Eamonn

Gunny2862

Think it was me who talked about splitting hairs.

I have great respect for the people who are expert in their field.

Maybe it's good that someone somewhere is telling the people in charge of high adventure activities that a safe program doesn't set the bar high enough?

But..

A good many of our forum members are what I might call run of the mill Scouter's.

Sure we when we plan an activity look at the "What if". We do our best to Be Prepared.

We know that chances are when we are out doors that the Scouts in our charge are not going to be hit by a piece of space junk. On the other hand cuts, sprains, stings and maybe the odd broken bone might happen.

We prepare for this.

If we go over board, over stressing all the dangers and all the things that might or could go wrong, not the everyday expected and the odd un-expected dangers that are out there, we run the risk of never doing anything. - This is a disservice.

I think the world of each and every Scout that has ever been placed in my care.

I'm not dumb enough to take on activities that are out of my comfort zone.

I'm clever enough to know that there is some risk in a lot of what we do.

In the real world most of the accidents that I've seen on Scouting activities have happened when the Scouts are cooking. Does this mean that we don't allow Scouts to cook?

I don't think so.

Like everything else we train as best we can, we provide the best equipment available, we teach what to do in the event of a miss-hap and provide the right equipment to take care of and deal with the mis-hap when it does or if it does happen.

Ea.

While I'm not a great lover of hot-dogs there are a lot of people who really like them.

The hot-dog meal when served in jail is very popular. When I was working with elderly people they just loved hot-dogs.

So I'm not going to turn my nose up too much.

Back when we had the old WB Boy Scout course, the menus were part of the syllabus,

The menu listed hot-dogs for the first meal on Sunday night.

In my book there is a time and a place for just about anything. Yes even pop-tarts!

Of all the skills that a Lad will take away from having been a Scout the one he will more than lightly use the most is cooking.

Boys like to eat, so finding ways that they can challenge themselves to eat better shouldn't be hard.

Maybe at summer camp you might want to one night not eat in the dining hall and have a real feast with each patrol making a different course?

Try cooking in mud or newspaper?

Taste test the different dehydrated meals that are out there.

Go vegetarian for a weekend?

In my book nothing proves the real leadership ability of a P/L more than the way a Patrol can plan, prepare and clean up after a meal especially if all the Scouts take turns being Head Cook.

It is worth remembering that a lot of kids have never cooked anything that doesn't come out of the microwave, some have never even cracked an egg before, so the fact that they cooked hot-dogs and made their own meal is something to celebrate and hopefully build on.

Have fun.

Ea.

Can't help thinking that maybe we are splitting hairs?

There are a lot of words and terms in use that maybe are not the best or the most appropriate, but are used and for the most part accepted and acceptable. Most of us are happy to clean the kitchen and accept that it's clean a hair splitter will say that it isn't clean till it has been sanitized.

We go along with a kid being a "Bright kid". Without doing an IQ test.

Lord knows that there is risk is just about everything we do and at times in things we fail to do.

I might say that my home is safe, but might not have tested the batteries in the smoke alarm for a month?

I think that I'm a safe driver until that deer jumps out at me from out of no where.

For a very long time I used to say that Scouting was a safe place. I still like to think that way but I've now started using the term "Controlled Risk."

I can and do see why someone who is teaching a group might want to tell them that the word safe is not to be used. I'm sure that the teacher /instructor is doing his her best to try and combat complacency and ensure that the people will when they leave the class remain vigilant and on their toes.

There is a risk when we go over board stressing that nothing is ever safe that no one will ever want to do anything?

I'm happy that a High Adventure Director is on his toes and not being complacent.

I also know that were I to really try I could come up with a very long list of things that might or could happen on a small short nature hike that would frighten the living day lights out of everyone and they wouldn't want to ever leave the house.

We are in the business of teaching kids, most of us are not really expert in anything.

Many of us have received a basic training in the sort of activities that a normal Scout will participate in, maybe up to First Class Scout level? Maybe up to Merit Badge level? Along with whatever training we have some of us have done this for a little while and have some real world experiences.

