Eamonn

I see the project as being one thing and if the Troop wants to offer to help a Scout as an other. My feelings about spending Troop funds to send one Scout to Mexico? Don't come into play. I will admit if I were on the Committee I wouldn't vote for spending Troop funds on just one Scout. Asking local businesses and organizations really shouldn't be done and you need to be careful about saying anything about taxes. If I were the District Advancement Chair and was asked to approve a project that was so far from home? My big question would be why? Is this really a Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project or a way to visit Mexico? I think I'd need a lot more details before I'd approve the project. But that's just me! Eamonn.

One of these days I'm going to find the time to find out more about James E. West. I kinda know a little about the role he played back in the day. Knowing that him and BP didn't get along has in some ways turned me against him. Which really isn't very fair on my part. Of course as a Scout in the UK, we were brought up to believe that BP was a super hero who could do no wrong. Ea.

I really don't know the right answer or if there is a right answer. Have to admit that I'd have some concerns about the zip line and the age of the Scouts -But that could be me being an old mother hen. Maybe to be on the safe side you might want to ask your SE or someone on the Council Risk Management Committee. I kinda feel that the answer will be a no. If it is you might want to make mention of the fact that 12 year olds were doing the course at the last National Jamboree. There wasn't a zip line, but the Flying Squirrel was fairly high. Ea.

This kinda goes with the thread about beating yourself up. Dave, I know if I were in your boots that I'd be going through all sorts of emotions and feelings. Mad, Upset, Confused. Please know that if your feeling like this? That it's OK in my book. The big question is of course "What happens next?" A lot depends on how you are feeling? We have all heard the one about the Doctor saying that the operation was a success but sadly the patient died. Maybe the time has come to take a long hard look at the Ship and see if it is worth carrying on? The idea was / is a good idea, but maybe it just isn't going to work out? I think I'd sit down and work on making a list of goals and set a time by when these goals should be reached. Much as I hate to make threats, I'd let everyone know that if they are not met, they will need to find my replacement. This more than lightly will mean that the Ship will fold. If indeed this does happen, I'd try to walk away knowing that I'd done my best and given it my best shot. Maybe this is a good time to think about reorganizing? From what you have posted in the past it seems like you really need to find some adults that are willing to be active and take on some of the work load? I'm a little unsure what the others who have posted mean by Consequences? It would seem clear that having less than ten bucks in the bank is the consequence and if the money isn't coming in from fundraisers it has to come from somewhere else. Also if the Quarterdeck had given the CO a promise to help and isn't doing what it said it would? A letter from the Quarterdeck apologizing might be a good idea. Over time the Scouts in the Ship will start to plan things around what the Ship is doing. This isn't going to happen overnight and they are not all going to start doing this at the same time. We are going on two years. We have a few Scouts who do try and put the Ship first. We of course have others who will participate in the activities they choose if they are free and don't have anything else on at that time. Sadly we will not be going to the regatta. We have some Scouts who will be going away to work at Camp Blue Heron, some who are in the HS Band and will be playing in Memorial Day celebrations. One family has planned a Eagle Scout COH over the weekend, a few who just weren't interested. The number who did want to go was so small that I was unwilling to give up the holiday and drive 520 miles. I did make arrangements so they could participate with another Ship if they could arrange their own transportation. But no one wanted to. But to be fair to them, I was the one pushing for them to attend. Maybe next year if they think that the idea has come from them, there will be more interest? Eamonn.

For the past few weeks I have been reading a lot of stuff that deals with navigation and piloting. I'm starting to think I'm more confused than ever. Her Who Must Be Obeyed has ordered me a copy of Mike Greenberg's: Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot. I have to think she is trying to tell me something. Last time I was in B&N, James Patterson's, 4th July. was on the reduced pile, I haven't read Step On A Crack yet and I'm thinking about buying The 6th Target . I love John Grisham and have read everything he has done except for The Innocent Man - I'm not sure if I'm going to read it or not. I did look at it when it came out and even though I'm not for the death penalty, somehow it just didn't seem like a book that Grisham would write. I have 3 Robert Ludlum books waiting for me to read. One is The Ambler Warning, which he started before he died and someone else finished. Everyone I have talked with about it tells me it stinks. I also have a copy of No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin, it's a biography of the remarkable Roosevelt's (Franklin and Eleanor ) and an account of America during wartime. I think Eleanor was a remarkable woman. PBS aired the final installment of Dickens Bleak House, last night (it was a repeat) I really like Dickens and can re-read just about any Dickens book at any time. Still maybe now that I have been on this side of the pond for a while I suppose I should try and catch up with Mark Twain? I have of course read and know Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, but other than that my education is sadly lacking. Ea.

