Eamonn

My bad! I should have used American English. Eamonn.

I agree with just about everything that emb021 posted. I also happen to think that Commissioners should not belong to units. We all know that a Unit Leader can not serve as a Commissioner, but I am of the opinion that Commissioners should not do anything other than serve as Commissioners. It is very hard for someone in a unit to look at someone from another unit which might not be following the program to the letter and see what they are doing as being right. Eamonn. Right now I wear two hats Skipper and member of the Area Committee.

Before I was married I was the Worlds Greatest Pack Rat. I'm not any more. It wasn't until I was older that I noticed, that my Father rarely if ever talked about his youth or growing up in Ireland or the discrimination he faced when he first came to England. Trying to get him to talk about the past was like getting blood out of a stone. This used to annoy me. But I now see that he just didn't want to look back and dwell in the past, I also see that in some ways I'm becoming a little more like him, I just am more talkative than he was. I get that from my Mum, who was never quiet. I have a great friend who is in his eighties, he lives in a nice little house with a two car garage. I've known him for almost 30 years and he has never been able to get his car in the garage. Because it's full of magazines, mainly old copies of the National Geographic Magazine. Many a time I have told him that he needs to have a good sort out and get rid of them and every time he tells me that there is some very interesting articles in them. How he would ever find them is beyond me. He is an old retired history teacher. I love the heck out of him. He was the Camp Director when I first came over to the USA to work at the camp, his wife was the camp nurse. She passed away some years back. He now spends his summers working as the Camp Chaplin. He must have been about the age I am now when we first met and the strange thing is that he doesn't seem to have got old. A few years back I was a Philmont and picked up this "How To Stay Young". How it has managed not to get thrown out is a miracle. When I re-read it I thought of my dear friend and I hope that maybe one day someone will say that I never became old. How To Stay Young. Youth is not a time of life It is a state of mind; it is a temper of the will, A quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, A predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over love of ease Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm Wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair These are the long, long years that bow the head And turn the growing spirit back to dust. Whether sixty or sixteen there is in every beings heart, The love of wonder, the sweet amazement of the stars And the star-like things and thoughts. The unfailing childlike appetite of what next? And the joy and the game of life. You are as young as your faith. As old as your doubt. As young as your self-confidence. As old as your fear. As young as your hope As old as your despair. So long as your heart receives messages of Beauty, cheer, courage, grandeur and power from the earth, From man and from the infinite, So long you are young. When the wires are down and all the central place of your heart Is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, Then you are grown old indeed And may God have mercy on your soul. Samuel Ullman Eamonn.

OGE While Training is a responsibility of the Council and we do have a Pro sit in. All the courses are organized and ran by volunteers. Our Council wanted to charge me 6 cents a sheet for photo-copying!! So I had a local copy shop donate the copying service. You guys in that end of the State seem to be ahead of the times? Have you gone to online advancement yet? Eamonn.

Man Oh Man! How I hated that old YP Tape!! When OJ was a little fellow he loved the Disney 101 Dalmatians movie. We had (and still have) the tape and the DVD. Any poor soul who came in the house was forced to watch the movie with him. He knew every word and would forewarn the audience of what was about to happen. I was the same way with that darn YP tape. The new one isn't a lot better. As to: " It's good to stay on top of it." How do you stay on top of something that doesn't change? I think informing people where the information is should be a must for trainers. I firmly believe that when people take the time to attend a training they need to know from the person presenting the training that he or she knows what they are talking about and that they are not going to waste their time. Presenting the same thing over and over is a waste of time. It serves little or no purpose. Other than making people feel that training is a waste of their time and giving training committees something to complain about when people don't sign up for training's. Eamonn.

What do you consider the top 3 services that your Council offers? My list: 1/ Insurance. 2/ Our little Scout Store. 3/ The Council news sheet (which is now E-mailed) Just about everything else is done by volunteers. The Council doesn't offer a Sea Scouting or Venturing camp, we are of course welcome to camp at the Council camps, we choose not to. Eamonn.

