Eamonn

As others have said maybe there is part of this that either isn''t here or I''m just not getting? If I were the "Irate parent" And I know I''m not! I think my next phone call would be to the Executive Officer of the Chartering Organization. If I really am a member of that organization?? The Pack is a youth program offered by the organization and I kinda think that my kid has the right to belong to the youth organization that is part of the organization I''m a member of. I think if I were to C0; I''d be unhappy that members were being turned away. Dens do not have to meet in the rooms provided by the CO (Packs should!!) Back when I was a Webelos Scout Den Leader, the Den met in house and used my back yard for games. RE: "Would any of you want this parent as a leader in YOUR Pack? Again in a unit with an active CO the final word on that is the CO''s. Ea.

I''m having a problem with the "Do my best" bit!! While I''m aware of the Cub Scout standard and am happy with it. I''m also in no way advocating that requirements don''t have to be met. In fact at times I think I may be guilty of being a little overboard on this one. We all however promise to "Do our best". I don''t see this as being measurable. The only person who really knows if they have given their best is the person trying to do it. I don''t always know why people do what they do or what reason they have for doing it. Most times I''m just happy that they do. I wonder if a Lad who returned after a long absence and said that his reason for returning was that he really missed going camping would be received? What about the Lad who hears that the Troop is going to some place that he really wants to go to? Someone a few years back posted "More carrot and less stick" If Eagle Scout rank is the carrot that is what brings a Lad back? I''m all for making a carrot cake and adding cream cheese icing!! I don''t know what good or what influence we ever have on a Scout? I do know it''s a lot more than we can have on a Lad who isn''t there. Ea.

Thanks for the outpouring of kindness. One sure way never to get hurt is to never care. I''m not that clever or wise. Still I do believe that it is caring and loving that makes us human. The price of loving and caring can at times feel high. But the rewards are even greater. I feel truly blessed that God has given me so much to love and care about. While here in the forum we might not always agree with each other and at times things can get heated. We all share a passion for Scouting which is a passion for helping young people. Some of these young people will just pass through, while others have a way of almost becoming family members and do become lifelong friends. The older I become the more privileged that young people are willing to spent their youth with an old timer like me. "Dance like nobody''s watching; love like you''ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody''s listening; live like it''s heaven on earth." -Mark Twain Joe was never much of a dancer, he did put up with my singing!! He gave love freely. He had a good life and I''m a better person for having known him and spent time with him. Eamonn.

Not sure if this is relevant or not? We have a really great Lad in the Ship. Has been and technically is a member of a Troop. (I have no idea why they keep him on their charter.) As I say he is a great Lad. About the most active Sea Scout we have. He is 16 years old. Before not being active in the Troop he was SPL. From what I know, nothing happened he just kinda "Out-grew" the Troop. For about a year while he was happy to participate in everything the Ship did. He wasn''t showing any real interest or ambition in advancement. This past summer he went to work at a camp in Georgia. While he was there he passed the time taking a few merit badges. He returned wanting to see about being accepted by the US Coast Guard Academy and really keen on completing his Eagle Scout rank. He is also showing a lot of interest in Quartermaster, but right now the Eagle rank is within reach. Whatever happened this past summer has changed his outlook. I wasn''t there so I don''t know if someone or something made him have a change of heart? When we met I mentioned that he could return to the Troop and complete the Eagle Scout requirements. In fact I was hoping he would -That is about me being lazy and not wanting to have a foot in both programs!! He wouldn''t go for it. Maybe he sees being an Eagle Scout as being useful when the time comes to apply for the USCG Academy? Maybe he wants to use the time he put in up until now? Maybe a lot of things? We have talked and he understands that there is no way that I''m going to push him. He knows I didn''t push OJ!! The way I see it is that he needed time to come up with what he wanted and find out where he is going or wants to go. My role is to help and support him. I''m really happy that he made up his mind. If becoming an Eagle Scout is a stepping stone? I''m happy to let him step on. My hope is that along the way he finds out more about himself. Of course I really like the Lad and will offer the friendly kick in the pants as is needed. Eamonn.