Soon many of us will answer the call of the wild, move out of the recliner, tell our ever-loving that he or she can at least of a little while take custody of the remote. Faced with only the joys of mother nature and the sweet sound of Scouts yelling we will fill the void with reading a few good books. So what books do you plan to read or re-read this summer? Eamonn

Lisabob a week or so back I posted that when I became District Chairman my Vision was that our District wasn't going to remain the smallest district. (Yes I know all about my ego!!) Membership wasn't sold as "Hey we need more members" in it's place we talked about "More Happy Smiling Faces" While Council wide campaigns do have benefits: Better press coverage, more public awareness. We found that the more localized we made it the better. Our District covers 3 school districts. Breaking things down into School District size only made sense. We looked at the Tiger Cub Spring recruitment, which did seem to bring in a lot of new applications. Sadly most of the new recruits never seemed to be there in the fall when most of the Packs became more active again. So we were in fact hurting ourselves. Troop open houses seem like a good idea. But most of the adults in our area don't know how to stage one. Because Troops know that they are going to or hope that they are going to see a large number of new faces each spring, they tend not to bother recruiting. Sadly the truth is that within 2 or 3 years most of these new faces along with a few more have quit. Many Boy Scout Leaders seem to ignore what is happening in "Cub Scout Land" as if what does happen isn't going to impact what they do or are doing. This is really very foolhardy. Even the goal of Quality District can be very misleading. As the goal is only to improve on last years membership. One year we did a really poor job and missed our Cub Scout goal by 125 Cub Scouts. The next year we were happy to have made Quality and were plus 10 Cub Scouts -Sadly still 115 down than where we should have been. It takes about five years for that big loss to show up in Boy Scout Land. Of course units can and sometimes do tell the District and Council to stick it in their ear. They have every right to do so. But this is where having the right people in the right positions (Leaders??) comes into play. Training's have to be worthwhile and user friendly. This includes R/T meetings. District Events have to be well planned and above and beyond what most units can do at a normal weekend camp out. Commissioners in our area are a dying breed and most spend more time doing stuff that isn't really Commissioner service. The strong units have a named commissioner who has been with the unit for a very long time. Not having to do very much. Mean while the new and struggling units are very much on their own. Still with all that isn't working as well as maybe it should or could be? I feel if we can find a way of making each and every leader in each and every unit take ownership of bringing new members in and keeping them. We can fix the decline. The Ship has planned several events that we hope young people in our area will want to try. I'm guesstimating that we will do well if 25% of the kids who come and join us for an event will join. But we will have fun doing the events anyway and 25% is better than doing nothing. Eamonn.

The fact that some units are doing well and growing in size shows that the program can work. Some parts of some of the programs do need looked at. In my opinion the Tiger Cub and Venturing Programs could do with a large amount of tweaking. - But I'm willing to admit that is just my opinion. I have visited a lot of Pack and Troop meetings of a lot of different units. No two of them have ever been the same. Somehow, someway someone has made a few changes. Some units seem to specialize in a certain activity and steer clear of other activities. Some are focused on advancement, some seem happy to just trundle along from week to week. It's all too easy for me to have an opinion. It takes no effort on my part to think that one is better than the other. The truth is that I really don't know what the yard stick is when it comes to measuring success in a Scouting unit. Membership,advancement, participation in events all come to mind. I really dislike the Troops that seem to dwell on advancement, offering weekly Merit Badge classes. But I'm not a kid in that unit and maybe the kids in that unit really like doing merit badge classes? I think the ideal size of a Troop is about 30 Scouts. But there are some Scouts who like belonging to a much smaller unit. We know that membership is on the decline. (In a lot of areas.)We know the drop in Cub Scout membership is going to mean that there will be a drop in Boy Scout membership. We don't know how big a drop this will end up being? While maybe I'm completely wrong? Somehow the message that everything isn't wine and roses hasn't filtered down to us -The people who do the work. We seem to have been happy to allow a few misguided professionals come up with "Out Of The Box" ideas which at times are far away from what we the rank and file seem to accept as being "Scouting" and at times have been pure fiction: Pretend kids in pretend units. Due to this professional interference and what have you?? Membership seems to have become a dirty word. The Powers that be seemed happy to allow and ignore things that were just plain not right. Some of us (Me) started to lose the faith. "Membership" seemed to no longer be about bringing more youth in to enjoy and benefit from what we do and in most cases do well, it became about making "Them" look good. Young DE's new to the job were so busy trying to "Fix" membership numbers and bring home more dollars, that they had no idea how to inspire us the rank and file. The time spent telling lies, cheating and fixing numbers has come back to bite us in the tail. Membership really isn't about more numbers. Membership is dependent on the programs we offer. No two units offer the identical program. Hopefully in all of our areas and communities that is a Pack or a Troop that is a good fit for every kid that can be recruited. Just as important is that once we have our grubby little paws on him or her we can provide a program that is fun and offers adventure and new challenges. I believe that working within the BSA we can offer all sorts of activities and different ways of holding the interests of the youth. I think we might have to be a little flexible and maybe be willing to accept that not everything in the BSA is exactly as we might like or want. It would be nice if the "Powers That Be" came and asked us what we needed in order to help us bring more members in? But I'm not holding my breath. Eamonn.