About ten years ago a few of us were building a new Campmaster building at the only camp that our Council owns. As ever when a group of Scouter's gather we were voicing our opinions. At that time stocks were doing well, the deficit wasn't. All in all things were going good. I remember one little old Lady telling me she was making more money than she could spent! One of the guys working on the building, said that he thought that the days of the small Council were numbered. He went on to say that if we were having a tough time making it when times were good, that we were in for a terrible time when times got rough. It seems that the rough tough times are upon us. I really like our little Council. I like the fact that if I try really hard I can just about name the SM of every Troop in the Council -All 92 of them. No change that there is more than 92, but the Scoutreach Troops are led by a "Paid Volunteer" We have the site we own and a site we lease from the State in a State Park. I can drive to the one we own in less than 20 minutes and to the the one in the state park in 28 minutes. I can also drive to the two sites that Greater Pittsburgh owns and operates in a very short time and a couple that Penns Woods Council operates in less than a hour. While some people love the big camp that GPC operates (Heritage Scout Reservation ) I really like the smaller one they own Twin Echos, it's great in the winter. Where I live it's very rural, many of the Scouts live on farms. I have about 70 acres next to me that isn't used for very much. I could easily accommodate several hundred Scouts if they just wanted to camp. Sure they would have to use porta-potties and there would be no dining hall, no swimming pool (The local pool is 5 mins down the road) I kinda think we have to ask what do we want from a camp? Is what we want or expect from the camp linked to what we want or expect from the Council? I have very fond and deep memories of my time at Camp Conestoga in the Laurel Hill State Park. It was what brought me to the USA in the first place, it's where I met Her Who Must Be Obeyed and I have spent many happy times up at the camp. I know these are all very important to me, but somehow I think if I were a Scout the idea of speeding across the lake in a power boat at Heritage Scout reservation might sound more appealing. Maybe each of the different Scout Council Camp site in a given area should look at just offering so many different merit badges Greater Pitt could offer all the ones that start with the letters A, B, T AND S, We could offer the E's,C's and H's -But then again maybe not. Eamonn.

CNYScouter The site also has a group page which will update you when new items are added. Eamonn

The other question was about youth leadership. We just had our elections. Last year our Boatswain an older Lad who turned 18 on New Years Eve. Had a lot of problems at home. He comes from a family where his parents had divorced. Mom had remarried and his youngest sister was 2 the other was 4. The poor Lad knew he was going to graduate, but wasn't sure what would happen after that. He doesn't drive. Dad wouldn't allow him on his car insurance, Mom said that it was up to Dad!! The Lad became very mixed up and try as I might I wasn't doing much good. He ended up leaving the Ship, but is now back again. He is attending the local community college and seems to be a lot happier. When he left our Boatswain's Mate, took his place. A truly super Lad, 16 years old, who had been a Tiger when I was Cubmaster. His Mom was a participant in the WB course I directed. Sadly he belonged to a Troop which on the back of their ball-cap has "Where Eagles Fly" embroidered, a real Eagle mill which doesn't do anything right. He had no idea about what leadership was. He did give it his best shot, but things were complicated by the fact that he was dating the other Boatswain's Mate! (A female Sea Scout)and they had a falling out. The new Boatswain is that rare find a great Lad who has more brains than he knows what to do with. An Eagle Scout, who has been SPL at both JLTC and the new NYLT course. He is very out going and two weeks back beat OJ in the OA election for Lodge Chief. (The Ship is only a year old and so far we have had 3 Scouts who have served as Lodge Chief ) His Mom is a Cub Scouter and he has a little brother who will be joining the Ship soon. He is the sort of person who doesn't seem to have to work at doing anything it just seems to come natural. I feel sure that he is able to run any meeting and it makes little difference if I'm around or not. He has a good team.One Boatswain's Mate, is a Lad I took to the Jamboree. He is a very big strong Lad, but I don't think I have ever met a Lad as kind. When people seem to get a little hot and bothered, he has a way of calming things down, not because he is big and strong, but because he is so kind. The other Boatswain's Mate is a very smart girl who wants to work for NASA. She tends to flap a bit and can engage tongue before brain at times with a nasty streak of sarcasm.She is very goal oriented and has her eyes on the prize. (Both Mate's have been invited back to serve on Staff at the camp we went to last summer.) OJ is the purser if anyone enjoys money he does!! Our Yeoman is a Lad who is 16, but has a learning disability and ADD,at times he has a real hard time making friends and once he does he has a hard time keeping them!! The Scouts for the most part understand his problem and when he starts to get on their nerves will tell him that he is starting to be annoying, when he is on his meds he isn't that hard to get along with. Our Storekeeper is a 15 year old, who really is and likes to play the clown, a bright Lad who once he starts to settle down will one day make a fine Boatswain. The great thing about working with this age group is that they seem to avoid the pettiness you find in younger Scouts. The dating thing and the break up were new to me!! But the Quarterdeck we have now is a really good one. I really enjoy our meetings and I'm sure the year ahead will be great. Eamonn.