There of course might be good reasons why a Lad who wants to remain "Active" might not be attending regular meetings of the Troop. I''m considered an active member of my parish, even through due to work and Scouting events I might not make it to a church service in that parish for several months. A couple of years back a Lad in our District was wrongly denied Eagle Scout rank because the BOR deemed he wasn''t active. The Lad had met all the requirements, but when asked he informed the BOR that he hadn''t attended a Troop meeting for several months. They (The Board) used this as a reason to deny his advancement. The fact was that the Troop meeting fell on the same night as the EMT training course that the Lad was taking. While I''m not a lawyer and know that many in the forum like to look at the wording of polices long and hard!! I kinda think what is meant by: "He is engaged by his unit leadership on a regular basis " Is that there are open lines of communication in place. I''m sure none of us would say that a Lad who was in hospital for a prolonged stay was not active. But if this hospital stay prevented him from preforming his duties as a youth leader we might feel the need to replace him with someone who was able to do the job. Back when I was serving as District Commissioner, after the charters were in we called each and every Scout who had been crossed off a charter. We wanted to know if he really wanted to no longer be part of the program? If so why? We invited him to return either to his old unit or to join another. We of course contacted the unit and talked to the leaders. If there were problems we did what we could to help iron them out. Rules and regulations that try and make "One size fits all" don''t work when it comes to what we are trying to do. Of course some might say that some kids are a lost cause! But if we don''t try and work with them and for them, they will remain lost. Eamonn.

John, We are about the same age!! I was a youth member back in the UK about a year or so before you. While things are(or were at that time?) different over there. Especially when it came to what was needed for advancement. For my sins I was a PL and later a SPL. Maybe the passing of time has clouded my memory? But for the life of me I can''t remember any sort of "Formal Leadership" Training''s. Being a PL had a lot to do with caring for the other members of your Patrol. I''m almost sure that the term "Servant Leadership" had never been thought of at that time. As a PLC, we the PL''s came up with ideas and activities that we wanted to do. The main focus being that the activities were fun. The adult leaders had along the way helped us acquire skills that opened more and more doors and gave us opportunities to use the skills, practice the skills and teach others the skills. Leadership had more to do with leading your Patrol build a great pioneering project than knowing what Ken Blanchard had to say about it!! (I have read most of what Ken Blanchard has written and learned a lot from it.) Our Summer Camp was a Troop activity that lasted two weeks. I never seen or heard of any Scout being homesick or wanting to leave camp. Looking back I think this was in part due to the fact that most times the PL was acting like a big brother. When I became a Scoutmaster (Still across the pond) I used the PLC meetings to train the PL''s. Not in "Leadership" but in activities that they in turn would pass on to their Patrols. If a PL had something he wanted to do (Sometimes the ideas even did come from the Patrol members -But not very often!! Representing the group was never a strong point!) I seen my role as helping him, help himself to get the job done. All of our Patrols held Patrol Camps. I''d look in unannounced every now and then to see if everything was OK. Or if they were a long way from home the local District Commissioner would pay a visit and report back to me. Did it always work? Of course not!! Sometimes it would take me months to find out what "Really happened" (Yes we had the Patrol that went away for five days and lived on Fish and Chips!!) Of course they knew that in time I''d find out what went on. But I know deep down they really enjoyed the trust I placed in them. They knew what they could "Get away with" and not to cross the line. We used reflections a lot. Not to place blame or pat people on the back, but as a tool to see what had worked and what hadn''t and more importantly why? (This does away with the nagging!!) Every Scout who became a PL was different. We had the quiet guys who never made a move without thinking about it. The loud rush ahead at full speed guys. The PL''s who tried to rule by force. The PL''s who ruled by committee and the list goes on. My role was to see what was happening and deal with each PL as an individual (Not an easy task when we had 14 Patrols!) while he learned a lot from at times failing. My goal was for him to succeed. My greatest joy was seeing a Lad who was a poor PL become better. I have to admit that at times I think we spent way too much time on this formal leadership training and not enough time passing on skills which the PL''s can pass on to the other Scouts, which can along the way introduce the younger Scouts to the fun, adventure and challenges which Scouting does offer. Standing a distance away and watching Mr. Patrol Leader have his Patrol get ready for the night. Having the water ready, the wood collected and covered, making sure the site is in ship shape order and then having the entire Patrol sit around the the campfire with mugs of hot chocolate, tells me more about leadership than any course. Yes I''m proud when it happens and yes there is a certain amount of "That''s My Boy" involved. The best part is knowing that he did it because it was the right thing to do. - Not to please me or for my approval. Sure I played a part in all of this somewhere back along the line and I''ll gladly accept that responsibility. Eamonn.

On Monday night I was watching Antiques Roadshow with my eyes closed. Her Who Must Be Obeyed has a way of calling my name when something is wrong. I got that call. I woke up to find poor Joe the English Setter having what can only be described as something like a epileptic fit. Of course none of our local Vets have emergency hours, so we drove 50 miles to the Animal Hospital /Trauma Center. They did manage to calm him down a little with some Valium, but his breathing was still rapid and his blood pressure was low. They did a scan which showed he had a brain tumor. On the recommendation of the Vet we had to say good-bye to poor old Joe. Joe was never a very frisky fellow, but he was the kindest most gentle dog I ever met. As you can imagine we all have done our fair share of crying. He was a very special member of our family. Of course along with the tears, we have taken the time to look back at the silly and good times we shared. I really do miss him. I know in time the pain of him not being here will pass. I''m just so happy that he let us be his family. Eamonn

