Eamonn

Over the years I have spent a lot of time taking dogs for walks. To date there hasn't been any burning bushes and the delivery of "Word of God" in my case is something I have relied upon my religion to take care of. As we know from history some religious leaders (I include a number of Popes.) have at times gone over the top with how they interpret the word. It wasn't that long ago that nothing was open on a Sunday. I remember well sitting through a sermon where a parish priest was telling the congregation that going to the store on Sunday was not keeping the Sabbath and how they shouldn't support store that were open. Now the youth group from that very same church has car washes outside the local supermarket which is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I don't think God said that he'd changed his mind? Ea.

Original Price: $66.55-$74.75!! Now only $36.49!! Get'em while there hot!! Ea.

"But the central question I asked and I wandered from ( I admit) is the reconciliation between respecting one religion's belief that homosexuality is wrong and another's that it's OK." If I understand the question?? I'm a practicing Roman Catholic. I try very hard not to be a "Cafeteria Catholic". While what follows might seem two faced? It works for me. The Church has deemed some things as sins. I don't do them things. This is my choice. Still God gave us all free will and free choice. What others do is up to them. Before Her Who Must Be Obeyed and I tied the knot, she thought we should live together. I see this as being wrong. Still I know a lot of people who do and have, in fact members of my family have. So while its not for me, I don't think I have the right to sit as judge and jury and look down on people who do. To this end I'm pro choice when it comes to abortion. When we were expecting OJ, we had a real scare. One sonogram taken at our local hospital showed that something was out of whack. The hospital called and told us on Friday morning that we had to travel to Pittsburgh for a more advanced sonogram. It was the longest weekend of my life!! All sorts of thoughts passed through my head, most of them had me fearing the worst. When we arrived at the Pittsburgh Hospital, they explained that they might have to do a Amniocentesis test and had us sit through Genetic Counseling. Which really did scare the beejeebers out of me.(Us) The idea that my baby might have Down syndrome,cystic fibrosis or spina bifida, just didn't bear thinking of and what were we going to do? Abortion was an option. But we had decided that our baby was a gift from God (We had been married for over five years and I had hoped to have four kids!!) and no matter what we were going to keep the baby. As it turned out the only thing the matter was he was coming in June and not September. This was a real test of my faith. I can however see that some people might not make the same choice that we did and I can understand why. I understand that two people of the same sex can have deep feelings for each other and want to spend their lives together. I was hoping that the Pope who followed Pope John Paul II was going be more liberal and have to admit to being disappointed in Pope Benedict XVI. Ea.

I thought that the TSA granted all states and the District of Columbia the option to use the TSA Agent (HAZPRINT) to collect your biographical information, fingerprints, and fees or to do so by their own process. So far Pennsylvania has not accepted the kind offer from the TSA (Unlike the 34 States and the District of Columbia) So Ben can rest in peace! Ea.

Growing up in a Irish Catholic family sex wasn't something that was talked about at the dinner table. Even Sex Education in school was taught by people brought in from the local Health Department. I have to admit to not being very comfortable talking about sex with anyone. I sure as heck wouldn't want to discuss it with other peoples children. Having said that I do feel that any kid who watches TV after 8:00 PM has been exposed to a lot of sexual content. They don't need anyone telling them about being Gay or Straight -They know that stuff already!! But is there any real difference between a gay leader talking inappropriately about sex, than there is with a straight leader talking inappropriately about sex? Both in my book are in the wrong. I wonder what will happen when more and more of the organizations that charter units start to become more accepting of gays and homosexuals and start seeing the BSA stand point as being wrong? Ea.

While I'm all for a coed program. This isn't the way to go about getting it. "should somebody have said something?" Yes -Maybe -Sorta!! First I'd want to know why she was wearing it? Was it just "Playing" or had she been the victim of a wild cup of bug juice? I can think of a lot of reasons why she might have the uniform on. If it turns out that the Pack is allowing her to be a "Real" Cub Scout? I think a word in the ear of the DE is the way to go. He or She can contact the COR or the CO and explain why this isn't allowed. I wouldn't try and explain to the parents or the leaders, I think they know what they are doing isn't right. The shame is that the little girl is just caught up in the game they are playing (If this is the case.)And is the one who will end up being upset. Seems odd that a little girl can wear FULL uniform while I very rarely see a Cub Scout wearing the full uniform!! Ea.

