When our firstborn Clint arrived at the exact same hospital where his mother, aunt Margaret, and numerous cousins were born, Jarvis and I hardly imagined that his life would be as filled with adventure and exploration as it has been. Of course, as a military family, we expected to travel around the country and have him attend different schools and make new friends but we never quite expected him to follow the exciting path that his life has taken.  But upon looking back at some of his experiences during his first year of life, I don’t wonder that Clint has an adventurous spirit.

  When he was only six months old. Clint and I traveled to El Paso where Jarvis was attending the Air Defense Advanced Course at Fort Bliss, Texas.  The arid dusty climate was hard on him and he had recurrent ear infections the entire nine months we were there.  However, whenever we would go shopping across the border in Juarez at the Pronaf, which was where many local businesses sold their clothes and handicrafts, all the young shop girls would cluster around Clint, who had a headful of curly brown hair, bright blue eyes and an infectious grin, and giggle in admiration at his outgoing personality. 

  Then the first week in July when I was homesick about missing the annual Chafin Reunion, Jarvis drove us to Carlsbad, NM and proceeded to carry Clint in a backpack all through the awesome magnificence of Carlsbad Caverns.  Much to my amazement, Clint was amazingly quiet and well-behaved during that whole hike through the cool damp caves, possibly because he slept most of the way.

  That outing soon set the path for Clint’s adventures, although most of his trips when we were stationed at Fort Stewart were into Savannah with us, shopping and exploring the history and beauty of that antebellum southern city.  By the time we were assigned to Peterson AFB, Clint was attending pre-school and going on field trips to the air base fire department and military police station.  He also attended a day camp the summer he was five that took a field trip into Denver and spent all day at a local amusement park.

  By the time we were assigned to MacDill AFB, Clint was old enough to be a Cub Scout which was the start of his Scouting adventures whether participating in the Pinewood Derby or going to a day camp so far back in the woods that his sister Jennifer was afraid the alligators would come onto the road and bite our tires.  He was a Webelos in Korea where his troop hiked seven different ten-mile segments of the Task-Force Smith Historic Trail and learned a great deal about the Korean countryside. After becoming a Boy Scout, he attended international camporees, meeting Boy Scouts from around the Pacific Rim.  He was also able to visit Japan with his troop, climbing Mount Fuji to see the sunrise, riding the bullet train, and spending a day at Tokyo Disneyland.

  After we returned to the States, Clint was fortunate enough to find a Boy Scout troop that enjoyed camping and outdoor activities.

  When he wasn’t whitewater rafting or crawling through muddy caves, he was working on earning badges and acquiring the necessary leadership experience to complete his Eagle Scout Project, which was to renovate a walking trail and two bridges through the wooded area in a community where we lived.  Along with several other Scouts and their dads, the group he led cleaned up the trail, did erosion control and safety engineering.

  These experiences came in handy as he accompanied church members on a recent trip to Kenya.  His adult fellowship group took part in two projects. The first was building gabion walls to prevent further erosion of a frequently traveled roadway into the village of Ngaamba.  Then they built a classroom for an orphanage on the outskirts of Nairobi. As always Clint went into the experience with a cheerful smile, a helping hand, and the sense of adventure he’s had all his life.