From: Richard Sullivan (rjvlsullivan1@PRODIGY.NET)
Date: Sat Jul 01 2000 - 14:22:56 CDT
We have speculated a great deal before and since the Supreme Court
rendered its decision. I too noticed the stark lack of media coverage
that might be favourable to the B.S.A. That's why I impose on the
bandwith to forward the following exchange from a different list serv
called "the Haggis List". (Haggis is a spin off of rec.model.railroad
newsgroup and generally consists of model and full-scale railroading
help, puns, silliness, etc.) A small number of subscribers are
Scouters with children in BSA and GSUSA units, but most are
"civilians". Here is what they think of us:
===Begin quote:
Born today: 1992 - Stuart W (favorite Cub Scout :-)
- Scott W, Haggoid
===
Happy birthday Stuart, and many more!
Stick with the Scouts, it's more fun than almost anything else you can
do! My boys were all Cub Scouts and then became Boy Scouts. They loved
to go camping and always learned neat things!
<><><> TOM <><><>
Proud Member Of The Haggis
===
So far, he's hooked on Scouts. The look on his face when he got his
Wolf badge, the week at camp...I've already noted some growing...he
wants to do more things for himself, and doesn't whine as much.
Camping, woods, dirt, and boys were made for each other. I've never
seen nine boys have so much fun. We took a couple of real whiners with
us, but lost them somewhere along the way. We brought back different
boys (in a figurative sense).
-Scott W, Haggoid
===
....i have an interesting observation as a grandfather....when our
kids were little, we took them camping every other weekend....they
seemed to learn patience and respect while camping, that they didn't
seem to learn elsewhere....we had occasion to take their little
friends along with us (a BIG responsibility, i might add), and the
level of general knowledge and confidence among the "campers", as
opposed to the "non-campers", was quite evident.... :))
...at one point, we organized the "dads and sons" in our neighborhood,
into a camping group....the first camping trip we went on (8 dads and
12 boys) was an enlightenment as to which dads were REALLY sincere
about being a dad to their boy(s), and which dads were just wishing
they were somewhere else.... :))
....and, in situations like that, of course everybody has to be
careful they don't appear to be a "know-it-all" dad....it took a
second and a third and a fourth trip to bring everybody into the same
attitude about helping their son(s) grow...it was a joy to see how
much progress was made in 2 months....in the final analysis, it was as
good for the dads as it was for the boys (maybe even better).... :))
....when i was a Scout, the Scout leaders were men who we looked up
to....they were doing something that dads in my "growing up time"
didn't do....if it was camping, it was with the Scouts....if it was,
say, fishing, then maybe a dad or grandad was involved....it was a
different way of life than we have today.... :))
....so, i have this to say about Scout leaders today....THANK YOU
!!!....you have a GREAT responsibility toward raising kids to have
RESPECT for themselves, for other kids, for property, for their
environment, and for any shortcomings of their parents...it takes a
SPECIAL person to be a Scout leader.... :))
-John D.
===
There we have it Ladies and Gentlemen, a completely unsolicited
endorsement of a couple of average Americans.
Our local paper here in Fairfield carried a large Lambda Defense Fund
Release disguised as an AP press feed. It riled me, but it is what I
have come to expect. In the same position in Fridays edition, there
was a very large photo of the Archery Range at the Chief Solano
District Cub Day Camp. Of course, I AM prejudiced in this matter, but
I thought the photo spoke far more eloquently to the matter than did
the professionally prepared puff piece the day before. Friday's New
York Times also carried a supportive op-ed piece.
Finally I would echo Ross Murphy's posting from Kazakhstan: our
position may be unpopular but the work you do everyday as a Scout
leader is so very important.
Yours In Scouting for 2000,
Richard J. Sullivan rjvlsullivan@prodigy.net
Chief Solano District Commissioner, Mt Diablo Silverado
Council, BSA serving Cordelia-Fairfield-Suisun City
and Travis AFB CA. A Whimsical Whistling Bob-WHITE! (NE-IV-74-12)
at Camp Freedom Germany 1995. Brotherhood Member Ut-In-Selica Lodge
#58 WWW. I speak only for myself in this newsgroup and Never, ever
for BSA.