The daily newspaper in th area where I live (The paper most people in the area read.) Is owned by a family that is known to support right wing Republican views. I seem to remember Hillary Clinton making mention of them when Bill was in trouble. The paper does support local Scouting and has been the sponsor of the Annual Council Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner. Scouting stories that deal with program and events as a rule only make it to one of the sections of the Sunday Paper, while stories about things that have gone wrong are deemed newsworthy and make the daily paper. If I were to try and categorize the people who live in the area where I live I think I'd say they are mostly "Blue Collar". We do seem to have an over abundance of churches!! I think due to the fact that one time the town was very prosperous. (11 Churches for a town of 4,700). Talking with some of the older people they seem to like the idea that Scouting (BSA) has and is still holding on to the "Traditional Family Values". The semi-old people (Me!!) seem to be like John Edwards. While we believe that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not right and falls under much the same heading as discrimination due to race, color or creed or disability and many like me think that a civil union is fine and dandy, however I'm of the opinion that marriage is a "Church Union" and I'd be happy to leave it up to each denomination to choose if they wanted to approve same sex marriage. The young people I talk with seem to think this is all silly. They see nothing wrong, good or bad about someone wanting to be gay or homosexual. Some think that the BSA is being very unfair and that discriminating because of sexual orientation is just wrong. Some of the kids they go to school and college with are gay and have "Come Out". A very good friend of mine who is a member of the LDS Church and lives in the UK was upset when the Scout Association allowed Gay Leaders to serve in the UK. He was upset, but continues to serve. I can see that some CO's might not want or allow avowed homosexuals to serve as youth leaders of their youth. I think the best thing the BSA could do would be leave the choice up to the CO's. Parents would also have the final word, they would decide if they want to send their kid to a unit with openly gay leaders. I'm sure there would be a big fuss for a while, but I feel it would be a storm in a teacup. Of course the press would have a field day for a week or so. Some of the big CO's might huff and puff for a while, but I feel they would get over it. Ea.

Man you have to be careful the world is full of cows who don't live in California and are unhappy cows. They lurk behind ice cream vans waiting to pounce on lactose intolerant kids. Ea

Is BSA Training Sufficient? No. I don't think it ever will be or could be. However, at least in our area the program offered is very tame and really doesn't require a lot of skill or training. I'm happy that Austin McGivney is so gifted. Still in my book any parent who would allow a two year old to toddle across the Alaskan tundra might want to check and see if there are any screws loose. I'm not a novice hiker and have done a fair amount of hiking, still I'm not sure if I'm ready to take a group of young Boy Scouts from PA off to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, I am sure that taking a four year old would be my worst nightmare. In fact a lot of what Mother McGivney has written seems to me to point to an accident waiting to happen. We in the BSA do have our fair share of idiots, some are trained idiots and some are untrained. Some leaders do at times seem to get a little carried away and forget the age and the ability level of the Scouts we serve. What happened to young Michael Auberry,could have just as easily happened if the Troop had been in downtown Washington DC. The Lad wandered away. All the outdoor training in the world isn't going to stop a Lad who has made up his mind to wander away, from doing so. Maybe some other sort of training might help leaders recognize signs that might foretell it is going to happen? Over the years I have taught scouts basic sort "Stuff". Some had a hard time even with the most basic. Some were happy to take what I offered and leave it at that. Some wanted more. Far more that I was and am able to provide. When this happens I'm more than happy to provide information and help them find the resources they need. Right now we are putting together a Scuba course for the ship. I know nothing about Scuba, I'm going to take the course with the Scouts, but I have no deep burning desire to become really good at it and I know before I start I will never ever be able to instruct it. On the other hand I am interested in Leave No Trace. I was willing to pay my hard earned cash, drive 250 miles each way, give up a weekend and take the LNT Instructor Course. Maybe one day I'll go back and take the Master Course? Of course this wasn't a BSA Training, but I will use what I have learned to train BSA members.If they want to go into it big time I'll help and support them. Ea.