A couple of weeks back Barry (Eagledad) asked me what my vision for the Sea Scout Ship was/is? I had just about finished imparting my wise words when a storm came through and knocked out the power. So every thing was lost. "Nothing happens unless first a dream" - Carl Sandburg. Boy do I miss hearing that. The Troop that I spent most of my time in as both a Scout, a Venture Scout and later as a Scout Leader was the 17th Fulham (Pioneers) about 3 miles from BP-House. I'm not exactly sure when the Troop came into being. It was one of the early Boy Scout Troops in London, but had in the early years before 1920 merged with another Troop. One day when I'm a lot older I would like to find out more about the history of Fulham Troops, I believe that the 3rd Fulham is one of the real early Troops. It seems that the 17th had moved around a lot in the years after WWI. When WW II came along, the Cubmaster Charlie Reed was a hospital Administrator and he wasn't drafted. Most of the Scouts from the 17th were. Charlie somehow managed to put out a news letter to all the Scouts who were in the service. Keeping them updated about what the Troop and pack was up to, which wasn't very much as many of the Lads had been moved away from London to the country to avoid the blitz. Still keeping contact with everyone was no small task. After the war all the Scouts came home except one. Bill Thompson had died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. The old Scouts got together and thought about a memorial for Bill. They came up with the idea of our own Scout HQ. Of course I wasn't around but they had a dream and they stuck to it. The Scout HQ had it's official grand opening in 1963. The group that had been active raising money had become a close knit group so once the goal was reached they didn't want to stop, they just kept on raising money. It was a lot easier with a hall of their own. When I was a Scout in the 17th we were the biggest and best Troop in the area and had the best equipment. Sadly there was a problem with the man who had been my SM. This was about six years after I'd left the Troop and had been through Venturing. I was happy as an Assistant Cub Master in the pack that was part of my church (The 35th Fulham) I was asked to return. I did return and I enjoyed every minute of being the Scout Leader of the 17th. I don't see any reason why I can't do the same sort of thing here as the group that came back from the second world war did there. I dream about the Ship having a meeting place and boat shed that it owns. I can almost picture the 40 foot + Sail boat waiting for the Scouts to board. I have the land for the HQ and the boat house. I need to find the funding, but I'm sure I can get that. It's going to take a little time. Mean while I want the Ship to establish a Sea Scouting presence in our area. We are the only Ship in our Council. The big Metro Council next door has two Ships. One is a paper unit and the other one isn't doing much. The Council on the other side of us doesn't have any Sea Scout units. The program is a good one. Already our Ship is seen by our Council as offering the best program for Venturing age youth in the Council. People in the community are really impressed when they see our Scouts in uniform and everyone seems a little taken back that we have female Sea Scouts. "It is my unique responsibility as the leader to shine a spotlight on the future and marshal the support of my countrymen to create that future" Maggie Thatcher. Eamonn.