Lisabob The million new leaders is talked about in the long term strategic plan. Along with a lot of other stuff that really doesn''t seem to be happening. There does however seem to be some movement with regard asking parents to get more involved with the unit that their child is in. ScoutDadof5, If we for a minute put aside the fact that we only have about half the number of UC that we need. While of course there are a lot of really good UC''s who are doing a wonderful. Sadly it seems that Commissioner Service is the last stop for a lot of people who have either failed as Unit Leaders, or just don''t seem to fit in anyplace else. Back when I went to PTC (I think it was 2000) As part of the get to know each other/ introduction. Each of us had to say who we were, where we came from and what each of us seen as our biggest problem. Mike who had the misfortune to sit next to me was from the San Fransisco Bay area. I raised my eyebrows when he stated that his biggest problem was "Scouting in a hostile political environment" In fact his statement made me feel a little silly when I said my big problem was the age of my commissioner staff. At the time of all the District Commissioners at the conference I had the most UC''s. 27 serving 39 units. Sounds great until you discover that most of them were way past 70 years of age. At least half a dozen were unable to drive after dark (We are out in the sticks) They were all dedicated people. The Lady I inherited as my Assistant District Commissioner Cub Scouts, was 82. She had been a Den Mother with my Mother-in-law. She had lost a leg to diabetes and was nearly blind. This left me between a rock and a hard place. I didn''t want to be unkind. But she just wasn''t up to the job. She however felt that after all her years of service that she had earned the rank of Assistant District Commissioner. All too often in Scouting there seems to be some stupid idea that one position "Out ranks" other positions. (In the end I sweet talked her into taking the new position of Boy''s Life promotion.) Some of the commissioners had been with a unit for so long that they were embedded in that unit and had become so close that at times they were a unit problem not a means to a solution. Worse still were the guys who seen their Silver loops as some kind of power trip, almost to the point that it seemed they were telling the unit leaders "It''s my way or the highway" Of course when they were wrong to start with! This didn''t make life any easier. Add to all of this the fact that we play the numbers game with Commissioners. Our Council Commissioner is a truly great guy. I love him dearly and think he might even like me a little. But I have sat through Commissioner Cabinet meetings where he has pulled out the sheet which shows where each Council ranks in the number of Commissioners and sadly with no view to quality it just becomes a who can we add to the list game. As for a fix. I think we need to look at making the Training Team a listed position (Yes -Go ahead give them a patch!!) An have them visit units to promote trainings, offer one-on-on training where needed and while they are there they can observe how things are going. Eamonn.

Yet again let me voice my complete and utter annoyance about the term "Deathbed Eagle." This game isn''t rocket science. A Scout either meets the requirements or he doesn''t. If a Lad has met a requirement there is no way it can be "Un-met" If the requirement requires a set amount of time and the time needed can''t be met,he of course can''t meet the requirement. Surely our role as leaders is to serve the kids who become Scouts? When we place unnecessary hurdles in their way we are not serving them we are in fact harming them. I would welcome the Lad back with open arms and sit down with him while he worked on his plan to meet his goals. The Eagle Scout Rank will belong to him, it is his how he gets there is also up to him. Of course not being around for an extended amount of time isn''t going to make life easy. But that was his choice. Eamonn.

I have been privileged to sit on the selection committees for both the District Award of Merit and the Silver Beaver. We are a small District and award two Awards of Merit a year. We are also a small Council and are only allowed to award five Silver Beavers a year. Up until about six years ago the names of the Silver Beaver recipients were kept secret until the recognition dinner. I really had pushed for the little old fellow who had been our Cub Scout Round Table Commish to get the Beaver. That year our District Chair sat on the Beaver Committee. (I was serving as District Commish) He attended the meeting and phoned me when he got home. I of course asked if the person I had nominated had been selected? He said "No". As I have been known to do, I went off on one of my long never ending speeches about how unfair things were and what a bunch of good for nothing so and sos the committee were. I then asked who got it? He laughed and said "You did" I was speechless!! My guy got it the next year. Eamonn.

Well done Cary, wear your beads with pride. But never forget that you are here to serve the youth. Ea.

". A list of scouts put on probation will be provided to the Troop Committee during the Scoutmaster''''s Report." Why? What will the committee do? Unless of course this a way of showing the committee that the SM if failing to do such a great job of training the youth leaders and have them form a nominating committee. Ea.