You of course do have my good wishes, prayers and kind thoughts. As for your future involvement in Scouting? One thing that we have as an organization is lots of opportunities for people to get involved. A lot of course depends on what you like doing and what you feel you are capable of doing? For a good many years Her Who Must Be Obeyed, chaired the Council Volunteer Recognition Dinner. A job that needed doing, but wasn't too demanding on her time. You might want to spend sometime thinking about what you want to do? And then give someone a call. Maybe a unit needs some help on the committee level or the District Chair knows of a District committee that needs some new blood. What happens to junior? Again maybe it's time for a heart to heart chat with him? Could it be that maybe he never really wanted to be in Scouting? And his only reason for being in the program was his way of trying to please you? Many Scouts (Me included) Have gone all through our Scouting "Careers" without having parents actively involved in the program. If he wants to remain active? I feel sure any problems that might get in the way (Traveling too and from the meetings or financial) can be discussed with the unit and overcome. If he has made up his mind that this isn't something he wants to do? Your best bet is to accept it. The last thing you need is the stress of trying to get him to do something that he hasn't got his heart in. As you might know last June we found out that the cancer my wife thought we had beaten returned. The past year has not been easy. I went through all sorts of feeling and not so nice thoughts. A lot of the time I was mad. Mad at the cancer, mad at God, mad at the Doctors,mad at my wife. Just mad!! Because of what was going on at home I cut back on a lot of what I was doing in Scouting. I'll admit that I missed it. I somehow felt that my not being there meant I was missing something. Jamie, my wife is a fighter!! She made up her mind that she was going to fight. The Doctors and medical staff were a big blessing. Even when I was being a first class pain! At times the chemo and all the joys that went with it seemed to be just way too much for me! But She looked at them as a means to an end. She returned to work in January. Sure somethings are not the way they were. She can't drive and walks with a cane. Her hair has come back!! Cancer is not nice or good. But I can put my hand on my heart and say that having "Been there" We as a family are more loving and more of a family because of it. So far the tests that she has had since the chemo ended have all been good. The support we have got from family, friends and the staff at the cancer clinic was nothing short of wonderful. Fighting it is not easy and at times will seem to be just to big and overwhelming, please don't give up. I will light a candle for you this Sunday, when I stop in for my chat with the Big Boss. Eamonn.

I'm not sure if when the time comes, I'll be allowed to pass through the pearly gates? If I am allowed in and there is a Troop meeting going on? I'm sure all the Scouts will be Trustworthy, Loyal,Helpful Friendly,Courteous,Kind,Obedient,Cheerful,Thrifty,Brave,Clean and Reverent. Whatever the uniform is up there? Will be worn correctly, be neat and clean. No Scout will struggle with knots or reading a map or chart. I'm not sure how the "In the quartermaster's stores" will sound when it accompanied by the sound of harps? But being as the Irish are the best harp players I'm sure they will work it out. One Saint I really want to meet ad have a chat with is Saint Joseph. I really don't know much about him. I find it a little odd that not one single word spoken by him is quoted anywhere in any of the Four Gospels. As a Christian I believe that he was the husband of Mary and the legal father of Jesus. Who was conceived in the womb of his mother, the Virgin Mary, without the participation of a human father. Joseph must have been a truly wonderful fellow. He married Mary when he found out she was pregnant before their arranged marriage. Instead of having townspeople throw rocks at Mary, Joseph took her away and protected her. He must be one heck of a nice fellow. Eamonn.