Hi Zahnada Last week I watched the new TV show Friday Night Lights. It's all about a high school football team in a small town in Texas. I know nothing about small towns in Texas, but this show portrayed the town as being fanatical about the HS football team and it seemed that when the team wasn't playing they were praying.In many ways the show reminded me of Bleachers by John Grisham, but I don't remember Grisham writing about the praying. Of course this is only a TV show and I don't know how true to life it really is? Lord knows our high school football team could do with a few prayers, they have managed to win only three games in the past three seasons. I don't see them spending any time praying. This got me thinking about the "Blue and the Red States". I couldn't help thinking that maybe I had or was missing something? Later that night I was watching PBS,Charlie Rose was on, unfortunately I missed the start of the show, so I'm not sure who the guest was!! He was a republican and a ordained Presbyterian Minister. He was saying how he feared that the Republican Party had been or was in danger of being taken over by the religious fundamentalist right. Where I live I don't see any evidence of the religious right wing. While the daily paper is owned by the group that Hilary Clinton referred to as the right wing in Pennsylvania a few years back, it seems to me people in the area don't vote along party lines. Historically, trade unions were very big, but the industries that had big union membership are no longer in business. The Scout District and most of the Council is very much a blue collar area. While of course there are groups that are very Left or Right Wing. For the most part people are busy trying to do what they can to get by. The young people are trying to find good jobs, the middle aged people are trying to raise a family and the old people are worried about health care. The small town I live in has less than 5,000 people but 14 churches. If you are not ten minutes early for Sunday Mass you are not going to get a seat. I think people are becoming a little less anti-gay. But they don't feel that a gay man is a good choice for a Boy Scout leader. Send a cute little Cub Scout out selling popcorn and they will buy a box, ask them for a $100.00 and they will tell you to get a life! The Scouts are very visible in the town, without them the Memorial Day Parade would be very small, when the kids march in the other parades it seems everyone is willing to give them a cheer. Again while there are the people who are very pro Scouting and for the BSA, there is probably a group who are don't care very much for Scouting and the BSA. To be honest, I have never ran into that group. Every time I go for a haircut (Still only $6.00!!) the barber tells me what a great job I'm doing and how lucky the local kids are that we have Scouts in our area (He is a $50.00 a year FOS contributor, but will donate free haircuts for almost any reason.) The local paper which has strong ties to the Mennonite church offered me a Scouting Page. I wanted different units to use it but they wouldn't commit, so I turned down the offer as I didn't want it to be Eamonn's view on Scouting. We have local support but we are not very good at using it. Not far from where I live they have installed a new electronic bill board. The board is owned by the people who own the local cement company, they donate the sand for the Ship's luminary sale. I called and asked if they would place a Sea Scout ad on the board. They couldn't have been more helpful. We have a super nice ad on the board. But where was the District? Why didn't they (The DE?) think of this. The company was honored at a Council dinner for their support of Scouting. I think that there are so many adults in Scouting who know or can influence people into doing almost anything?? That while we might not be able to mount a nation-wide advertising campaign we could do a lot more at the local and even the regional level. I'm a little unsure who at the National level is in charge of Marketing? It seems to come up in every Annual Report and is in all the Strategic Plans. But I don't know who is in charge? It may come under the Relationships Division? Some of the material that the BSA has is really first class, it just doesn't seem to see the light of day. I have had our local cable company show the ads that the BSA has produced. But again why is it up to me? Surely this should be the job for the Pros? I have sat through a few years of meetings, where the main item on the agenda has been how local Councils are doing. The two things that were used to judge this were membership and finance. Sadly for the past couple of years, nearly all the reports have been not that great. We fool ourselves by using end of year numbers and not look at the rechartering numbers, we include LFL numbers, we don't look at five or ten year trends instead we use what percentage we are down from last year. When things look bad the blame is placed on the Council key 3. Which is where it should be placed. But when we look at our Council Executive Boards, more and more it seems we have Boards that are out of touch with what is really happening at the grass roots and it seems that Scout Executives are so worried about losing their jobs that they don't tell the Board what is really happening until it reaches a crisis. I am a hard and fast believer in Program. But it's time we as a Organization took a long hard look at: What we are selling (the product) Who we are selling it to. "On My Honor; Timeless Values." was the theme of our 2002-2005 Strategic Plan . Sure it has a nice ring to it but somehow I can't see any kid ever getting excited about it. Venturing and the OA seem to have a good idea, they have youth members who promote what they are doing. We need to look at a kid friendly marketing campaign. Goals need to be placed on the desk of each and every Scout Executive to get the word out. I don't see this as being Red, blue, right or left. The people where I live don't care about that. The kids don't care about that. We need to sell the program and make sure we deliver the goods. Eamonn.