The likelihood of me ever taking a group of Scouts up the Orinoco is about zero, just as the chance that a Scout doing a nature hike is going to meet up with a tiger that escaped from a zoo is also about zero.

I have to admit to not liking experts when it comes to Scouts and Scouting. All to often these experts forget that we are dealing with kids, they want to make things so difficult and seem so hard that they end up scaring the kids away.

Maybe I'm just old? But I'm sick to death of all these cute little mnemonics. One or two used to be OK, but it seems they have now got a life of their own and are popping up all over the place and some people want to make knowing what they stand for important.

For me they are just an annoyance.

Ea.

Dad was a very proud Irish man.

He left Ireland after his Mother died, he father had gone before her.

Things were tough in Ireland and he was on his way to Australia.

I always thought it was strange that both my parents lived less then 12 miles from each other in Ireland, but never met until they were both in London.

My Mum worked as a maid for a rich Irish doctor.

Dad worked where there was work. At that time there was still a lot of discrimination against the Irish.

Mum said that Australia was too far from Ireland and her parents, so she refused to go.

After they married she quit working and Dad bought his first business.

I think in part due to the discrimination, he felt that he had to prove something.

Mum was happy as a stay at home full time mother for me, my older brother and two sisters.

Dad wasn't around very much, he was busy making money.

His wanting to prove something and not be seen as some sort of dumb Irish "Mick" made him push us kids. He put a lot of store in education and we all were expected to work hard.

I don't ever remember playing with my Dad, we never kicked a ball around or played kids games. But he was happy to pay for just about anything we kids wanted to do.

After I finished collage the first time, he paid for me to come to the States. Where I met the girl was was later to become my wife.

My one sister was still working on her RN when she got married, my other sister went to India after college. My older brother must have inherited Dads way of making money, he was a millionaire before he was 22.

I have very fond memories of my mother, me coming home to meals that she cooked, while she was never a great cook she was a good baker. Much as I've tried I have yet to make soda bread as good as she did.

As a kid I was envious of other Lads who had Dads that went to the park and played with them. Dads that didn't always wear a tie.

It was kinda of ironic that I wanted to have four or five kids, we'd been married for almost six years and had about given up thinking that we'd ever have a kid. I'd gone and borrowed a lot of money from the banks when we found out that we were going to be blessed. So when he did come I seemed to be busy most of the time, working from 08:30 till about 02:30 six days a week.

Talk about following in your father's footsteps!

I did learn about hard work from my Dad. - Right about now I'm starting to reap the benefits of it all. But parts of me does wish that I'd been around more when my son was growing up and that I'd made more time for him.

I used to beat myself up a lot about this, but have now come to grips understanding that I can't undo what's done.

Ea.

"Ages and Stages are mostly a cultural phenomenon,"

Have a friend who when dealing with someone who is being difficult will say:

"They were frightened by a plumber when they were being potty trained."

I think most of us might agree that adolescence, that time period between puberty and adulthood is a time when people going through it want to experiment and try new things. This need (If it is indeed a need?) Does cause reckless thinking and sometimes lack of consideration for consequences.

I don't know but maybe way way back when humans were developing there might have been a need for this?

I caught part of a Nature program on PBS about raccoons in Toronto, it showed how raccoons are changing from living in the countryside to more of a city setting.

While I don't know that much about raccoons, I'll bet that no t so long back the old Grandfather raccoons warned the younger ones to not go near people or the city because it was just to dangerous, but the young reckless raccoons went ahead and did it anyway.

These young coons must have had to not only disobey everything that they had been told but also fight off primal instincts.

Here in the western world people are living longer. We are a lot more mollycoddled than at any time.

Animals born and raised in captivity don't need to hunt and soon need to be taught to do so before being let loose in the wild.

So why should we be any different?