Let me state from the get go, that I think the idea of Commissioner Service is a wonderful idea. Sadly it''s not working and I happen to think it''s broken beyond repair. In our area we just don''t have the man-power to be able to provide anything that looks like what the BSA seems to think Commissioner Service should be. A quick look at the Fall Commissioner Newsletter shows that Nationally we have 114,076 units and only 19,867 Unit Commissioners. We need to recruit 38,026. Somehow I just don''t see that happening. I do think that spending a week at the Philmont Training Center is a good idea for all commissioners. I went as a District Commissioner. Not only did I have a great time, but I learned a lot. I do believe that a UC does need to know a fair amount about the program area in which he or she is working in. Someone who has spent all their time working with Cub Scouts might want to take Boy Scout Training and visit some well run Troops before becoming a UC for a Troop. A good UC will be a good communicator. If he or she knows what resources the District /Council has available he will be able to make these known to the unit and make the needs of the unit known to the District/Council. He or she needs to be honest. Even if at times the honest answer is "I don''t know!!" It is important that the UC remembers that he or she is not part of the unit. He or She was selected by the District Commissioner and approved by the Council Executive Board. This means that no matter what he or she is always a guest of the unit and should act accordingly. It should also mean that he or she is seen to be supporting the actions of the District or Council. While the UC is in fact the eyes and ears of the District; knowing that spies are never welcome will help him or her form a real friendly relationship with the adults in the unit. A good UC does need to realize that units have one set of adults who provide the program (Work closely with the youth) AND there is a set of adults who manage the unit (The Committee) ignoring either is a big mistake. As for a success story. Some years back when I was District Commish. An application that had done the rounds (Had been floating around the Council Service Center for about six months!!) Finally landed on my desk. The guy had been out of Scouting for over 20 years and wanted to return. No one knew what to do with him. So sticking him in as a Commissioner seemed like a good idea. From the first time I met him, I just plain out and out didn''t like him!! (How Scout-like is that?) It seemed to me that he was living in the past and just didn''t understand that 1960 was a long time ago. Pack 474 lies in the very far end of the District. To be honest it never had been much of a pack. It was dieing, a slow painful death. This guy lived fairly near to the pack so I asked him to take it on. My thinking was it was dieing so what harm could he do? The pack went down to five Cub Scouts, there was no real leadership. One Cubmaster came and went, then another it was really sad. September came and the plans for School Sign up night were made. I assigned a Commissioner to each school. He went to the school where Pack 474 got most of their Cub Scouts from. I was very surprised when he returned with ten applications. Still I knew that without a leader this was just a flash in the pan. He went back and organized a parents meeting, from which he got a few willing parents to volunteer. He worked very closely with these parents. They loved him!! The pack now has over 50 Cub Scouts. Two years back one of the parents started a new Troop, this old guy is working with them. It''s an uphill task. I still can''t say that I like him, but as a UC he has worked wonders. Eamonn.

