Mineola residents John McInnes and Billy D'Elia recently completed a long journey with an improbable destination. Although the lifelong friends recently graduated from high school, it was their accomplishments as Boy Scouts that have taught them that nothing is impossible.

While high school seniors across the nation were preparing to end one stage of their lives, McInnes and D'Elia had the additional task of putting the finishing touches on their lives as Boy Scouts. In doing so, the two friends reached the pinnacle of a Boy Scout's career.

McInnes and D'Elia have known each other since kindergarten. They both began their careers 11 years ago when they joined Cub Scouts Pack 246. Both are members of the high school graduating class of 2000, although McInnes graduated from Chaminade and D'Elia from Mineola. During the last seven years, the two have together collected numerous Merit Badges as members of Boy Scout Troop 45. Now, though, the two young men share the rarest of bonds, one that can never be erased.

On June 9, Boy Scout Troop 45 held an Eagle Court of Honor at the First Presbyterian Church in Mineola to honor McInnes and D'Elia for becoming Eagle Scouts, the highest rank a Scout can achieve. The two Scouts became the 89th and 90th Eagle Scouts in Troop 45's 79-year history.

In order to put into perspective just how hard it is to become an Eagle Scout, only 2 percent of those who enter Scouting reach the level. For McInnes and D'Elia the honor represents years of hard work and dedication that enabled them to not only obtain a multitude of life-saving and survival skills, but acquire the rare traits of leadership and resiliency.

"I think it's every Boy Scout's goal but you don't really know how realistic it is until you get a couple of years into it," said McInnes, who will be attending Boston College in the fall.

"When I was in high school, some people looked down on Boy Scouts. They think it's a kids' thing. I heard it from a lot of people for a long time. But now that I'm done with this, it's such an accomplishment," said D'Elia. "I'm very proud."

Success in Scouting has been a constant for McInnes and D'Elia ever since they were in the Cub Scouts earning the Arrow of Light rank. In the fall of 1993, the two moved up to Boy Scouts and stayed with it all the way until they earned the rank of Eagle Scouts.

There's a reason why only 2 percent of Scouts become Eagles. There are a multitude of ranks a Scout has to achieve as well as projects to be completed in order to earn the 21 merit badges required to become an Eagle Scout. "There's just so much work with the merit badges and the projects. Everything has to come together at once," said McInnes, who earned 22 merit badges.

For his Eagle project, McInnes replaced 18 trail posts at Muttontown Preserve. He had to buy lumber, put spikes in them so they wouldn't move, and then install them two and a half feet deep into the ground. They are now located throughout the park on three separate trails. The project took well over six months, McInnes said.

D'Elia, who earned 27 merit badges, removed 5,000 square feet of ivy from Clark Botanical Gardens. The Mineola High School graduate who will be attending Ithaca College in the fall wanted to focus on the outdoors for his project so he called on Clark Botanical Gardens, which needed 9,000 square feet of ivy to be removed. "It was a lot harder than I ever imagined," said D'Elia, who, along with his fellow Scouts, wound up ripping out 5,000 square feet which was more than satisfactory for Clark Gardens.

McInnes and D'Elia battled time as well as the obstacles it took to become an Eagle Scout since all the requirements must be met before a Scout's 18th birthday. They are both glad they stuck it out since now they have a sense of accomplishment, knowing they achieved something difficult.

"Scouting teaches you about service and how to work well with others. You meet a bunch of friends," said D'Elia.

"You learn all the outdoor skills too ¬ how to camp, how to cook outdoors, how to backpack. Swimming is a required badge. They are very practical things," McInnes said.

As far as the badges are concerned, D'Elia said the personal management badge was one of the more difficult ones. McInnes said life-saving was difficult since the Scouts had to swim in a lake at summer camp twice a day for six straight days.

The two friends say because it takes years of commitment to become an Eagle Scout, many drop out of Scouting. However, they attribute their persistence to the support of their parents Andy and Midge McInnes and Frank and Sue D'Elia.

Now, although McInnes and D'Elia are no longer Scouts, the lessons they learned and attributes they acquired will not be forgotten. "It gives you a lot of organizational skills. The biggest is leadership," McInnes said. "If you have a goal and you strive for it, it can be reached."

"It shows you that your hard work pays off," D'Elia said.