I like kids. I really do enjoy the time we get to spend together. Sure I know about all the good stuff Scouts and Scouting can do and does do. But 99.9% of the time, I'm busy having fun with the Scouts that all of that good and important stuff gets put on the back burner. I try really hard to get to know the Scouts. Even when I was one of them there District types, I liked to think I knew just about every Scouts name and a little something about him. Nothing big, maybe the sport he was involved in or where his parents worked, or if he had an older brother? I used this as an ice breaker. I know a lot more about the Scouts in the Ship. To me this game (Scouting) is about relationships. I think I do a better job as a leader because I really know the Scouts I serve. I know that one Scout took her driving test last Saturday and past. I know that another retook his SAT's for the third time. I know that a couple of them will stay in bed till noon on a Saturday. All of them know me! They know Rory and Joe. They know the "Little things" that set me off. They have at times heard me sound off about things I don't like or maybe don't understand. (Rap) There are times when I know or hear things that I really don't need or want to know. Last week a super intelligent bright girl informed me that she wasn't going to study for one of her finals. At the time I didn't see this as anything to do with Scouts. I did put on my "Parental Cap" and in a really nice way told her that I was disappointed to hear that she wasn't giving it her best shot. (I did feel a little guilty as she is taking the finals early to go away to work at a Scout Camp). We seem to spend a lot of time traveling (11 hours this past weekend) The Scouts at times seem to forget that I'm in the van. A lot of what I heard this weekend was about Heavy Metal music,one Lad playing baseball and thinking of giving up wrestling if his Dad will let him!! A fair amount about a Scout who didn't go and his new girl friend. There are times when I see or hear something which I view as being not good or harmful. In the past few months I heard that one of the Scouts had gone to a party and passed out drunk. When I asked him about it, he said that it had happened. He is only 15. I gave him my best sermon on how dangerous drinking can be, made him aware that if nothing else getting caught drinking underage would put his driving license on hold and I told him I was going to talk to his parents. Which I did. He knows that I didn't "Snitch" or do anything to be mean to him, I did what I did because I really do care for him. Another Scout got a new laptop for Christmas. It was running really slow (He had downloaded a lot of junk and spy-ware) He asked to take a look. By accident I came across some really nasty hardcore porn. I let him know that I'd found it. I asked him what he thought his Mother would say if she had found it? He agreed that she would go nuts. He deleted it. Knowing that his Mother would go nuts! I had a very quiet word with his Dad. I said that I didn't want to make a big deal about it, but I thought he might want to keep an eye on what his son was up to on line. I don't think I would ever use any of the things I might know or hear to prevent a Scout from advancing. Somehow I don't connect it all? Of course if the Scout had got drunk at a Scouting event or the Lad had been showing he porn to other Scouts, it would be different. I'm not 100% sure if what I'm doing is in keeping with the BSA and what it might have to say? Not that it really matters! Because I'm not going to change. Maybe I'm a little old to be a "Big Brother"? I'm not too old to care and do what I think is best. Eamonn.

packsaddle I kinda think you know that I would never call a young girl /Lady who wanted to join our organization any sort of a bad name. Sadly the youth members do use terms like the one I mentioned. Even when they use "Gay" it's used as some sort of name calling. I feel very strongly that Scouting isn't just for the "Good little Boys and Girls". I know that we can't reach all the kids who would or might benefit from being a member. Still I have to admit that I find the idea that anyone feels a "national directive" is needed to place obstacles in the way of kids who might benefit from whatever good we can do to be very upsetting. I don't know very much about Betty Ford. I do believe that as First Lady she did a lot in many areas: Breast Cancer, Addiction,Woman's Rights to name but a few. I have to wonder if we knowing the hurdles that she faced,would think she has/ or had the makings of a good Scouter? Eamonn. (I'll bet even at her age she is a better dancer than I am!!)

