Eamonn

Wow! A town of 40,000 and only four Troops!! In our little hamlet of 4,700, we have five. Someone once said to me that Troops should be like restaurants, with enough to cater for the likes and dislikes of every boy in the area. I think you know that the LDS Troop will always be the LDS Troop!! But what happens when the small Troop, finally gives up and calls it a day? I don't see very much choice. It might be worth talking to the local Cub Scouters and see if any of them have any plans to start a new Troop? It might be a bit over the top if these Boy Scouters went ahead only to find that overnight there are now ten Troops in town!! Our newest Troop started up about 7 or 8 years ago. The offspring of the best and largest pack in town. Things seemed to have gone well till this year. The Pack had leadership problems and is gone and this year old one Lad crossed over. The SM (My old Assistant Cubmaster) has a son who is now 18 and an Eagle Scout, he has young daughters who are involved in girl Scouts, I don't know how much longer he will hang in there? I'm not sure if 7 or 8 years is a good run? Many of the kids that have been in the Troop have had a good time, they have learned a lot. Eamonn.

Up until Her Who Must Be Obeyed became sick, I was really active in just about every area of Scouting. I like to think that I was one of them guys that everyone knew and even if they didn't like me, were willing to give me some sort of credit for doing not a really bad job. Just before HWMBO got sick, our DE took early retirement. She was a wonderful DE,who did a wonderful job. As well as being the DE she was and still is one of my best friends. Her replacement was (is) a young fellow. This is his first real job. Much as I tried; somehow I have never been able to warm up to him. I completed my term as District Chairman. But things were never what they once were. The new DE and I never had the great communication and were never able to hit it off, like the old DE and I had been able too. I was really happy when my term was up. Going back to work with "Real Youth" and starting the Ship was both exciting and challenging. When I had to cut back on what I had been doing, in order to spend more time at home, I kinda was going through the motions of what needed to be done. I cut out a lot of things that I didn't see as needing my time. I quit being on the Area Committee. The meetings were always 100 miles from home and about as much fun as watching paint dry. I'm not sure if I became maybe a little bitter? But somehow it seemed that many of the things I had spent a lot of time and energy on, started to either seem to not be working or falling apart. The District is way down in membership. The Commissioner Staff is almost non-existent. The Council is facing all sorts of financial problems. The Training Committee is in shambles. Many of the people I had worked closely with have either gone or have become disillusioned, many are just hiding out on some obscure committee that rarely meets and does nothing. The Ship is not in the best of shape. While there are a handful of really interested Scouts, the others really don't seem to really care very much. I know a good part of the problem comes from me. Even now that HWMBO is doing better. There is no way I will ever be able to put the same amount of time and effort in that I once did. As if this all wasn't bad enough I have been offered and taken another job, working for the State. While I could retire, I worry about making sure we have the best possible health insurance available for HWMBO. I know the next 12 months are going to be really tough. I know with the new demands that the new job will place on me and the demands of looking after HWMBO, remaining as Skipper is not really realistic. I also know if I step down that the Ship will fold. Right now I'm weighing up my options. Sometimes irksome tasks and responsibilities can be a real pain and do make my head spin. Ea.

I didn't participate in the other thread. It does seem that something did not go the way it is supposed to.Things didn't get done when they should have got done. OK, give the person who is at fault twenty lashes with a wet noodle!! Then as an organization that claims "To help other people at all times" Give the powers that be an opportunity to "Walk the walk" Given all the high tech communication tools that are available, if someone really wanted to be "Helpful" the permit could be in the hands of the people who need it in less than 15 minutes. What a wonderful example of the Scout Oath and Law at work that would be!! If I were the person who didn't have the permit. I'd come clean to the SE. Explain what has or hasn't happened. I feel sure any SE would be able to come up with a plan "B". Of course I'd run the risk that he might say that without the permit we couldn't go! But somehow I just don't see that happening. Eamonn.