Seems to a lot going on in this thread. In our area for most courses you have to have taken the course, before you can present it. (We don''t offer the Trainer Development course very often, so we have to use people who may not have taken that course.) In the past here in the forum we have looked at: Who should present it? Is it better to have a first class presenter? Or better to have someone who isn''t as good at presenting but has experience with that program? Offering two courses in one day? This sound like a win, win situation. Taking up less time from the participants and the training team. I however think it''s a mistake. While the NLE isn''t a bad course (I hate that silly bridge!!) It can seem a little like a waste of time to anyone who has been in Scouting for a while. But having said that. A lot of the problems that came up I had to deal back when I was serving as District Commish and Chair, had answers that could be found in the NLE material. NLE does take about two hours. A lot does depend on : The people presenting. The number of participants. How actively the participants participate. Do they ask a lot of questions? Is there one person who want to use the course to give his or her pet peeve an airing? (A good presenter knows how to manage this situation) I''m not in favor of mandatory training. My hope is that scouter''s attend the training''s because they want to or feel they have a need to attend. Kinda goes hand in hand with the discussion that we are having about the methods and uniforming. But if a knot, bead, badge or some sort of dingle-dangle spurs people on to attend? I don''t see any harm in it. Of course if we take "Every Boy Deserves A Trained Leader" to heart the Training teams have to go out of their way to make training''s as user friendly as possible. Not everyone works Mon-Fri. 9 -5. Some people can''t make an all day training, and so on. The dates are as a rule set long before any course starts. The course is promoted as much as possible. No training team wants to keep a date free only to find out at the last minute that the course has been canceled due to lack of people signing up. If anyone isn''t getting the information they need to contact the District Training Chair. If he is at fault he or she will try to fix the problem. However a lot of times it seems that someone in the unit does have all the information and for some reason isn''t willing to share it. I have had problems with the Boy Scout Leader Specific Training. With the ceremony at the end it does take about nine hours. I have tried spreading it over 3 nights. But trying to find an agreeable start time (When people can make it home and get to where the course is) is hard. Even starting at 1830 means that some people are not going to get home until about 2300. The course is hard on the sitter!! The videos are really good, but a lot of the good stuff seems to be "Hidden". In order to get everything out of them, you need to view them a couple of times. Of course this isn''t going to happen on the day. I''m real big on handouts. When using Power Point I as a rule print and copy all the slides and hand them out after the presentation. I don''t read the slide word for word. But sometimes this confuses the participants! They think I have missed something. I do think some of the material in the specific training could be moved to the outdoor training, when there is a lot more free time on hand. (Friday night and after the campfire.) Lunch is a very important part of the course!! Not only for the food. I like to eat with the participants and try to get to know them, while getting a feel for how the course is going and if the participants are happy. I try and get the presenters to eat with the participants (Not as some elite staff.) This also gives the participants an opportunity to go over anything they might want to ask. As to what happens after any training? The training''s if presented properly!! Are not in any way about trying to put any unit or group down. They should outline what works and provide good and accurate information about the guidelines set by the BSA. Please believe me, that as someone who has been involved in adult leader training for a good while. Nothing is more frustrating than having a group of participants who seem really keen on trying to do things as they should be done, but knowing that once these leaders get back to the units they serve they will hear "We don''t do it that way!!" No one in Scouting carries a big stick!! No one can force a unit or unit leader to follow the program. The training teams can present the information as it is in the syllabus. Some team members might offer ideas or suggestions about what worked and didn''t work for them. But once the course participant returns to his or her unit, what happens next is out of their hands. Some leaders return to the unit on the "Training High". They want to try and change everything all at once!! Needless to say this rarely happens and at times does manage to upset the other leaders in the unit. Change can and does happen!! But it takes time and needs to be managed with kid gloves. After each course we hand out a course evaluation sheet. This is taken very seriously and is taken to heart. There are times when the person in charge of the course makes a big mistake. I remember once allowing an old timer who knows a lot about Scouting to be a presenter (He''d pestered the heck out of me!!) I''d made sure he had all the material he needed, I''d checked that he knew how much time he had and was good to go. Come the day, he got up in his full uniform complete with campaign hat. He then started to spend 15 minutes talking about his darn hat!! We had to cut him off, but were now running over, so other parts of the course were rushed and maybe not given the care and attention that they deserved. Of course he was never asked to be on staff again. In fact he is mad at me to this day for not adding his name to the list of possible Wood Badge staffers. There are some really fine units in Georgia. I spent a week with a group from the Atlanta area, they really seemed to have got their act together and the Scouts were on the receiving end of a wonderful Scouting program, full of adventure, fun and while maybe the Scouts didn''t know it the aims of Scouting were being met in full force. Of course this didn''t happen overnight. It took time, it took dedication from the adults who seemed to have a great grasp of both the game and the purpose. I can''t say for sure, but maybe? Just maybe at one time they took the BSA training''s and found the tools that they took home worked for them. Ea.

It seems a little odd that this thread has become yet another Uniform discussion. Not that anyone is asking! But if they were to ask. I think the most abused and most misunderstood method is the Advancement method. Seems to me that in a lot of units the Eagle Count seems to have become more important than the Vision and Mission and at times is more important than the Scouting Ideals. I happen to think that this misunderstanding has a lot to do with why Scouts quit Scouting! We know that only about 5% of the Scouts will make Eagle Scout rank. So when a Lad finds out that this much hyped goal that was set for him (Not set by the Scout) isn''t easy and more than lightly isn''t going to happen he starts to feel that staying in, is just a waste of time. There are some young Scouts who are very focused and I don''t have a problem with young Scouts who have met the requirements and have earned the rank of Eagle Scout, becoming Eagle Scouts. I''m a little unsure what a Troop does with a 13 year old Eagle Scout? What holds his attention and interest till he is 18? Making the Advancement method work as it should seems to me to be a lot harder than making the uniform method work. Ea.

While at times I''m overly critical of the BSA and the "System" -Whatever that is? Deep in my heart I do believe that the youth we serve do have a feeling for the good work adults in Scouting do. Right now I''m lucky that I get to work with the older youth and they not only seem to appreciate the time I put in, but are happy to offer me a pat on the back. Sailing around the world or landing on the moon just aren''t on the cards for me. Outside of the area where I live, no one knows or cares what I do with my spare time, or who I am. But here in my small community the locals do know and do appreciate the work volunteer Scouter''s do. Every time I go for a haircut the barber tells me so. I have made Scouting presentations to local service groups (Lions Elk''s, Rotary.) and given recruiting talks in local churches. Afterwards I receive a lot of thank yous. Of course I''m not the perfect role model. Like everyone else wearing a Scout uniform has never taken away all my bad habits and my involvement in Scouting certainly hasn''t made me a candidate for saint. The bad thing about the Scout Law and Oath is that we promise to do our best. Sometimes my best is better than at other times and even when I get it right the bar is raised and my best can be better. So while I''m aware that I''m no super-hero and chances are that I''m never going to be one, I do think when it comes to " prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law." I can do my bit. Eamonn.