As I posted I don't shy away from discussing things with the Scouts in the Ship. I of course don't go out of my way to bring up things that might be termed controversial. Maybe because of my upbringing I'm not comfortable discussing sex. Growing up it was never mentioned in our home. Even at school teaching was assigned to people from the Department of health who came in and spent most of the time talking about STD's. I really like the "Inspector Morse" series that has been aired on PBS and A&E. In one episode Morse has to go into a school. The teacher is showing the students the correct way to put on a condom, using a condom and a banana. The look on Morse's face kinda sums how how embarrassed I'd feel if I had to teach a class like that. Advancement in the BSA is just one of the methods we use to help us work toward bringing the Vision and Mission to life. We are in the business of helping young people. Seems to me if we are happy to take away one of the methods, we are in fact saying that one is more important than the others? I suppose we could take away: Uniform: Not allowing Scouts who don't live up to expectations to wear a BSA uniform. Leadership Development: Never allowing him to hold a leadership position or attend leadership training. Outdoors: Never permitting him to attend any camps or outdoor events. We could shun the Scout and not allow him to be a member of a Patrol or associate with any adults in Scouting. I don't see how we might take away Personal Growth? In the 30 + years I have served as a leader I have had Scouts who have been caught doing things that they shouldn't have been doing. These things range from things that with hindsight now seem funny to more serious things. Back in the day I was a regular going into the juvenile courts to do what I could to keep Scouts who had been caught from going to jail. The Scouts knew that what they did was wrong. I seen my part /role as doing what I could to help them do what was needed to be good citizens, strong characters and have a a good level of physical and mental fitness. In order to do this working with the Scout we came up with a plan (sometimes with the help of the courts and the probation officers.) A lot of times Advancement was the "Carrot" that we used to keep the Lad in Scouting and at times was the yardstick used to measure how well he was doing. Sometimes we failed and failed miserably. Sometimes it worked for a while and sometimes we had wonderful successes. The big debate about what to teach our young people about sex is raging on. Should we teach safe sex or try and teach abstinence? At the last world Scout Jamboree condoms were available to the Scouts who attended. I think (I don't know) that the thinking was it was better to prevent HIV-AIDS and STD's. Even the Roman Catholic Church is starting to come around to that way of thinking. Still I feel nearly all of the Sea Scout parents would take a dim view of me handing out condoms! The "Take Home Message" would be hard to explain. We do what we can to teach the youth we serve to be good and responsible citizens. If asked I will say that unplanned parenthood outside of marriage is not a good thing. Most of all because I feel it is unfair to the baby. If however it does happen, rather than a national directive we need to try and support the young man and the other people involved on a individual case by case basis. He might be able to find a way to support the child? The girls parents might never allow him to see the baby or the child? There is way too much going on for a one rule fits all. We have had youth who have joined the Ship who have been labeled by the other Scouts as being Gay or as being Sluts. (She has had way too many boyfriends.) As far as I see my role? I'm not here to pass judgment. If a girl who was an unmarried mother wanted to join the Ship? (No it has never happened.) I see no reason why she shouldn't. The BSA views youth members as asexual beings. Just as we view that Scouts will do their best to be all the good things they say they will be when they recite the Scout Oath and Law. I like to think that I have spent a long time trying to get all this good stuff right. But the truth is at times I know I don't do that great a job. I could I suppose hang my head in shame and go and hide or I can recognize my wrong doing if there is a penalty or consequence deal with it and then try to do better. - Till the next time. Eamonn

Thanks for the PM's. We (the Ship)were meeting with SSS 548 in Maryland this weekend. So I don't know who moved the thread? I do think it is better off here than in the Advancement Area. Re: " As the libs say about banning guns and other matters, "if it saves (helps) one life it would be worth it." I kinda think of myself as being one of them there "Libs" I don't like and don't care for guns very much. Three of the lead stories on the local news tonight were about shootings. I do however see that many people do hunt and do enjoy shooting sports and think responsible gun ownership is OK. Being a practicing Roman Catholic, I view premarital sex as being wrong. I also see that we hate the sin but forgive the sinner. We as an organization would hope that we might have some influence on the young people we serve and they would see "Causal Sex" as being wrong. I happen to think that all causal sex is wrong. While the outcome of unprotected sex can be a lot different if the girl does become pregnant. I'm a little puzzled by the use of "fathering a child "? Does this mean that if the girl has an abortion the young man is off the hook? We have had adults who have served as leaders who are not married to each other, who have lived together for many years. I happen to think that this isn't a very good example for the youth we serve but I tend to see it as a fact of life. Kids who turn on a TV or go to the movies see unmarried people having sex with multiple partners. Try watching a few episodes of Greys Anatomy! I have explained my views to my son, he understands the teachings of our church on this subject. I seen this as my responsibility as a parent. While I now serve a coed group of teenagers and I along with the other adults do our best to ensure that the youth members are not given the opportunity to have sex while participating in Scouting activities. I see my role as helping to provide a program. If a CO were to have a rule that unmarried parents were not allowed in a unit that they chartered? I would have to take a long hard look to see if I wanted to be involved with that CO. I don't shy away from talking with the Scouts I serve on almost any subject. I try and be as honest as I can be. But I do make it clear that I'm talking for myself not the BSA or our CO. My answer to : "What would you think of a national directive that said: Any boy fathering a child outside of wedlock would be permanently ineligible for advancement. Would be that National would need to stick their directive in their ear! If a CO wants to remove a Scout from a unit that they charter? That would be their call. Of course the Lad would be free to go and find a unit with a CO that doesn't have such a rule. Eamonn.

