Q. Ray,
During my Ordeal as an adult candidate, we were walking to one of our jobs. I was passing some of the kids on the side of the road and I went into the road a few feet to avoid the child as I was walking around him. The elangomat told me to get out of the road, and I was not yet around the child so I held up my finger as if to say "one moment" and he said, "Sir, I am in charge of your safety, get out of the road!" Just wondering if the elangomats had the right to tell me what to do since I am an adult? Also, was that was the right response from him.
Thanks,
Mike
A. Mike,
Thank you for taking the time to write, and congratulations on your induction into the Order of the Arrow. Certainly, the interaction you had with the elangomat was not what we would hope for regardless of the age of either party involved. I can only hope that in this case, the elangomat's primary concern was in fact your safety, even if he did not express that concern in a positive way.
If you would like to learn more about your induction, the role of the elangomat, and the way we ask lodges to conduct their inductions, please see the Guide to Inductions (particularly chapters 1, 6 and 7).
I hope that you will consider serving as an elangomat at future Ordeals so that you can lead by example, both for the candidates and for your fellow Arrowmen. Thank you for your continued service to Scouting.
Happy New Year!
Ray