I do think that while the idea of Commissioner Service is a good idea, sadly it just seems to be broken and I don't think it can be fixed. In our area a District Commissioner will accept any body that is still even slightly warm as some sort of a Commissioner. We have people who don't know that they are Commissioners. People who do know they are Commissioners,but who are very often had no idea that somehow their name has been linked to units that they know nothing about. People who like the title but have never done anything and more than lightly never will. Commissioners who do everything but deliver Commissioner Service. They are too busy working on FOS, Camp promotion, Training, District Events. People who if the rules were followed should not be Commissioners. For a District of 40 Units we might have 3 "Real" Commissioners. Even our District Commissioner is new to Scouting. He is a nice fellow and a Den Leader. When I asked how he came to be District Commissioner, I was told that there just wasn't anyone else. Still to be fair even someone with very limited experience and knowledge can serve the District as a Unit Commissioner. He or She can observe and report. While maybe not living up to or meeting the expectations of the Unit, this is still a good thing or could be a good thing. Last time I looked at the number of Commissioners needed by each Region on the Commissioner pages of the National web site it seemed to me that we needed a lot. Of course the numbers didn't and don't show the number who really do the job. A month or so back I stopped in at monthly meeting of our Commissioner Staff. The Ship hasn't seen anyone since it started. I was shocked to see 3 people sitting around having a chat. One was an old timer who serves as UC for a unit that he is the COR and ASM for. One was the District Commissioner. The other is an old Scouter who can't drive at night. I had gone with the intention of complaining about the lack of service. I didn't bother!! Eamonn.

While I wish you nothing but the very best and really do hope things go well. Here are a few of the problems that I have ran into. *Planning. If the Scouts opt to remain active in the Troop, the OA and other Boy Scout programs and events this does make life hard. Youth of this age are very busy. This can make the term "Like Herding Cats" take on a real meaning. At times it seems to me that even when they suggest or come up with an idea or event which they have planned and seem to want to do they will hold back on making a commitment until the very last minute. It's almost like they are waiting to see what happens or if a better offer will come along. * Communication We do use e-mails, a Yahoo Group page and do still use phones!! But even with all of this communication can still be a problem. Many of our Sea Scouts have several e-mail addresses and they either don't check them or they don't work. We still find the best method is a monthly News Letter, At times getting the people who are supposed to write it can be a real chore!! I do copy parents on all events and do require a parent permission slip.Very often this doesn't see the light of day until we are loading the Scouts in the vehicles! Cash!! Many of these youth are involved in other activities which require them selling some kind of product. Many are not as "Cute" as they once were. So fund raising can be a problem. of course the other problems (Communication and planning problems)do come into play. Boy Friend /Girl Friends. This can at times be a problem, not so much when they are friends but when they have a falling out!! As to how hands off you can be? That depends on what training they have had up till now? I work along the same lines as I did with a Boy Scout Troop: Train them, Trust them, Let them lead. Many of the Boy Scouts we have in the Ship have never been allowed to plan or do things which weren't pre-planned or needed little or no planning, so by expecting some kind of magical overnight transformation just because they are now in a program with a new name just isn't going to happen! Ea.

I became a Scout Leader (SM)back home when I was in my early 20's. Looking back, I now know that I was very fortunate that I had a lot of support from other Scouter's. Not all of them were that much older than I was, but they were there for me. Also in the UK we have the Scout Group which has a Group Scout Leader. I know now that a lot of what I did then was done for the wrong reasons and I made a lot of mistakes. But at the time there was no one else. Ea.

"growing old and feeble "? I was old and feeble! Now I'm starting to think I'm ancient and decrepit!! Before I can start to work the ticket I'd have to write it: Ten minutes looking for the pen. Ten minutes looking for the bifocals. Twenty minutes trying to remember what my vision was? By that time Rory and Joe need to go out for a Doggie constitutional stretch of their legs. Have to re-find the pen. Remember that the bifocals are on top of the old noggin. By which time I'm feeling tired and weary and thinking "What the heck!! Tomorrow is another day!!" Seen in another thread that my good pal Beaver had a birthday last week (Many happy returns.)I think he said he hit the big 50. I hit it 18 months back. Received a few cards telling me I was over the hill!! I must be! But it's a lot easier coasting down the darn hill than it was peddling up it -Wheee! Ea.