Cubmaster Randy You don't know how lucky you are. "I used to be a beaver, but will always be an Eagle" If I were to post: "I used to be a Cuckoo and a Bear, but I'll always be a Queen" I think I might get some strange looks!! Eamonn. (When we do sing the song I do a solo for the Cuckoo -While all my so called pals laugh!!)

Lisabob As I'm sure you know you will have to file a National Tour Permit. The 10 hour rule is a good one. However, we have a problem with the night driving. We attend a lot of weekend activities that are a five or six hour drive from home. So in the winter we have to drive at night. For very long trips I like to make a very early start. The trip to Savannah this year we were on the road (loaded and last minute bath roomed) by 0500. Of course this did mean an early night for the drivers!! I like to get as close as we can to our final destination, so I'd opt to go 75% of the way. I have to admit to not being a great fan of the Amusement Park thing.On the way out it seems to take away from the excitement that the Scouts have about where you are going. You don't say what sort of vehicles you are using? Trying to do anything with a large group becomes a little like herding cats! A ten minute bathroom break becomes thirty minutes and fast food isn't that fast. We found that giving each driver a free hand works best! We used to have planned meetings along the way, places where we would all meet and then take off again. The idea was to make sure everyone was OK. Kinda silly when you stop to thin about it, in these days of cell phones anyone who isn't OK will call and meeting at a rest stop isn't going to fix anything. We now plan only to meet at where we are going to stop. Trying to herd a group of 14 or 15 Scouts in less trouble than herding the big group. As for the stops. I think the PLC and the adults need to take a long hard look at why you are going to where ever it is you are going? Is it a sight seeing tour? Is there a defined purpose for the trip? Any big stop (Washington DC?) is going to add a day to your trip. Even if you only plan to stop for a few hours. Adding an extra night might seem like the way to go, but it might be hard on the people driving. Having young Scouts spent the night in Motels can be a nightmare!! I'd avoid it at all costs!! Scout Camps are a good idea. As for the budget. I charge everyone the same amount. Gas costs are hard to guesstimate, as are the gas mileage that different vehicles will get. It is far better to over charge and give a refund than undercharge. Once I have worked out what I think it's going to cost I add 15% for emergencies. We ask all drivers to start with a full tank. As a rule they pay for the gas and turn in the receipts when we get home they fill the tank again and turn that receipt in. The total amount spent on gas is divided by the number of people attending and that's the cost. If you are using private vehicles, it is a good idea in as nice a way as possible to let the owners know what the Troop is paying for ahead of time. We had a problem once where a parent needed to replace a tire and thought that the Troop should pay. (Needless to say I didn't.) This might be a consideration when you are planning. Rental cars/vans when they break down are less hassle. Eamonn.

Wood Badge is offered in a most countries that have Scouting. The number of Wood Badgers runs into the hundreds of thousands. Every year in September Gilwell Park, where the first course was ran has a Gilwell Reunion. It used to be only open to Wood Badge holders, but is now open to Wood Badge holders, family and friends. It's a nice weekend!! The 81st Gilwell Reunion will be held over the weekend of 7-9 September 2007 at Gilwell Park Scout Activity Centre, on the edge of Epping Forest. The weekend is an opportunity for adult Members of the Movement to come together for a weekend of fun as well as celebrate Scoutings Centenary. http://www.scouts.org.uk/2007/events/reunion.html This would be great for people who for some reason didn't get to attend the Jamboree. Eamonn.