Part of another e-mail from the father of one of the Sea Scouts: "but I am sensing his heart isnt in it. He has also been talking about going on staff at Northern Tier for the summer or working at Philmont. I told him he needed to make a firm decision and communicate it to you" It goes on to say: "He needs to go back to the drawing board and figure out his summer, his college plans and even where he will be living. These are decisions he needs to make on his own and in his own time. Im advising him, but not pushing right now." I do understand that many 18 year olds get overwhelmed. I don't understand how when a Lad is graduating within the month: He hasn't made plans for college? I seem to have been completing forms for the last nine months! I would have thought at this late date all the staff positions at N. Tier and Philmont would have been filled? And if this was something you really wanted to do -You (me) would have made plans long ago. This was a Lad who wanted to attend SEAL, was selected and is bright enough to have gone and done well. The "but I am sensing his heart isnt in it." If I read between the lines is really saying "He didn't make time to complete the outline " He is a super nice Lad. How people raise their kids is up to them. But I know if OJ asks me if he can do something. We sit down and talk about the pros and cons. The what, where, when along with how much will it cost and what will he miss if he does whatever it is. If after all that he still wants to do it or not do it the decision is made. For my part I come hell or high water I'll do everything I can to get him to wherever. (The bank of Dad is now open!!) So far he has never decided at the last minute to change his mind. Sure there have at times been a few moans and groans about missing out on something else. But hidden in all of this there are life lessons. At some stage your word becomes your bond and honor starts to mean something. (I'm venting now!! Sorry.) Ea.

Below is part of an e-mail I received: "The activities that the kids planned at the beginning of the year were great activities, however, when it came time to do the things that we had planned, no one wanted to make a commitment until the night before the activity. As you know, it takes planning to put together a quality program, and I'm not a night before planner." The person who sent it to me is a leader who I admire and respect. He serves as a Venturing Crew Advisor, but is retiring from his job and from Scouting. At this time no one seems willing to take his place and the Crew will fold. I asked him about giving a pitch for the Ship to the youth he has. A vast number on paper but about 15-20 active. This thread isn't about the Crew it's about how much do we (Adult Leaders) beat ourselves up when things don't work out? I had a moan and groan at the Quarterdeck members last night for not returning or answering e-mails and letting people know if they will or will not be attending events. When things don't go to plan, I tend to go over my mental checklist doing what I can to take as much responsibility for not getting it right. You know the sort of thing: Did I do a good job of selling or supporting the idea? Did I communicate well? Did I check dates to look for conflicts? The list goes on. I know at times I'm too hard on myself. Lately I have set minimum numbers for events. Bu then I beat myself up for not serving or meeting the needs of the Scouts who did want to participate or do whatever the event was or I beat myself up because someone has worked hard planning and doing the work, only to be let down by their pals and I feel bad. I used to allow Scouts to get by with "Yes I'm coming and I'll bring the money" But sadly I got burned once to often! Now if the forms and money aren't in by the deadline. It's a case of "I'm sorry you can't go - You missed the deadline!! Then I feel bad for being so mean. As if I wasn't beaten up enough? I have made a choice that will severely cut back on the time I can devote to the Ship. I know that it is going to hurt the program and might even kill the Ship!! I keep telling myself that Family, Work,and Church have to come before Scouting! I wish I'd done a better job of training the other adults, I wish there were more adults, I wish 101 things!! Then to make matters worse I beat myself up for beating myself up. Ea.

mtm25653 Seems like a nice idea. I know that maybe I'm digging myself a bigger hole. But I don't have a problem with winning or winners. The prizes given for selling popcorn that go hand in hand with the amount sold is OK with me. A prize for attendance is OK. If the prize is in someway earned (win the race get the prize?) I don't see it as being wrong. When it just becomes a game of chance, is when I have a problem. Back in the day, I upset a lot of the Packs in our area. When B&G time rolled around many Packs would go out soliciting local businesses for door prizes. This was at the same time as we were running the community FOS campaign. I asked them not to do it. Sadly some units got very upset. More and more I see 50/50 drawings,Chinese auctions being used to raise money at Scouting events. Ea.

I suppose there is a fine line between what might be called gambling and what might be called prizes. Our council has a drawing for a fair sized amount of money to be eligible for the drawing you have to sell X amount of popcorn. You earn more chances by selling more popcorn. My feeling is that any which way you look at this it is a game of chance and isn't in line with the values we want to pass on to our Scouts. The CM who took over the pack when I left had a drawing at the end of every pack meeting. All the Scouts present in full uniform were eligible. I looked out on a sea of smiling Cub Scouts all happy in the expectation of winning what ever the prize was. (Paid for with pack funds.) After the drawing I seen one happy little fellow and a sea of disappointed Cub Scouts. I know that gambling seems to be more acceptable now than maybe it was in the past. Lottery tickets here in PA help pay for some drugs that the elderly can't afford. There is a lot of hype that income from casinos will help cut property costs. While I have been know to buy the odd Power Ball ticket when the prize gets really big I don't see myself as much of a gambler. I have nothing against people who do gamble, how they spend their hard earned cash is their choice. I know the Scouts today see and hear a lot about gambling, every second cable channel uses poker as a fill in. Still "Something for nothing and your kicks for free" is not the example I feel we should be setting. I do know that I'm not a very good loser and even when my Power Ball ticket doesn't win, I'm mad at myself for wasting a buck. Of course if I were to win? I'd be a very happy camper. Ea.