And a English guy who wants to know if the bulb is in his torch? Ea.

Lisabob I didn't realize the boy was your son. While it might (And in fact is!!) a double standard. How you the parent of your child deal with him and how you the Scouter deal with someone else's son is different or can be different. I have been known to be a real pain in the neck when it comes to getting things which I deem as being important done. Mainly school work and chores around the house. OJ and I have (or should I say had?) an understanding that if he ever wanted to quit Scouts he could. He knew that I'd be disappointed, but the choice was his. Hopefully by now at 19 he kinda understands that there is a method to the madness and the game did have a purpose. Still when he was younger Scouting was just a fun activity. In many ways no different from soccer or the other activities that filled his spare time. Different parents have different goals for their children. You are very fortunate that you understand how this game is played and the real meaning of what we (Scouter's) are trying to achieve. I think if I was the SM in a Troop with a Advancement Coordinator? He would be very bored - I have no idea how to use such a person or why anyone would want or need one!! A few years back, (About 5 years) Scouting in the UK made a lot of big changes. I read some of the new material and was overjoyed when I seen that they had shifted the empathise from advancement to participation. Not that there is anything wrong with recognition so long as it is wanted and earned. As parents we think that our kids will enjoy the things we enjoy and do things the way we do them. This works when they are little as they don't have a lot of choice. As they age they start to want to do things that want to do and do them their way. Even if and sometimes because it drives us bonkers!! Ea.

"Looking back on their trails, what have you seen?" As I have said in the past, I didn't want to cramp OJ's style by being there looking over his shoulder or micromanaging his ever move. Add to this, he really didn't want me around. When he joined Cub Scouts, he was no different than most of the other kids that joined. He was not very well coordinated, seemed to be no brighter or no dumber than any other kid and had the attention span of a very small ant. I did get to be his Webelos Scout Den Leader for his Webelos years. That was fun. Not just because he was my kid, but Lads that age are fun to work with. Together we tried new activities!! The joys of looking at the ecosystem of local streams, splish splashing around, taking owl pellets apart and seeing what the owl had for supper, making rockets, trying our hand at archery and BB guns. When the time came for him to move into the Troop, I kinda knew that "My Baby" was lost. He joined just in time to attend the Troops winter weekend at Twin Echos camp. It was February, it was cold with lots of snow. In the Pack he looked so big and was cock of the walk, now he looked so small and the other Scouts looked ginormas! Still he jumped in a van and was gone. At his first Summer Camp he seemed from what I heard to spent a lot of time walking too and from the First Aid Center. Nothing big, just silly things. After one visit having a volley ball injury attended too he was walking back and got stung on the face by a bee, so he just turned around and went back!! Sadly the SM of the Troop he joined changed jobs and was unable to continue as SM. The replacement wasn't that good and things went down hill really fast. He got involved with the OA. Him and a merry little band. The merry little band turned out to be one of the nicest groups of kids I have ever met. Many have gone on to serve at the Regional level. I got to spend the 2001 Jamboree with OJ and members of this group, by 2007 one of them was my 3rd ASM and OJ staffing the COPE Tower. A bunch of them went to Philmont. They worked at Summer Camp and only now am I hearing tales of things they got up to, which maybe if I'd heard about them at the time I might have been upset -A Trip to Washington DC on their night off!! Sometimes it's hard to see your own kid. I know he is popular. Everyone seems to know him. Adults compliment me on how mature and well mannered he is!! (They never see the "Dark Side"). He wants to teach elementary education. I thought it was due to him wanting to have his summers free. But the HS had a program where he could go and work in the elementary school, so many days a month. The teachers and the principal who I know well tell me that they have never seen a kid of his age who really does care about little kids as much as he does. I can't help thinking the time he spent staffing JLTC might have helped prepare him for that. He is a typical teenager. Right now his new car (New to him -A 2001 Nissan, his graduation present) is eating up all his money. Sub-woofers and tinted glass!! He did finally decide that he wanted to do what was needed to become an Eagle Scout. I was of course and am of course very proud. I'm really thankful to Scouting that the program provided him with such a great group of kids to hang out with. They knew how to have fun, many of the adults knew how to help them know how to have fun and provided opportunities and challenges that kept them busy and active. They either didn't have time or just weren't interested in drinking alcohol, doing drugs. The next big activity that was coming up didn't leave a lot of extra cash for things like cigarettes -Even with Dad paying half. I of course can't tell what role Scouts and Scouting has had in making him the young man that he is. I do know that Scouts and Scouting has made him at times made him think, he has had to make choices. Not just follow rules, but do the right thing because he felt it was the thing to do. He isn't the "Technical" Scout that his old man is. Knots are not for him!! "what have you seen? Over the years I have seen a Lad who smiles a lot, laughs a lot, is willing to make fun of himself and laugh at himself. He has a great sense of justice. He cares about others. He is becoming almost as good as I am at telling "Scouting War Stories" The time he has spent (and continues to spend) has been a very happy time. As parents isn't having happy kids who grow up to be happy adults our goal? Eamonn. (Yes I'm proud of my Kid, my Scout and I love him so very dearly.)

