There were 3 men at my place the other night

And they were all Eagle Scouts, the highest Boy Scouts of America ranking.

My best friend was visiting and a group of us ended up at my place for after-dinner drinks. The day before, she experienced her first Boy Scout hike with her youngest son. Boy Scouts are new to her, she asked the group if anyone had an opinion about whether being a Boy Scout was worthwhile. As a divorced mom, she also wanted to know if it would help her older son since his dad's such a bad male role model. They all said absolutely yes.

Then one said "I was an Eagle Scout." Another said, "I was an Eagle Scout, too." Then a third said "Me too."

Two hours later, we were still talking about Eagle Scouts.

Each told such good stories about how being an Eagle Scout helped turn them into men. One told how, as young a teenager, he teamed up to plan menus for multi-day campouts. With a set budget, they had to buy the right amount of food for everyone - or suffer the consequences if they ran out.

The most my ex would do in the kitchen is throw a frozen pizza in the oven.

They learned wilderness survival, cooking, carpentry and how to fix things. They got experience being a leader and part of a team. They even sewed on their own badges. And they followed the motto, "be prepared."

Most men who can't do half of these things as adults much less before they hit 18, so I'm adding Eagle Scout to my list of nice-to-have requirements for men I date.

What a strange coincidence that out of some 1.5 million Eagle Scout Awards granted in its 100 years of existence, three were in my house. And there are two others among the same group of neighborhood friends. While these guys may not be perfect (and who is?), the three at my place agreed they're much better men after earning Eagle Awards. One got all of his male influence from Scouting since he grew up without a dad and one said he wouldn't have survived the drug-filled path he started down before getting involved in the program.

Wouldn't it be fabulous for us girls if they would add how to be a compassionate lover to the list of badges Eagle Scouts can earn?

Love to the single girls,
Addison