Of course being as the GSUSA don't have CO's things are a little different. Right now I'll admit that I'm not happy with the service the Ship is receiving from the Council or the District. Still I do feel it all does come down to a matter of Service and Value for money. If we (A unit) are going to hand over a chunk of money (I don't see how the money is raised as making any difference.)What do we get in return. I'm happy to pay the real cost of going to a Camp. So I don't see Camp or camp sites as being a service. Training is delivered by volunteers very often with them digging deep into their own pockets. The cost of training should be just that. So that isn't a service. I could go on!! I'd much prefer if the Council came up with a Council Membership Fee. If you let me know how much the service costs and what it covers? Even if I don't have the choice of not paying it! I can at least look at the fee and see if I'm getting value for the money. Telling me that you need "Support" and "We need Money" is fine and dandy. But I want to know what the money is really being spent on!! Hiding behind a mass of budgets that no one really understands is not the way to go. Ea.

I'm really happy and glad that you had such a great time. The real trick to getting this right is when Scouts come home from a weekend feeling the same way.Better yet if they want to keep having great weekends. Ea.

Back to Gilwell, Happy Land. (Thinking if all goes well I might nip over for the 2008 reunion an opportunity for some real cheese, real ale, real crumpets and really bad coffee -Well you can't have everything!!) Ea.

Maybe a song will cheer you up? Song: Always Look On The Bright Side of Life. Some things in life are bad They can really make you mad Other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle Don't grumble, give a whistle And this'll help things turn out for the best... And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life... If life seems jolly rotten There's something you've forgotten And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing. When you're feeling in the dumps Don't be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing. And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life... For life is quite absurd And death's the final word You must always face the curtain with a bow. Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow. So always look on the bright side of death Just before you draw your terminal breath Life's a piece of !@#$ When you look at it Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true. You'll see it's all a show Keep 'em laughing as you go Just remember that the last laugh is on you. And always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the right side of life... (Come on guys, cheer up!) Always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the bright side of life... (Worse things happen at sea, you know.) Always look on the bright side of life... (I mean - what have you got to lose?) (You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!) Always look on the right side of life... Just think No one was afraid of the dark. No uninvited wild animals. You could find the bathroom without a flashlight. In ten years time the Cub Scouts will have forgot about all the camps where everything went well but they will talk about this one until they are old and grey like me. It wasn't snowing. You weren't in The Louisiana Superdome. The fireworks were great. How many kids can say they seen the clean up crew at work? Ea.

I think I'll wait for a couple of other Staffers to come on down -That way we can dance!! E.