I know some of my fellow forum members have a military background. I'm trying to find any tips that work for highly polished shoes or boots. Is one polish better than others? What sort of cloth works best? Should you strip down?? (Remove old polish?) Any ideas and tips would be much appreciated. Thanks. Ea.

If this Lad is having fun, sees what he is doing as some sort of an adventure and finds the merit badges he starts as a challenge? Why is it driving you a little bonkers? Seems to me that he is enjoying the program and getting a lot out of it. "Different courses for different horses"? Ea.

In another thread we are talking about "Pet Peeves". One of my pet peeves is hearing people go on about how Eagle Scout projects are not as big and as good as they used to be. OK, so I hear it all the time from Mother-in-law Dearest!! Of course I don't know this Lad. I don't know what information he intends putting on the site or where he will get it from or if he is sending others out to do the leg work? I kinda think that the SM and the District Advancement Team member need to have a chat with him, ask some leading questions and find out if he really thinks that this project is worthy or not. -It is after all his Eagle that he is working toward. Having said that, from what has been posted. I'm having a hard time seeing how a Lad working alone on any project is really showing leadership. Who is he leading? Or is the site a leadership tool? A lot depends on how "Leadership" is defined? Going back into the dark ages... 1/ UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GROUP. 2/ KNOWING AND USING THE RESOURCES OF THE GROUP. 3/ COMMUNICATING. 4/ PLANNING. 5/CONTROLLING GROUP PERFORMANCE. 6/EVALUATING. 7/SETTING THE EXAMPLE. 8/SHARING LEADERSHIP. 9/COUNSELING. 10/REPRESENTING THE GROUP. 11/ EFFECTIVE TEACHING Were the leadership skills we used to teach,I would hope that any true leadership project would have the leader using most of these skills. Ea.

From what I have seen in our District, the Scouts have no say in where they camp next summer. Just about every troop attends the Council Camp. Same site, same week each and every year. In fact to secure their spot they sign up before the end of the week for next year. The Council does have a High Adventure trip every year, offering Sea Base, Philmont, the National Jamboree on some sort of a rotation. These trips tend to come with a fairly big price tag. On the bright side, everyone knows where they are going, when they are going and just about how much it's going to cost. It also helps the council have some idea what is happening. The not so bright side side is that after about 3 years the Scouts no longer see it as an adventure or much of a challenge and they lose interest. Ea.