Joe our English Setter must be the most lazy dog I have ever met. As I have posted before. Some years back when I was away for a weekend doing some kind of Scouting. HWMBO said she heard someone trying to break in the house. I was given 3 choices 1/ Don''t go away. 2/ Buy a gun. 3/ Get a guard dog. Joe was brought on board to help Woofter with her guarding duties. Woofter was the Lady Dog I brought from England with me. It''s a family joke that I paid more to fly her over than I paid for HWMBO. Joe must have been sleeping when I explained his guarding duties to him, somehow he either never knew what was expected from him or just choose to ignore them. At the time it didn''t matter much as we also got Shane a Lassie look-a-like. Shane didn''t much get past him. So Joe was happy to just sleep. Joe is now going on 13 and has earned the right to sleep when and where he likes. I really think that the Great Scoutmaster in the sky was being prepared when he brought Rory to me. To be honest I''d just had and was having back surgery and the idea of having a Golden Retriever pup for Christmas was something that I could do without. I was feeling very sorry for myself, it was winter and cold and a rambunctious puppy was not my idea of the best Christmas present. Needless to say he stole my heart (He still does). At the risk of sounding very selfish. When Jamie (HWMBO) was really sick, her Mum would visit everyday so I could take him on the BLW (Big Long Walk). Some days I was really mad. Mad at the world, mad at the cancer, mad at God -Just mad and upset. Of course you can''t be mad at a cute little dog!! He was/is my friend, he has been my confidant, he has been my sanctuary. When I''m home he is by my side. We still walk about 3-5 miles everyday. Thanks to him I''m learning more and more about wildlife and nature in SW -PA. At night he sleeps on the floor on my side of the bed, on his back with his paws in the air. A couple of months back we were on our walk when we seen a little dog in a hay field that had just been cut. As soon as it seen us it took off. We didn''t see it everyday, but a couple of times a week and sure enough every time it ran off. I was a little worried, so I started bringing a zip-lock bag full of food and leaving it on the porch of one of the outbuildings. The dog wouldn''t come near me. Five weeks back I had the painters come and paint the outside of the house. I was outside talking with them when out of no where the dog comes along. Of course I have a couple of Mikbone Dog biscuits in my pocket (Doesn''t everyone?) She wouldn''t take the biscuit from me at first, but when I laid it down she took it. After a while she let me pet her. But then she ran off. The following day I came home from work and OJ who should be at school is home with the little dog. He is sweet talking her calling her "Baby Girl" and she is enjoying it. She is small only 21 pound and is a real Heinz 57 mutt. She loves having her tummy tickled. She didn''t have any collar or ID. We took her to the vet and checked for tattoos and scanned her for micro-chips. There were none. So we got her the shots she needed and had the vet check her out ($75.00) OJ gave her a bath and I gave her a flea treatment. I think the change of diet was a bit much for her as she got sick and went back to the vet ($35.00). On Monday she is going to be spayed ($125.00) I was worried that Rory was not going to like her cutting into the time we spend together, but so far he seems fine. She likes to go deep into the corn fields and chase the birds, he is happy to stay with me. They do play something that looks like a game of tag. I think it''s funny seeing the pair of them, him at 90 pound and her at 20 pound walking along side by side. Rory sits on my right side when I''m in my recliner, she has worked her way up to sitting on my lap. Slowly but surely she is worming her way into my heart. Rory will always be number one, but I do have a new Lady in my life. Being as she came on a Friday, we named her Friday Louise. The Louise wasn''t my idea!! Eamonn.

Justadad1999 Cub Scouting is a family program. Do what ever it is you need to do, so you and your son get to spend as much time as you can together. Time passes far too quickly, before you know it the only time you''ll see him is when he is hungry or needs money for gas!! When that time comes where you slept is not going to be a big deal. But the times you spent together will provide a lifetime of memories! Get out there, have fun, do things that kids love to do. What you do now will play a big part in what kind of man he becomes. Her Who Must Be Obeyed is forever telling me that I''m just a big kid. I still enjoy watching fire-flies, butterflies, groundhogs and chipmunks. Share all this with your son and his pals. Find a place to park your camper or put up your tent. The main thing is just being there. Ea.