Wow! trust the Beavers to have a Scouting enzyme! Eamonn.

"Doing the right thing 100% of the time regardless of the consequences" I failed!! Eamonn

I really can't ever remember reading or hearing of any hard and fast rules on this. My thoughts are: Back in the day when I was Scouting in England. A young Lad in the pack would move into the Troop when he was 11 years old. This normally happened after the Grand Howl and if the Lad had earned the highest award in Cubs (Then Wolf Cubs) the Leaping Wolf Award he leaped from the pack into the Troop and his new Patrol. So go ahead and sing. (We can Bear it.) Beavah Have you ever looked at the diet of the Beaver? Or how they go about getting the nutrients from what they eat? That beautiful flat tail is a lot more than a rudder!! Others not as kind as myself might go so far as to say Beavers are full of it!! Eamonn.

"A Scout Executive must usually have at least ten years of progressive non-profit management experience." I'm a little unsure what "progressive non-profit management" really means? It seems to me that most Scout Execs. are totally unprepared and untrained for the job. The qualifications to be a professional Scouter are a degree. Any degree will do! After several years of working at the District level with volunteers and maybe working as a Field Director. He or She moves into the big office. The job now becomes a real management job, no longer just working with volunteers (Yes still working for volunteers!!) Trying to come up with budgets that will work and manage big sums of money. A few weeks training and the PDL training does little to help. We at some stage need to take a long hard look at what the real costs are. I don't want to support LFL. I'm sure that the program does some good. But it's not the program that I'm in. I'm sure that I could name a lot of youth programs that do good, but I don't support them either.To me Scouting starts and ends with the Scout Law and Oath, LFL programs don't use the Oath and Law. So I don't want to support their programs. I sick and tired of the "It costs $125.00 a year to keep a Scout in the program" This while maybe not a lie? Is a falsehood. LFL programs in most Councils account for about half the members. The cost per member of a child in LFL is not that much. Certainly not $125.00 a year!! So the big question has to be "What is the cost of providing the service to a traditional member?" I would guess it's over $200.00 per Scout per year. The time has come for us to look at this cost and look to see : Can we afford it? Are we (the people who are paying for a fair amount of this.) really getting value for money? The formula of 1 Professional for every 1000 Scouts sounds fair. That is until we look at a small Council of about 5,000 Scouts. Most of which are over staffed. 4 DE's at $32,000 1 Field Director at $50,000 1 Scout Executive at $80,000 $258,000 OR $51.60 per Scout add about 33% for benefits and we have almost $69. just to compensate the Professionals. Add the office staff and the overhead then add the cost of the program and it starts to mount up. Could it be we need to look at what the Girl Scouts are doing and take a page out of their book -Heck maybe it's time we took the entire book. Eamonn.

I wasn't trying to dwell on the finances. I kinda have my own untested, unproved theory. It goes some thing like this. Everything Starts with program. A good well balanced program will solve the membership problem. More membership will solve the financial problems. More kids means more popcorn sellers!! More people willing to donate to FOS and a better more visible presence in the local community. (These kids have Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and family friends who do at times talk to each other.) Program starts with adults who are willing to deliver the program. Somehow? Maybe because of changing times? We don't seem able to attract the Leaders who used to be in for life and have the same passion as the old timers that I still see trying to deliver the program to a group of kids who are into a lot of things these old timers don't understand and refuse to understand. Many of the people I now see joining seem to only be worried about their son and the main focus seems to be on advancement with the goal of reaching Eagle rank ASAP and then moving on. Even more sad it that while these adults do bring what skills and talents they have to Scouting, they never really take the time to really understand how things are supposed to work. Troop meetings become very much like School work with Merit Badge classes and very little fun and no adventure the biggest challenge the Scouts have is staying awake, but even if they fall asleep it makes no never mind they will be rewarded for sitting through the class with the mighty Merit Badge, which is more about endurance than any merit. Eamonn.