Pet peeves can be hard to deal with. I have a long list of my own PPPP's (Private Personal Pet Peeves.) I own them, they are mine!! While others might have the same peeves, some of them are just things that get on my nerves, at times I think my very last nerve. I'm aware that at times I do things that annoy others and might well be one of their pet peeves. A Lad who joins a Boy Scout unit is still at the end of the day a Lad. Wearing green socks with red tops doesn't transform him into any sort of a little Angel. While of course certain behaviour is clearly not acceptable, we kinda have to accept that kids will be kids and boys will be boys. I try and stress that there is a time and a place for everything. - Yes even a certain amount of horseplay. Back when I first joined Scouting in the UK, Scout Staves (Staffs) we "In". They were seen as the multi-all-purpose-scout-tool. Marked off in feet and inches, fishing line added in case of a Trout emergency, one half the body of a emergency stretcher. In fact a tool no real Scout would ever go without. While not shown in any British Boy Scout Handbook, we also used them for our version of improvised morris dancing,jousting,we of course used them as quarterstaves playing our game of Robin Hood and Little John. Looking back it now seems strange how much fun we had with six feet of English Ash. Sure at times someone did get his knuckles hit and we did at times incur the Scoutmasters wrath. But for the time we spent doing what maybe we shouldn't have been doing? We were transported to a different time and place, at least in our imaginations. Is this worse than kids stuck indoors for days playing video games? Yes - the over-playing of these is one of my pet peeves. Ea.

I'm overjoyed to have become a Grand Uncle. My Niece across the pond has just given birth to a baby boy!! She is also my God daughter. The little fellow will be yet another Oliver (My Dad was Oliver,my middle name is Oliver and OJ is an Oliver.) Oliver Plunkett was born in County Meath, Ireland and was the last Catholic martyr to die in England. At present this little Lad has already became "Little Oliver" OJ has became "Big Oliver". I had suggested the name Rory, but was informed no baby wanted to named after a dog!! Needless to say Rory was offended. While as I say I'm happy to be a Grand Uncle, I really hope that my becoming a Grand Father is a going to take a while. Of course when that happens, OJ had better watch out!! Grand Uncle Ea. (Hope Little Oliver goes on to become a King's Scout.) (This message has been edited by Eamonn)

Pack378, You and Beavah have most definitely got my little grey cells in overdrive. Many years back the actor Peter Sellers (before he made it big in movies) was big on BBC radio in the Goon Show (See: http://www.thegoonshow.net/characters.asp Grown men dressed in Boy Scout uniforms were at the time seen a being comical (Other than for sports no grown ups wore shorts.) I don't have a problem wearing a Scout uniform out in public, but I have seen some Scouters who look like walking Christmas trees!! Shirts with lots of dingle dangles, beads, red jackets covered with the patches from every Camporee and event that they have ever attended and I'll admit to thinking that he looks like a real twit. My son, now 19 is not a "Closet Scout". Just about everyone he went to school with knew he was a Scout, in fact over 30 of them turned out to help him with his Eagle Scout project, not bad when you think that the class of 2007 graduated 178 students. Still since he turned about 15, while he is happy to wear his uniform at Scout functions, he is more comfortable changing into it when he gets there. I'm not sure if it's just in our area? Or maybe just his friends and the kids that I know? But many of them seem to act and think that it's "Cool" not to be "Cool"!! They are happy not to follow the fads and fashions (At least to a certain extent!!) They are not "Driven" MTV!! They seem proud to let everyone know what they are up to and doing.Some are happy to openly proclaim that they do go to church and have had their pals help send packages overseas to the needy, many were happy to sing in the school choir (When I was that age I wouldn't have been seen dead in a choir!!) Some are into Heavy Metal music, others into Country. Still I do agree that Scouting and the BSA does have an image problem. The people in my small town, do seem to think very highly of adults who volunteer, in fact I hear what a wonderful job I do every-time I get my hair cut. Our local paper will go out of it's way to print anything a Scout unit sends in. Sadly most of what is sent in is the posed picture of an over weight Scouter handing a Scout an Eagle Scout Award. We seem to sell (market) this great youth organization to adults?? "Character Counts" and all that good stuff might sound good to adults and might bring in some funding from big organizations? But I have yet to meet a kid who joined or stayed in Scouting for a character overhaul. I like to think I'm about as left wing as they come!! Fox News (Or is it Fox Views?) doesn't air in our house!! Diversity is kind of hard in our area. Of the 178 who graduated there were two African American students!! The Synagogue in the next town (The only one around as far I know) closed because of lack of members, they donated the building to the local council (not Boy Scout). There are areas in the Council where many African American families live and we as a Boy Scout Council don't seem to have made any real progress starting units that would serve the youth in these areas. Scoutreach if it was taken seriously (I mean as a way of serving the youth in the area, not playing number or membership games.) could make a big difference. Sadly this just isn't happening. Maybe because the BSA fails to recruit a fully diverse staff? Maybe because some Scouters don't feel safe or at ease going into these areas? Of course as we all know, while uniform is a method of Scouting, having a uniform or wearing a uniform is not a requirement of membership. I don't think no matter what changes are made to the uniform, that it will ever be "Cool", not because of what it is but for what it symbolizes. Venturing uniform standards (Whatever that means??) Don't seem to have done much to boost membership or have made the program more attractive to older youth. Maybe past generations were more comfortable wearing uniforms? Not just Boy Scout uniforms but uniforms in general. I know a lot of people who are required (and given) uniforms for work, but they seem happier to change into their uniform once they get to where they work. A few years back a good pal of mine and myself were coming home from a WB course, we stopped for something to eat in Indiana, PA. Which as well as being the birthplace of Jimmy Stewart (See: http://www.jimmy.org/scoutaward ) is a big college town. For some reason we had to move some stuff in the back of the truck, as we were moving the stuff a couple of college kids yelled from their car "Hey!! Love them crazy socks!" Of course they must have only seen my legs from the back -They missed my sexy knees. Ea.