ScoutDadof5 I''m not sure how to say this!! OK, there is a book answer. It can be found in the Administrative Guide. (What you are looking for used to be on page 26!! But may have been updated.) Wood Badge Staff Development was looked at very closely when the Wood Badge course was changed to the Wood Badge for the 21st Century course. The time spent developing the staff was cut back a lot!! Course Directors are kinda, sorta supposed to follow the Administrative Guide. Please don''t tell anyone but when I was CD for NE-IV-153, I didn''t follow the Administrative Guide. We had one meeting (Long before the 90 days that is outlined in the guide. Mainly because ours was a cluster course and with staff coming from different Councils I wanted them to meet each other and start getting to know one and other. It was a lunchtime meeting (Working Lunch -Pizza in the Council Service Center.) Everyone got out before Tea time!! We then had 3 development weekends. Due to the distances that some people had to travel, we did meet on Friday nights, but didn''t start until early on Saturday. We worked through the day on Saturday and everyone was free to leave after supper. Some people opted to stay till Sunday morning. The course started on Fridays,most of the staff came in on Thursday night a few of us came in on Wednesday to get the heavy work done. Your best bet is to sit down with the CD and see what he or she is doing or wants to do. I think asking anyone to give up six weekends in a year is a lot. Especially if they are involved with a unit. Course Directors do seem to have a lot of freedom when it comes to Staff Development -I really don''t recommend looking up the "Book Answer" and then going to him or her and quoting chapter and verse!! This tends to make them very cranky. (Even nice guys who talk funny!! Good Luck -Who knows you might get to work with the Bear Patrol and really enjoy Wood Badge! Eamonn.

My first port of call would be the Webelos Scout Den Leader. If they (The Webelos Scouts) have gone from the Blue to the Tan Shirts, they might be willing to pass them on. Next have a word with the person who keeps the membership records any little Lads who have quit Cub Scouting, more than lightly have no need for their uniforms. I strongly urge you to resist from putting your hand in your pocket for a specific Cub Scout or family. I know this is just an Eamonnisum, but I feel by doing so you are running the risk of getting hurt. What happens when or if the Lad decides that he wants to quit and doesn''t return the shirt (or whatever)? My guess is that you will feel hurt and let down. If you have some extra cash that you want to invest in the Pack? It might be better that you talk with the Pack Committee Chair about starting a fund within the Pack that helps boys who need a hand. While I''m on my high horse!! I also feel that parents do need to put their hand in their pocket and pay for something. They need to feel that they have some kind of an investment in what their son does. While I would never tell anyone how to spend their hard earned money. A pet peeve of mine is a parent telling me that they can''t afford something as they puff away on a cigarette. (Yes I''m a smoker!!) While I do think $11.99 for a Wolf Cap is a bit over the top, it is about the cost of three packs of cigarettes. Like it or not Scouting is not a free activity and parents and Scouts are expected to find the money necessary for their son to participate, be it through fund raising event participation or writing a check. Our Council has a fairly good Campership program that helps families send their Scouts to camp, but the fund never provides more than 50% of the camp fee and does take into consideration participation in fund raising events (Not just popcorn.) mom23scouts You really do have a kind heart and I''m sure you want to do what is best for these Lads, but be very careful you don''t over do it!! You are not going to around them forever!! If they are ever to really participate in a full Scouting program they will need to do their bit. Maybe it''s for the best that they understand this from the very start. Kinda of "Tough Love"? Welcome To The Forum. Eamonn

I never have been big on rules, regulations and Troop bylaws. My thinking being that we have all we need in the Oath and Law. I think it''s worth looking at the methods and thinking about how they pertain to each individual Scout. Each Scout sees things differently. Each Scout "Owns" his own Best. Some Scouts might have a hard time or not have a lot of interest in advancement. Some Scouts relate far better to adults than others. You can go over the list of methods and think how they fit or don''t fit each Scout. For the sake of argument, I wonder if a Troop had a group of Scouts who showed no interest in advancement, how many of us would be willing to say "Advancement doesn''t work. Let''s not bother with it?" I''m guessing very few!! I''ll bet that most of us would work with each Scout trying to find where his interest lies and work the program around him. We find ways of making Personal Growth happen. It''s kinda easy to say that the uniform method just don''t work. I''ll agree 100% that at times it''s not easy. Still working with one Scout at a time, helping him find reasons why he wants to wear the uniform is surely the way to go. Of course there could be reasons why a Lad doesn''t wear a uniform, but we can do what we can to overcome them. The thing that worked best for us was having a big monthly inter-patrol competition. Points were awarded for winning games, advancement -Just about anything and everything. That included the uniform inspection at the start of each meeting. The SPL choose who did the inspecting. We never had a need for any rules or the like. Peer pressure worked just fine. Ea.

We were spending the weekend camping just outside of Oxford. Come Sunday morning we went to a local church. The preacher was a real nice fellow. When it came time for his sermon, he started by reading all the soccer scores. A little later he came and asked me if I could lend him a hand. A herd of cows had managed to get in the gate and were wondering around the graves. I went with a few Scouts and shooed them back to the field. One young Scout remarked it was the best church service he''d ever been at. Ea.

