story, but Miss Helen is no ordinary person. She is a 16-inch horn shark living at the San Antonio Aquarium. Fortunately, their fishy behavior didn’t go unnoticed, and someone alerted the aquarium staff. One perpetrator drove away with Miss Helen in tow, but the other two were stopped by aquarium staff, later confessing to their involvement. Thanks to some observant witnesses and aquarium surveillance, police were able to identify the third thief and obtain a warrant to search his house. As it turned out, he had an extensive aquarium in his home and possibly hoped to add Miss Helen to his collection. After being identified, Miss Helen was returned home safely.
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