"Stickey Fingers, Convoys, and non-BSA camping...
CHUCK BRAMLET (chuckb@AZTEC.ASU.EDU)
Fri, 26 Jul 1996 00:19:39 -0700
Stickey Fingers:
I had a boy in my Webelos Den (both years), whom I came to have a
strong suspicion was stealing. Mostly toys (so far as we know).
When I realized this, I called the CC of the Pack, and asked what
the course of sction should be. I had an idea, but she vetoed it,
then did _exactly_ that herself.
The boy was from a single parent household. Anyway, along with the
other stuff that the CC did, she called his mother. Mother was
furious, to say the least. He called me, and told me that we needed
to talk; when he came over, he returned _some_ of the things that he
took. (The stuff I could specificly identify.) I did not invite him
in, but we talked by the front door. I explained how a great deal of
a person's reputation was based on trust, and asked him how he felt
that he measured up. That was toward the end of the second year.
My assistant WDL found out about this somehow, (most likely from the
CC) and realized that he had been stealing from them, also. We never
saw any more _direct_ evidence that he continued to steal, but he was
never invited back into my house, or my assistant's. A circumstance
that was made _much_ easier by the fact that our regular meeting place
was the CubMaster's garage.
A few years ago, I realized that his babysitter was a co-worker of
mine. I noted the fact that I knew her from before, and mentioned
that I was Jimmy's WDL. She was very surprised, but then went into
a diatribe on his character, habits, ancestry, parentage, and likely-
hood of future survival that was quite graphic. Interestingly enough,
the _only_ thing that we can put our fingers on that he stole was the
"Micro-Machine" toy cars. I have not seen him since that year. He
opted to not continue with Boy Scouts, but join the Civil Air Patrol
instead.
Convoys:
Anyone traveling from Phoenix to Payson on a Sat. morning during the
Summer would laugh themselves silly over the "no convoy" rule.
Almost every car on the road is full of Scouts or equipment heading
for Camp Geronimo. One thought, though. If all the cars in the
party take the same road, any delays on the road are likely to affect
_all_ of them the same - together or not.
Non-BSA camping:
Most of the camping that I have seen that is outside of BSA is _not_
outside of a developed or "RV" type campground. I don'e even take my
family "wilderness" camping. Sadly, it's just not safe, anymore.
Too many 2 legged predators around (and I'm not talking "militias",
either. We had an older couple in an undeveloped campgroud murdered
last year - by a fellow who asked them for a "jump". That was near
"Ashurst Lake" up around Flagstaff. I would only do the forest camp
thing with a group of several families, now.
YiS,
Chuck Bramlet, ASM Troop 323
Thunderbird District, Grand Canyon Council, Phoenix, Az.
I "used to be" an Antelope! (and a good ol' Antelope, too...) WEM-10-95
Please E-mail any replies to: >> chuckb@aztec.asu.edu <<
Member DNRC
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