Not sure if this is going to come out right? I'm not in any way Anti- Advancement. Advancement can be and is a good thing. Still, not everything has to be driven by advancement. At times I feel we allow Advancement to over-ride everything that we seem to do. All to often in our area we seem to have small Troops that in order to ensure that the requirements are met will hand out Position Patches. Does a Troop of less than 20 Scouts really need 4 ASPL's? All to often when I sat in on Eagle Scout Board of Reviews I asked a Lad "What did you do as ... ?" Only to hear him say "Not very much , there wasn't anything to do!" A responsibility to my way of thinking means that you take on a job (position) that needs doing and you do your best to do it. If there is nothing to do? Then there is no need for the position. We the old people have a responsibility to explain what the responsibilities of the position are and work with the Scout to help him meet or exceed the responsibilities of the position. If such a thing as "Token" does exist does it make any difference what title we give it? A SPL who is not given the opportunity to act as a real SPL and ends up doing nothing is no different than the Troop Dog walker when there is no dog. The end result is both Scouts do nothing and learn nothing good. I'm very proud of the Scouts in the Ship. I really like them and do care about them. I can be as good (or bad?) at looking for and finding loop holes as anyone. But my feeling is that if I were to allow this sort of thing I'd be short changing the Scouts. To this end I will chase them and put pressure on them to do what they have said they are going to do. At times it would be a lot less work to say what the heck and just do it myself. But that would be me shirking my responsibilities. So while maybe some units do allow Token Positions, I kinda think in many ways Token Responsibilities is a contradiction. We (the adults) do need to be aware that things do change and there are times when the responsibilities a Scout has might need to changed or even relaxed due to other responsibilities that he or she may have. Right now with so much going on at school, I know that the Ship's Log hasn't been updated, I know that the minutes of the last QD meeting haven't been e-mailed. I know because I asked and was told what was going on. I said it would be OK if the minutes were just notes, but I did feel that the log needed to done fairly soon, before we got to far behind and it became a big project. Our Yeoman tried hard to get me off her back by telling me that she would try to get to the log when she could. I pushed her until she agreed that it would be done by the end of the week (Tomorrow!!) I have my notes from the QD meeting. I have e-mailed them to our Boatswain this will help him write the agenda. But I'm not going to send them to everyone else. Not because I want to be mean, but Sarah (the yeoman) needs to learn something. Even if she doesn't do it. - She will learn more than if I were to do her job for her. I do understand about finals and all the stuff that is going on at school (Last night was prom -She looked wonderful in her dress -My kid looked good in his tux!!)I'm not going to give her a hard time if she doesn't do it. Maybe just my "Pained look" and shake of the head. If however she does get it done, I will go out of my way to sing her praises -Which I plan to do anyway for getting the Ship's Log done. Later today the Store-man and Purser are supposed to be doing an inventory of the safety equipment on out bigger boat and then going to buy what we need. But they were both at the prom last night. Maybe it can wait till tomorrow? Again I already know what we need, I could go to the store and have everything done. I wouldn't have to think about giving up my time tomorrow, but this isn't what we are trying to teach these Scouts. It is their Ship, their responsibility. I'm here to help and support them -Even if at times this is with a very gentle and very friendly kick in the pants. All of this is I hope teaching them something about what responsibility entails and means. If along the way it falls in with meeting the odd requirement needed for advancement? That's an added bonus. OJ, got home from the prom about an hour ago -He looks terrible and like he could sleep for a week. I don't think I'll be going to West Marine today!! Eamonn.

While I don't remember ever seeing that the project has to be done in the Scouts local community. I do feel that if it does take an entire village to raise a child -The child kinda owes the village a little something. OJ, did his project for the local YMCA. We have been looking for a place to hold his graduation party. The YMCA has a really nice pavilion with volley ball nets, horse shoe pits, tether ball (All of which are thanks to OJ) Kitchen. I called to ask what dates were free and the cost. When they found out it was for OJ, they couldn't have been more helpful and said that there would be no charge. Which helped make me a happy camper. Eamonn

Seems I missed the Bears. But as a member of the Cuckoo Patrol ( Gilwell Park 1972) I as a rule when on this side of the pond get to sing a solo just before the Staffers chime in. (We also had Kestrels,Panthers and Bulls. I had wanted to be a Kestrel. - Anything but a darn Cuckoo!! Many of my so called friends say it suits me? I have no idea what they mean. I became a Bear when I took the old Cub Scout Course. I have met a couple who attended a Explorer WB Course and the patrols were named after famous explorers. I'm not sure how "Official" this might have been. The course in the UK no longer uses Patrol names. Last time I was home I had lunch with John Fogg the Director of Communications for the Scout Association, he told the story how at a Gilwell Reunion he stood between two Scouters, one from the USA and one from Japan. At the camp fire they sung Back To Gilwell, the two Scouter's sang their hears out with tears running down their cheeks -The English Scouter's didn't know the words!!) Ea.