I agree with scoutldr. Having two Council events at the same time is just daffy. Before I'd get upset at the Scouts I'd have a word with the people who allowed the clash to happen. Ea.

I can think of a lot of good and valid reasons why a Lad might not be at a meeting. (Note I did say reasons and not excuses!!) I know how hard and how much time the OA Election Team puts into the elections. I have had the joy of having to drive OJ from Troop meeting to Troop meeting in the past!! Still at the end of the day the OA when they visit a Troop meeting are "Invited Guests", I suppose if a SM wanted to be a pain he/she could say "I'm sorry, not all the Scouts are here tonight, come back next week!!" Of course I don't see that happening!! I really fail to see why a Scout who is registered and meets the requirements has to be at the meeting. Tony Blair wasn't in the US,when I vote for him and I wasn't in the UK!! Yet again it seems some well meaning people are making up the rules as they go along. Ea.

Hi jshupe391 Welcome to the forums. I don't know what you know about the changes in the course? It really is nothing like the course you took back in the last century!! As ever some people love this new course and some don't. I like it as a Leadership Course. But I liked the old courses. I have been fortunate enough to have staffed the old Boy Scout and Cub Scout Trainer course. I also staffed two 21st Century courses before being the CD for the new course. The first 21st Century course I staffed had a staff of mainly people who had staffed the "Old course", in fact for some unknown reason we only had four rookie staffers? Sadly many of these old timers just didn't get it and kept trying to compare the old and the new, as of course they were more familiar and used to the old course they didn't like the new one and it kinda showed. Having six people who had served as Scoutmaster on the old course wasn't such a great idea. Ea.

Sue, There is a set time that has to be met for the Region to give the green light for the course to go. I would think if there were one or two open spaces, that permission would still be given, but with more than an entire Patrol? Who knows!! Ea.

This weekend was at Camp Alpine. Ea.

In our Council, Scouts who are elected are as a rule not told that they have been elected. The Call out is done on parents night at summer camp. When the Troop is in camp. Of course if the Lad isn't at the camp, other arrangements are made. Crossramwedge, one thing that makes the OA so special is that it really is youth led. Is this always fair? No. As we all know kids are not always be fair and at times can be cruel. Still if we old folks start sticking our noses in and interfering, we run the risk of undoing something which for the most part works and works well. Ea.