eagle90

Spent the day at an ASM's house, with some great food, good cocktails, and good fellowship with some scout families. It was over 100 degrees here, so it was outside for a little while, and in the A/C for the most part.

Most of the unit split ups I have seen are not from having too many scouts, but rather the adults cannot get along and each faction thinks they know the "right way" to do Scouting. It never has a happy ending....

We had a group of supposedly well meaning parents split off from our troop a number of years ago. They did not agree with a lot of our policies and procedures. They took about 8 scouts with them, which hurt us for a while. Of course they did not realize what it takes to run a troop, much less start one up from scratch. Within two years there were arguments among their leadership and were defunct in three years. One of the families returned to us and said going with the split off troop was the worst mistake they ever made.

Here's the irony - after they folded, the church who sponsored them called us and asked us if we would like the leftover equipment. We got coolers, stoves, tents, etc.!

Dale

God Bless Professor Garzon!

I got a call last night from a former scout of mine (Eagle, SPL). He and his family were hiking in Shenandoah National Park and heard cries for help. They came across a man whose wife was passed out on the trail. My scout said he immediately went into First Aid mode, sending for help, assessing the situation, assessing the patient, checking for breathing, pulse, etc. Seems it was a heatstroke/dehydration issue, which was remedied pretty quickly. But he said, "I didn't even have to think about what to do. It came back to me automatically! I knew what to do and did it!" He was thrilled and so was I. Seems like our First Aid teachings some 15 years ago sunk in. It's times like this that the hours we put in and the people (aka parents) we have to put up with make it worth while.

Dale

I just spent about 2 hours going over medical forms for 70+ campers. Of course about 15 of them aren't in yet, even though we had them due 3 weeks ago. Then a few aren't signed by the parents, a few are missing a sheet. Is it really THAT complicated? It is a state law in Wisconsin that a medical form must be on file. No form, No camp, no refund. I agree!

We do not meet during the summer, as we meet at a school and have no access. However, we have a picnic, a Summer Camp training day, Summer Camp, a minor league baseball game, and a High Adventure trip. We start our regular meetings in August when school starts again. We like this as it gives everyone a breather from regular meetings.

I agree with JM Hawkins regarding the maturity, or lack thereof, in boys coming into scouts. I had 4 scouts cross over and in my initial meeting with parents I was promoting their going to summer camp, and one of them said, "Oh my boy couldn't do that. He's a momma's boy." Two of the other parents agreed. I was amazed that they would admit that, and that they would say that to a relative stranger. BTW, the only one going to camp is the one who didn't admit to being a momma's boy.

Why rent a hall? Can't you do the ECOH at your normal meeting place? Where do you hold regular non-Eagle COH's?

$500?? What are you spending that much on? We pay for the eagle presentation kit, flowers for the mom (Sam's Club for $15), a cake and punch, a NESA membership and neckerchief, and a couple of Dollar store frames for the certificates. Probably comes to about $125 or so.

Anything else is up to the families to supply.

Dale

I would never leave such a decision to the scout. That is like asking him "Do you want to piss off Mr A or Mr. B.?" He has shown enough personal growth through the Eagle requirements and Boards of Review that he doesn't need another one. Give him the patch and let him enjoy it.

One of my ASM's was just hired as a new DE and is going to Texas for training next month. Sounds like an urban myth to me

Well said, Barry.

Dale

In my many years experience, fortunately, it is the parents who have 95% of the problems in transitioning to Boy Scouts. The boys seem to get the program and flourish in it.

Dale

This is the "We don't keep score" and "Everybody's a winner, there are no losers" mentality behind foisted on our children of today. These kids are in for a rude awakening in the real world where there ARE losers, and not everyone wins all the time. Cruel? Not at all.

While we try to push for patrol flags and yells, in reality, the only time and place they are regularly used is at Summer Camp. The Patrols give a yell after grace when meals are ready to eat, and their flag is on display in their patrol dining area.

Used the new system for the first time tonight. Worked OK after a few glitches. It is sensitive to car makes and models!

One problem I had - when trying to print out a copy of the permit, I got the following

"Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file."

Can anyone translate that to a novice and advise what should be done to correct it?

Thanks!

Dale

The flag is raised indoors at every domed stadium. There also is an office complex I visited that had a flagpole as the center point of their indoor atrium lobby.

My Big Agnes air mattress. 6.5' x 2.5", fold down into the size of a soda can and is SUPER comfortable.

Dale

Congrats right back at ya, Desert Rat!

At our camp they take a group picture at the opening flag ceremony, when everyone is still looking good in uniform. At the end of camp the leader receives a print of this picture in a frame that incorporates a digital clock, alarm, and thermometer. I'm looking at 3 of them on my desk right now! It's a great way to remember the camp, and more importantly, your scouts.

Dale

Hey - that was my 1000th Post! YAY!!!!!(This message has been edited by eagle90)

I hope the new tour plan will be accessible via Browsers other than Internet Explorer (Firefox, Opera, etc.)

AH! Young Narraticong was a fine looking young man! Love the long hair and beret!

National delayed the go date to May 10th.

Well, I just got in from using a lawn mower, a string trimmer, and a leaf blower, and in spite of this dangerous threesome, I lived through it!