Uniform or not the Scouts in our Troop liked Three of Hearts, more than what can be said for the Osmond's Third Generation. Please don't tell anyone but I think the Three of Hearts even had sexier knees than me!! In 2005 I know one twit who forgot to use sun screen on his sexy knees, it was hard to see where the red tops of the socks ended and the knees started. Ea.

I don't know who or what he is!! But he is a cute little fellow. Mini pound cakes with chocolate chips. Sound good! Wasn't there a song about Bimbo? (Just did a google!!) Bimbo, Bimbo, where ya gonna go-e-o Bimbo, Bimbo, whatcha gonna do-e-o Bimbo, Bimbo, does your mommy know That you're goin' down the road to see a little girleo. Bimbo is a little boy who's got a million friends, And every time he passes by, they all invite him in. He'll clap his hands and sing and dance, and talk his baby talk, With a hole in his pants and his knees a-stickin' out, he's just big enough to walk. Bimbo, Bimbo, where ya gonna go-e-o Bimbo, Bimbo, whatcha gonna do-e-o Bimbo, Bimbo, does your mommy know That you're goin' down the road to see a little girleo. Bimbo's got two big blue eyes that light up like a star, And the way to light them up is to buy him candy bars. Crackerjacks and bubblegum will start his day off right, All the girlies follow him just a-beggin' him for a bite. Bimbo, Bimbo, candy on your face-e-o, Bimbo, Bimbo, chewin' on your gum-e-o. Bimbo, Bimbo, when you gonna grow Everybody loves you, little baby Bimbo. You never catch him sittin' still, he's just the rovin' kind, Altho' he's just a little boy, he's got a grown-up mind. He's always got a shaggy dog a-pullin' at his clothes, And everybody calls to him as down the street he goes. Bimbo, Bimbo, where ya gonna go-e-o Bimbo, Bimbo, whatcha gonna do-e-o Bimbo, Bimbo, does your mommy know That you're goin' down the road to see a little girl-e-o My Dad loved Jim Reeves , who recorded the Bimbo Song. Even to this day I get watery eyed when I hear Distant Drums. Ea.

I'm not sure, but I don't think when what happened was with two boys aged 15 and 16 that this is a criminal act. It might be seen as some sort of an assault? If there had been a bigger age gap? I think I remember reading two years in the YP training's. But don't quote me. The parent of the boy who was molested didn't want anything other than the other boy to get help. As for the details, it seems the one Lad was trying to preform oral sex on the other. This went far beyond what might be the normal things that I have known young Scouts can get up too. I'm now 51 years old and have been in Scouting since I was seven and I have never known anything like this. Ea.

"So, do we owe the same allegiance to the scout who declares himself gay or atheist? Or do we just summarily revoke his membership?" As a Leader of a youth organization I'm happy to go along with the idea that our youth members are the asexual beings. Being as they are asexual they really can't be avowed homosexuals. Many young people do go through a time when they question the beliefs that they have been raised with. Many young Catholics I talk with have lots of doubts, some become cafeteria Catholics, taking the bits they can understand and like while leaving the bis they don't on the shelve. When a Scout comes to me telling me that he thinks he is an atheist, I try and get him or her to take a look at other religions. We have one Lad in the Ship who very nearly quit Scouting. He had been on staff at a JLTC where the person in charge had said that in order to be a Scout you needed to be a Christian. This led up to a heated discussion where the Lad said that he didn't believe in God. When I asked him to join the Ship he said he couldn't because he didn't believe in God. We talked for a while and it came that he didn't believe in church or organized religion. He did believe in some kind of "Higher Power" He is now looking at other religions. I noticed on one long drive he was reading about Wiggins. I think keeping duty to God in the oath is a good thing. I'm sure that there are some youths that really are atheists. I would hope that we the adults do try and give them every opportunity to look at other religions and beliefs and try to work with them. I don't think you can become an atheist over night, our role is to be there for the Scout and sadly if he or she does decide that they can no longer take the Scout Oath, they do need to quit. I'm happy to leave that decision to the Scout. Eamonn.