I always have thought of Camp Gadgets as the gadgets made at camp, using knots and lashings? We are of course a lot more aware of the impact that we have on the planet, then we were when I was a Scout. Still a good stock of Scout Staves should be in every good Troops equipment store. Not just for making gadgets, but light pioneering projects and games as well. Eamonn.

So far it seems that no one is questioning the definition of Scout Spirit? (Maybe just an oversight!!) Until someone does. If we go with: Scout Spirit is about the qualities of a person that makes him or her self-sufficient, motivated, charitable, concerned for others, and willing to accept the responsibilities placed before him. I'm confused why this doesn't work with: " it encompasses all you do in your life, from your business dealings, to your faith, your relationships with others, heck, even your conduct while driving! " I like to think I live the Scout Oath and Law 24/7. My being and having been a Scout is as big a part of me as my education. my religion and me just being the person that I am. That includes when I'm driving. (I never said I was a Saint!!) I'm sorry but I just don't agree with: "The problem is that I didnt get to choose my character," While I agree that we at a very early age are in different ways offered values. We as free thinking humans at some stage decide for ourselves what is important to us. I only have to look at my brother and two sisters to see how very different we are and how we value things differently. I can't help but think if we are going to talk about building Character we need to add an adjective ? Character can be good or bad. Scout Spirit is measured by if you have done your best to live up to the Scout Oath and Law, the only person who will ever really know what your best is is you and of course once you think you have done your best the bar is raised a little higher. I don't see the Scout Oath and Law as being a right wing or left wing statement, I fail to see where the rules or ruling of the BSA come into play, other of course than the "Duty to God". I happen to think that "morally straight." is open to a personal interpretation, which is a different topic to the rules of the organization. (Just as some activities are not allowed by the BSA, I don't see people who participate in them when not acting as a Scout or Scouter as being in the wrong.) As for the "Help other people at all times" we once again have to fall back on the "Do my best" this is what Scout Spirit is about. I see Scout Spirit as an on going development, where character seems to be an acceptance of being what you are. Eamonn.

At times I think we fall victim to catchphrases or slogans. When I was a little Lad "Just do it." didn't mean what it might mean today. It seems to me that over the past few years the BSA has over used the "Character" thing. "Building Character"? What does it really mean? Is building character different than Scout Spirit? For a while it seemed that everywhere I looked I seen "Character Counts". In my every day conversations I do occasionally describe someone as being a real character. Normally this is used to describe someone who is doing something that makes me laugh or smile. Every now and then I'll describe Rory as a real character. I like to think that Scouting helps to build self-confidence, problem solving, compassion, acceptance of personal responsibility, and leadership skills within each Scout. This allows the individual boy well prepared for life in an adult world. We "Get there" by using the methods of Scouting. But I have to admit that all this talk of Character confuses me. I understand Scout Spirit, to me Scout Spirit is about the qualities of a person that makes him or her self-sufficient, motivated, charitable, concerned for others, and willing to accept the responsibilities placed before him. I think this is not the same as character. Do we really mean all this stuff about character? Or is it like? "Be all you can be." or "We bring good things to life" Eamonn.

