No Barbecue Tonight - Son Won Medal of Honor Cross Palms - Boy Scouts

No grilling out tonight here. We were invited to the NASCAR reception room where my son was awarded the Medal of Honor Cross Palms by the Boy Scouts.

For those who are not familiar with the medals in Scouting, they have a group of medals for bravery with the Medal of Honor with the crossed palms being the highest of the awards. It is given only when a Scout or leader saves or trys to save someone's life at great risk and with resourcefulness.

Folks who follow my Barbecue Master blog may recall the my kid jumped in the Yadkin River last May when I was hosting a Carolina Cook Out through Food Buzz. The cook out was supposed to be the excitement (and it was fun), but the real action happened in the water.

Here is What the Water in the Yadkin Looked Like that Day

We were at RiverPark Cooleemee (better known as the Bull Hole). The water was way up and looked like ocean or whitewater except it was dark like chocolate milk. I had taken photos of the raging river and then went up the hill to grill.

My Mom came up and said Eli went in the river and they could not find him.

I think I went into shock.

I didn't know what was going on, but my son had heard the other teen yell for help and went in after him. The other kid pulled him under, so Eli had to push him off. Then, the kid sank, so Eli dove under for him. All the while they were being pulled down the river by the current, so no one knew where they were or if they got out.

The story had a happy ending - thank God. Eli was a strong enough swimmer to get himself and the other boy out. Eli joined us back at the cook out, and the other boy went to the hospital for the night by way of ER. He was back in school the next week though.

So, tonight I put away my tongs and went and saw my son get that medal. And, I sure was proud of him. There were at least 100 people on the sand beach that day, but he was the only one who went in after a kid he'd never met but who needed help.

Eli is a young hero, and I am really happy the Boy Scouts gave him a medal. It's nice when the community supports those who do the right thing - even if doing that thing sure scared the heck out of this proud momma.