RangerT To be honest the lad who did the molesting was never one of my favorites. He does have problems with ADD. However at times I felt he used this as an excuse to not do what he was supposed to do and wore it like some kind of "Get Out Of Jail Free" Badge. I did and still do feel sorry for the kid. He has a really hard time making friends and an even harder time keeping them. I'm not sure but I think he has a learning disability. Talking with his parents they said homework was like world war 3. He became very frustrated, it took all night and by the end of the night the entire house was in shambles. While he has always been a strange Lad, I never thought of him acting out like this. I do know all (Well almost all) the teachers at the school. In fact when we had the restaurant open we were the Friday After School Watering Hole for the teachers. Me picking up the phone and having a word in someones ear really wouldn't have been that hard. I know at some level I was hoping that his parents would do the right thing. Sadly they were too busy being upset and mad at me. The Lad is a skinny Lad, who doesn't weigh 120 pounds. The Lad he touched is a big beefy over 200 pound Lad. I have to own up to thinking why the heck didn't he beat the living daylights out of him!! - So much for me being civilized!! I know I can't undo what has been done. I do now wonder what I would have done it the incident with the band had happened first? I do feel really sad for all the kids involved and their parents. This kid is crying out for help. I did try and make his parents see this, but at the end of the day he is their kid. While I do feel bad for them, there is a part of me that is saying thank the good Lord he is their's and not mine. Eamonn.

The Ship's Committee working on my recommendation removed a male Sea Scout from the Ship. He was removed for molesting another male Sea Scout. We (the committee and myself) didn't "get into" looking at this as a homosexual or gay thing, we just seen it as unacceptable behaviour. Because the Scout was also a member of a Boy Scout Troop (In fact the other Sea Scout is also on the charter of the same Troop) I did inform the Scoutmaster of the Troop what had happened. The Troop also seen fit to remove him. I informed our SE about what had happened and what action the Ship was taking. He got back to me telling me it was a unit decision. I had hoped that he would take a firmer stand and revoke his membership. Still what he choose or wanted to do was up to him. I did feel that I had done all that I needed to do. A couple of months have gone by. We went to see OJ sing in what was his final Chorus Concert. I noticed that this Ex-Sea Scout wasn't there. I thought this was kind of strange as attendance is part of the grade given. I mentioned to OJ that I didn't see the Lad. As ever OJ gave me the "How Should I know and I don't care" look. A couple of days later OJ informed me that the Lad had been expelled from school. It seems that the band had gone away to play at a theme park for a weekend and the Lad had touched someone other students. He has had to pay some sort of fine and has been expelled. Of course his parents knew everything that I knew. I had made a big deal of asking them to get him some help. Sadly they got mad at me!! Telling me I was being unfair and was over stepping my bounds by telling the Troop and not allowing him to complete his Eagle project. I'm a big Lad!! I could see that they were upset and mad. I hoped in time they would calm down and do something to get the help that their kid needed. The mother of the Sea Scout who was molested asked me if I was going to inform the school? I said that I didn't know who I should tell or how to go about it. I went on to say that maybe she should tell the school as both boys attend the same school. Needless to say she didn't and of course I didn't. I don't know if maybe I had called the school (They know me well!!) If maybe this incident with the band could have been avoided? Right now I'm feeling very guilty. I can't help feeling that I should have done more. When this all happened my main concern was the other Sea Scout and the Ship. Maybe I'm not such a big Lad after all? Maybe I just didn't want to stir things up any more that I had done? Maybe I wasn't as Brave as I should or might have been? I'm willing to share the blame. Maybe if the parents had got the Lad the help he needed? Maybe the mother of the Scout who was abused had called the school? Seems to Be a lot of maybes!! For the record the Scout who was molested is 15 and the Lad who we removed will be 17 this year. This wasn't a case of "Boys being boys". I do feel my complacency has caused a lot of problems. Eamonn.