When I first became a SM, I was very young. I needed a lot of help and I'm thankful to those who provided it. One of these "Helper's was my SM. Sadly he had left under a cloud. Even more sad is the fact that we had a falling out, because I seen what he was doing as trying to run the Troop from a bar stool. I think because of that when I have finished doing something I tend to walk away and allow the new person /people to do whatever they are going to do. If they need me or my help they can ask. I'm not that hard to find. I do try and pass on all the "Stuff" (Records, materials and a closing report) to the person who will take over. I try even harder to not ever say "I told you so." Or bad mouth the person that is filling my old job. Our DE is a young fellow. I wish I could say that I like him, but I don't not like him? In many ways I feel he is just there. He has just finished his second year as a DE. I feel bad that I didn't do a better job of training him during the year that he was DE and I was District Chair. We never had a close relationship. He was full of wind and ambition and didn't feel the need to let me know what was going on and I think I was down in the dumps because our old DE had gone. He started working in November, the Field Director at that time moved on in January, the new FD came on board in February and was gone in May. Due to the financial crisis in the Council the FD position was never filled. The SE, a nice enough fellow never seemed to take the time to work with the DE's, maybe because he was busy with the crisis. The SE moved this past July. It seems to me that no one has ever really taken the time to show this poor fellow what he should or shouldn't be doing. Just recently we got to spend some time together and share a few adult beverages. He was feeling very down in the dumps and was talking about quitting. It seems that he feels everything is coming undone. Units are folding, the District Volunteers and District Committee members are no longer doing their job. The District Chairman (not the person I had trained to take my place.) and him are not getting along. The new District Commissioner (Number 3 in two years) is an Ex-Den Leader who doesn't know very much and who would sooner spent time with the Pack. The only new unit that has seen the light of day is the Ship. I admit that my heart is going out to the poor Lad. A lot of the problem seems to be the person who is the District Vice-Chairman. This guy is everywhere and into everything. He really thinks a lot of himself, sadly while he is very much larger than life after a little while he tends to rub people up the wrong way. He seems to be the reason why the District Committee is in such a shambles. As I sat listening to this poor DE, I really had to bite my lip and remember my rule of never saying "I told you so". I also much as I felt for him and the District, knew in my heart that I just don't have the time and can't do anything to help. Things at home are not that easy and I have made the Ship my new love. The Ship has a strong Committee. We have the DE who he replaced. He had asked her to serve on a nominating committee, but then never contacted her. He had asked her to sit on a committee, but never informed her of when the meetings were. We have two Ex-District Chairmen (not counting me.) Both are nice men but there is no way they would ever tolerate the stuff that the Vice Chair is doing and both are not the sort to ever suffer in silence. The DE had spoken to one of them and he had told him that he had made a big mistake. This poor kid came to work for the Council right out of college. I forget what his degree is in, but the time he has spent really hasn't prepared him for anything. I'm unsure if he would even make it in a different Council? I haven't looked at and I'm not going to look at the real membership numbers (Recharter reports) I do know from talking to people that things are not good. We have a new SE starting in November. I would like to think that he might sort things out, but I fear the on going financial problems will take up most of his time. I don't think the Council can afford to fill the vacant FD position. "Help other people at all times" I wish that I could, but I sure as heck don't want anyone thinking I'm doing stuff from a barstool. I tried to tell the DE to hang in there and that maybe things would get better with the new SE coming. I said if he wanted to talk I was here and seem to be here a lot!! I hate to see the District that I worked so hard to build up fall apart! I keep telling myself that it's "Peaks and Valleys" I just wish I could convince myself that it's true. Eamonn

I think we do a fair job of promoting Scouting. I think we do a fair job of recruiting. Sadly we don't seem to do such a great job of retaining. We need to look at the reason the youth joined and then look to see if we are meeting their expectations. If we are failing to meet their expectations we need to either tell them before they join or change what we are doing. About once a month every adult should take the time to read page one of the Boy Scout Handbook. If after a self reflection it seems that the unit you serve isn't delivering what we promise? Things need to change. If you are unwilling to make these changes, there are 101 different ways of helping the BSA meet the Mission and you should take a look at them. We are only ever as good as our last meeting. Youth members can be very forgiving, but if they see that the last meeting and the meetings before were bad, they are going to stop attending. When they stop, they tell their friends that they were in but they left because it was boring. Word and mouth is a powerful tool -It works both ways. Eamonn.

"Dutch oven flavor"? "raw beeswax" ? It's a pot!! Some are made of Cast Iron and a lot of the cheap ones are aluminum. Sure it is a very versatile pot. But it's still a pot. I have used it to deep fry donuts, bake spuds and cook baked beans in. Sure we bake in them. When we make a Pineapple Upside down cake we line the base with foil or silicone paper if we don't the pineapple sugar topping remains in the pot. Yes we sin and wash it in warm soapy water and then season it with some oil and salt. No we don't scour it with a Brillo pad. Yes when stuff gets really stuck we have been known to give it a good boil out. Eamonn