I kinda think if it was me? I'd go for buying the best that the pack could afford and making them part of the Pack's Equipment for use in the future. Ea.

Where would you like it? Alaska. What would you like to see in it? A 1,200 mile canoe trip with check points along the way. Kinda like Philmont. Fly fishing, gold panning, rock climbing and rappelling, native American whatever. Eamonn.

"Is it mathematically possible? " Yes I was the person who asked!! There was no accusatory tone intended. I was just being lazy. I didn't want to look it up and do the math. Maybe the question might be or should be what happens to the young go getter after he has gone and got? In our area we still have Junior High Schools. Nearly all of these are not in the same buildings as the High Schools. It seems to me that most of the Lads who are Scouts seem to do well (whatever that might mean?) Until they move up to the High School. With so much more going on and with so many more commitments the older a Lad becomes the harder it becomes for him to find time to meet the goals he may have set. I have heard and I don't know how true it is or isn't? That the average age of an Eagle Scout is now 14 years old. I'm OK with that. If a Scout has met the requirements I don't see any reason why he shouldn't receive the Eagle Scout rank. My big concerns are what happens next? In the thread a few weeks back I posted that I'd like to see the age groups of the sections changed. While of course I read about Troops that do offer wonderful programs for older Scouts, sadly it's not happening in the area where I Scout. Add to this that again in my area Venturing isn't working. This means that the Troops are doing the same old same old year after year. So without some other interest the boys become bored and quit. For OJ the OA was the other interest, I have known other Scouts who have got involved in JLTC (As it was then.) Some Lads are happy to remain in just to follow some activity that maybe the Troop offers which he can't find elsewhere. My problem as a Sea Scouter seems to be that many of the Boy Scouts who do join the Ship wait until they are 16 to do so, this doesn't give us much time to get a lot of stuff done before they go off to college. We also spend a lot of time going over and teaching skills that I would expect a Scout to know. I'd dearly love to have 14 year old Scouts join the Ship. So far not one Boy Scout who has joined the Ship seems to be able to tie even the basic knots and the knowledge they have about using compasses and reading even simple maps and charts leaves a lot to be desired. This of course might not be the fault of the Scout. It seems to me that fewer and fewer leaders have the skills, so they can't pass on something that they don't have. So my answer to: "What do yeh do with the young go-getter? I love to make sure that his skills are up to par. That he is working on doing his best to understand and live by the Scout Oath and Law and have him join Sea Scouts. But maybe I'm biased. Eamonn.

Back in London the Troop which was fortunate to have me as the Scout Leader (SM) was 60% non-white. A mixed bag of families from across the globe. When my wife first arrived in England's green and pleasant land she was surprised that all these kids talked with a London accent!! The truth is that these kids see themselves as being Londoner's. Both my parents are Irish. I'm very proud of my Irish background and heritage. But as a kid I at times was really confused. At home my parents were thankful that England had provided us with a good life and standard of living. My Dad was super proud of his kids. He often said that through us he had proved that "A Paddy from the bogs of Ireland could do well!" At home we knew that England should not have kept the six counties of Northern Ireland and going back to Elizabethan times to way the English had treated the Irish was and had been wrong. We seen the IRA bombings and we knew that wasn't right. In England they tell "Irish Jokes" which make the Irish seem stupid. These offend me. (As does the leprechaun that Notre Dame has.) Yet in many ways I was English!! This is very confusing for a young person. Overcoming stereotypes is something we all need to work at. Here is Southwest PA. They tell Polish jokes, much the same as the Irish jokes told in the UK and just as wrong. The kids in the Pack need to know that it's a good thing to be proud of their heritage, they all so need to know that there are people who came from where their parents or grand-parents came from who have and who do a lot for where they now live. Maybe a pack meeting where each Den had a "Skit" about what someone with a ethnic background has done for the USA might be a good idea. My Grand-mother had a little alter in her home with religious pictures and statues of her favorite saints (lit by a small red bulb with a cross inside it) Along with these was a big picture of JFK. The message the kids need to know is that it's OK to have a heritage , it's OK to be an American and being both or having both can be done and is a good thing. Eamonn.