"Scout Johnny gets one of the high school cheerleaders pregnant. The whole school is talking about it. All the boys in the Troop are talking about it. Johnny is a Life Scout, working toward Eagle. The Troop is chartered by a 1. Methodist Church 2. Baptist Church 3. Catholic Church. Take your pick. What would all you "keep your nose out of it" Scouters do? Again, the entire school knows about it, all the boys in the troop know about it. For this situation, assume it is a fact that Johnny is the one who performed the act. How would you handle the situation?" There isn't a Cookie Cutter answer to this. How does Johnny feel about this? How does he act? What is he going to do about it? What will be be allowed to do? Is the girl going to keep the baby? Clearly Johnny has not done a very good job as far as being: Trustworthy Obedient Loyal Some might say that he hasn't been: Helpful Courteous Or Kind. I can't help wondering if he would have been any less of these things if the girl hadn't become pregnant? If maybe the girl was using some form of birth control? We don't know how long or how often they had been having sex? Was this the first and only time? As a adult leader in our organization there are some things I expect the Scouts we serve to take from home. As the Scouts get older they assume more and more responsibility. I'm not going to check if the Sea Scouts have brushed their teeth. I might know some of the Scouts belong to a certain religion and I do go out of my way to ensure that we as a Ship give them the opportunity to attend the church service of their faith, but there is no way I'm going to frog march them to the service. I have discussed sex and sexual responsibility with my son. We as Roman Catholics believe that most forms of birth control are not in keeping with the teachings of the church. I have friends who are also fathers of teenage boys who have told their son's that what ever happens they need to "Wrap that rascal"! This very well might prevent girls from becoming pregnant, but in my view does little to teach responsibility Teenage youth are well known for rebelling against the traditional values that we spend a lot of time passing on. They do want to experiment and try new things. Sadly many of the things they want to try are not good and do cause harm. We can help them find new things to do which are good and while there might be some element of risk, for the most part don't cause harm. Johnny could very well be going through a lot of emotional turmoil. I would hope that he knows that what he has done is not a good thing. Still I care about him, I don't want him to do anything even more stupid. I took the same oath that he did, I owe him my loyalty, I want to be kind, I want to live up to the Scout Law. Sure he has messed up, sure I'm disappointed in what he has done, but what happened isn't all there is to tell about Johnny, he is a lot more than the Lad who got the young Lady pregnant. Depending on what happens next? Life might change a lot for him. He might very well see his hopes and dreams slip away. He does have to take responsibility for what he has done. But just like any Scout who doesn't live up to the Oath and Law we need to help him see where he went wrong and then start a new. Eamonn.

While I don't claim to be very knowledgeable about the early days in Scouting. From what I have read about what happened in England back then it seems to me that in many ways things were a bit of a mess. This might be because BP had never intended to see Boy Scouts as a stand alone organization. While I love the story about William Boyce and being lost in the fog, I have heard that West made a lot of it up? Ea.

I have several friends who take time each summer to visit places outside of the USA, normally someplace in South America. There is a Church Youth Group that seems to do the same sort of thing. To be very honest I'm not sure what they do? The friends I know are all adults. From talking with them they see themselves as missionaries. They spend their time spreading the word and the good news found in the Gospels. I'm not sure what the youth group does. I do admire these people and I'm sure that they feel that what they are doing is needed and worth while. I'm just not sure if this is the sort of thing that qualifies as an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project? A lot would depend on what would be done once they arrived. The youth group does raise money from within the church, by holding bake sales and that sort of thing, the church also helps out as it sees this as part of the church ministry. But to get back to the policy question. I think FScouter has hit the nail on the head. Eamonn.

Blake sounds like one heck of a good kid. We as an organization should feel both proud and honored to serve a Scout like Blake. I wish I knew more Guys like him Ea.