OK, I''ll play. A few questions for highcountry: Tell us a little about yourself (What you feel comfortable with!!) Were you a Scout? How long have you been an adult Scouter? Do you have a son in the program? What trainings have you taken and what did you get out of them? Do you have a personal Vision for the Troop? What and where do you see you and the Troop doing in five years from now? Ea.

On the MSN page is a photo of a cow, the caption reads something about British cattle having weird diseases -I haven''t read it yet. It did however remind me of a while maybe not so kind story, but funny one. Our first trip to Kandersteg was back in 1977. We had 48 Scouts and five adults. Many of the Scouts were from what might be called the projects over here, we said they were from the Flats (High Rise low income housing) Only about half were white, the other half were a mix of Asian and Black. Nearly all of them had never been outside of the UK. The Troop met outside of the tube station at Fulham Broadway Station. Anyone who has ever been on the London Underground can imagine how hard it is to get 53 people on a train, we had to change at Earls Court to get a train to Victoria Station. The Scouts were carrying their personal gear and each had a suitcase on wheels full of dehydrated food. I''d heard how expensive food was in Switzerland. We of course were dressed in our Sunday best full Scouting uniforms. When we got to Victoria Station we found the train that was going to take us to Dover and would go on the ferry to Antwerp. Once on the boat the Scouts were free to explore or do what they liked. The adults found a cozy spot and sat guarding the mountain of dehydrated food. I''d booked sleeping compartments for everyone so once we got back on the train, the Scouts settled down playing cards or passing the time somehow. By about midnight everyone had gone to bed and gone to sleep. We were just entering Luxembourg. One of my greatest Scouting memories was the following morning. The Scouts woke up as the train was going through the Alps. The faces of the Scouts and the look of amazement and wonder made the hard work I''d put in all worth while. The Scouts sat almost glued to the train windows. Soon we seen some Swiss Cows, complete with cow bells. One little Lad (Christian) started to try and "Talk" with the cows by making a mooing sound. I of course corrected him telling him that only English Cows went "Moo"! And that Swiss cows spoke German!! A little later Faisal came up to asking how you said Moo in German? I had to smile and did let them both know that I had been pulling their leg. This was a truly great trip and even today 30 years later the "Kids" who went still talk about it in the e-mails they send me. I love this Scouting Stuff Too!! Eamonn.

It''s late and past my bedtime!! I posted: "That''''s partly true, but the uniform is more than a set of clothes...It is a symbol of the boy''''s commitment to Scouting - his acceptance of Scouting''''''''s ideals and willingness to live by them." Beavah posted: "Yah, it can be that. We hope it becomes that, eh? That''''s the real uniform method - the one that''''s worn in the heart and not on the body." I REALLY don''t want to get hung up on this uniform thing!! But... In the troop OJ joined where the SM said "We don''t wear..." Most parents are going to be happy to save the money that can be saved. The Scouts really don''t have the choice to wear or not wear the correct uniform. In some ways the message is "Yes there is something that you should be doing, but it''s OK if you don''t". Due to his involvement in the OA OJ choose to wear the full correct uniform to OA functions. He had the uniform, so getting it was never a problem. The uniform was the same one for the OA as it was for the Troop meetings. He was the same Scout for both. But for Troop meetings he was happy to throw the Scout Shirt in the car and go. But for the OA he spent time making sure his uniform was correct and looked good. A lot of the Scouts at the OA functions didn''t wear the full uniform. There of course could be lots of reasons why they as individuals didn''t. I''m not passing any sort of judgment on them. But as a method it seems to me that the Lodge Advisor and the different Advisors that OJ worked with somehow managed to drive the point home. Sure a lot of it was peer pressure. The Scouts he hung out with at OA weekends all wore full uniforms and a lot of them went on to become officers in the Lodge and the section. One went on to become NE-Region Chief. There never was any talk of anyone being sent home for not wearing the uniform and as far as I know there was no consequence good or bad for wearing or not wearing it. Could it be that OJ wanted to show that his commitment to the Lodge was something special to him? The Scouts in the Ship are happy to wear both Sea Scout uniforms. We don''t wear the Whites very often!! At times the black shoes are a problem. It does seem that not wearing them very often makes them more special!! Could it be that Boy Scout Troops wear the uniform more times than they really need too? We do wear the working Sea Scout uniform a lot and so far it has never been a problem. The Sea Scouts do have the choice (Being part of Venturing) They choose what to wear. We as a Ship don''t have any rules or regulations that deal with uniforming. The Scouts seem happy to wear the uniforms because they are Sea Scouts. Ea. Brent, I really don't think anyone was doing any name calling. Many youth members use the term "Gay" to describe things they don't like or maybe don't understand. OJ has had the audacity to tell me that he thinks that the Rolling Stones are "Gay". Please don't take it to heart. I'm 100% sure that no insult was meant or intended. (This message has been edited by Eamonn)