"What do you do with a boy that has just completed his Life requirements, is waiting on his BOR and is only 12 years old?" Is it mathematically possible? GernBlansten I have a problem (Yes I take ownership of it) with words like : Commitment, dedication and maybe even loyalty. Maybe in part because I'm dumb enough to keep asking why? I have read accounts of early Scout Troops in the London area. I'm not that old!! But even when I was a kid the streets were in many ways our play ground. Of course that was when there was still places to park your car. (My father was the very proud owner of the second car on our street!!) The boys in our immediate area seemed to form groups and hang out and play together. The groups somehow seemed to with no preplanned organization group together in age groups. My brother who is four years and two days older than I wouldn't be seen dead with kids my age. As kids our parents send us out to play. We played with each other, fought with each other, ate in each others homes and did our best to avoid letting the nosy old Ladies see what mischief we were getting into for fear that they would tell our parents what we were up to. This was in the 1960's. I'm sure when Scouting first started that there was even less for kids to do. Having a national hero like BP to look up to and copy must have been a lot of fun. My after school options were limited to joining the Boys Club, where the main activity was boxing.Or the Scouts. I don't like people hitting me!! So the Scouts got me!! With so few choices being committed or loyal wasn't hard. How good we are at what we do seems to play a big part in how dedicated we are at doing it. Kind of a catch 22 as in most cases the more dedicated we are the better we get at it. I was never really dedicated to playing the trumpet, I wasn't very good so I quit. In part due to the fact that my Dad was fed up hearing the only song I ever mastered "God Save The Queen" He was a very proud Irish man!! I have at times looked at the Scouts in Troops I have served. I have asked myself why are they there? Why do they keep coming back? OJ really liked the OA. I think in part because he got to go by himself. It wasn't a Troop activity. He got to go up to camp and hang out with a group of kids his age with very minimal adult supervision. Over time members of the group took on leadership roles and he went along with them. Over all he did a good job, he did a lot for the Lodge, took the training's offered. As he found out more, he did more, got better at what he did and seemed to enjoy it more. I've had some Lads who seem to appear as soon as they heard the lock in the Scout Hall open. Many because life at home wasn't very nice and they needed a place to hang out. Someplace safe where they knew they would be welcome. Some Lads find something in the program that they enjoy and become good at and latch on to Scouting as we are the only place that offers that something. It used to be camping, but now just about every youth group does some sort of camping. Some Scouts really want to please their parents. They start off working on advancement and merit badges to please their parents, some as they get older grow out of the need to please their parents and start to do their own thing, which might or might not include Scouts and Scouting? Some Scouts are a little like me. After a while doing what you do becomes a habit. I know that when HWMBO first became ill, being home on Thursday nights was something I wasn't used too. Not going to R/T and not attending meetings made me feel like I was missing out on something. I own some properties which are rented. I do my best to keep them in good repair, recently one needed a complete new bathroom, the plumbing wasn't good when I bought the place over ten years back, while I was spending I thought I'd go for it and replace the roof and update the kitchen. The guy who lives there has been there for ten years. He wasn't very happy with my plans. He had become used to things being as they were and I think he was scared that the changes might in some way harm or hurt him. He asked if I was kicking him out? As if I somehow blamed him for the things that weren't right! I think maybe he was worried that the rent would go up? But I also think he had got used to being where he was at and doing things the way he had been doing them. Is fear, habit, lack of choice,the desire to please others? The same thing as loyalty and dedication? Eamonn

It is the National Boy Scout Jamboree. I'm thinking with it being the 100 year celebration, the number of Boy Scouts who will want to attend will exceed all expectations. Add what hopefully we learned from 2005 about marching huge numbers of Scouts into one place. Sites under electrical wires. Adequate First Aid /Hospital facilities. I really don't think there is room for other sections. This is just my gut feeling and not based on anything else. I still don't know if I will attend or not? I kinda like the idea of working in one of the sub camps. But I'm not keen about living in the staff area. Ea.

An idea I've been playing with for a while is "Holidays" My idea was to see how different countries celebrated certain holidays or had holidays that maybe we don't have? Christmas in Japan? Easter in Russia? You could as you travel back in time "Land" at where ever at what ever time? Even without leaving the good old USA, go back and visit a Cub Scout Christmas in 1930 (or when ever?) Having a holiday at Day Camp seems like a nice idea to me and it shouldn't be hard to pull off. If you leave the USA contact Travel Agents and National Tourist boards for posters and the like, cook up some traditional food from where ever. Look back to how people spent their time 1930? What do we have today that wasn't around then? Just an idea!! Good Luck. Eamonn. (For the 100 Year celebration why not land at Brownsea Island?)