How often do we hear of a Lad quiting Scouts because he finds that the chores that go along with taking care of himself and maybe others is just too much like hard work? - It's all to easy for older folks like myself to put this all down to the Lad being lazy. But maybe there is more to it than just being lazy.

My sisters two kids have been raised with Nannies and live in help, the boy has never had to even put a plate in the dishwasher. His entire life has been about people catering to him and his needs. The fact is that he has never been in a situation that has needed him to fend or think for himself.

So it is any wonder that his development in some areas is lacking?

I don't know much about development and evolution. I have been told that at one time we humans needed our appendix, that wisdom teeth were used and that our coccyx are whats left of the tail we lost about six million years back when we started walking upright.

Could it be that our brains are heading the same way?

Ea.

It happened at 10:30 on Saturday morning in July.

I was welcomed into the ranks of parenthood.

Soon after, I was handed this little person who was wearing a hat.

He didn't seem to take much notice of me, even though I was so very interested in him.

I counted his fingers and his toes, making sure that he had ten of each.

About half way through my count of his left foot, I was hit with the fact that I was totally unprepared for what was to happen next, but I was aware that this next was going to last a very long time.

He didn't come with any book of instructions. He just was there and he was mine.

The early days weren't that hard.

He was able to communicate his needs by crying.

Most times I took care of one end or the other and soon after he stopped making noise.

I followed his development by taking lots of photos and making video tapes on my cam-corder which weighed about the same as a 1957 Buick.

I really enjoyed bathing him, playing in the warm water, splashing away and me trying to sink foam blocks that he paid little or no notice of.

Babies who have just come out of the bath and are dried and powdered have one of the greatest smells. I loved that smell.

Soon he was becoming a real person, not just that little thing that made noise when he needed tended to.

He was crawling and into everything. I spent many happy hours child-proofing the house, he managed to undo all my fine work in a matter of minutes.

I was determined that his first word was going to be Da-da. To this end I spent hours with him on my knee telling him to say Da-da. - It didn't work. His first word was "No".

For the first three years or so my only thoughts were keeping him safe and making sure that we all survived.

What with me working and HWMBO working along with the fact that my Mother-In-Law found him to be "Too Much." We had little choice but to send him to day care four days a week. I kept my Mondays free to be with him.

I really don't think I ever spent anytime thinking about Child Development.

I more or less followed the things that I remembered my parents doing. I have a sister who is 12 years younger than me.

We had bedtime stories, we said our prayers. I do think that I very well might have got a lot more out of all of this then he ever did, but I'm not sure.

He started school.

He didn't get on very well with the Nuns. So after 3 years we tried public school, which was a much better fit.

As he got older I started to feel a little let down in that he didn't seem to enjoy the things that I enjoyed. He didn't like to read. When I was his age I was going to the local library twice a week.

By the time he was a teenager it was very clear that he wasn't interested in the same things that I was.

I have to admit that for a little while I felt a little down because of this.

He is going to be 24 next birthday.

I'm happy to report that we have all survived.

While I know that we don't share a lot of the same interests, I when I look at him see a nice fellow who really cares abouts other people.

Sure he does things that I don't understand or maybe don't want to understand?

Still all in all he is a nice person.

We managed this with me knowing nothing about parenting, no brain scans or the help from experts.

I'm not sure but maybe there is something to be said about:

Ignorance is bliss tis folly to be wise?

OK, I read it all.

While it seems to me that the guy who wrote it has taken great pains to dispel what might be myths that have been taken as true. He hasn't done anything that would explain the cognitive thinking of teenagers and the teenage brain.

Based on my own 100% non scientific findings. I know that kids do have Ages and Stages.

I don't know how things like environment, social pressures, socioeconomic factors and other outside forces change things in the development of young people.

I do tend to think that a lot of the stuff that experts like physiologists come up with can sometimes be nothing more than twaddle. A lot of times experts will dwell and stress on part of what they find while ignoring or paying little attention to other parts.

Again based on my 100% non scientific findings, I have found that by dealing with people as individuals, catering to their own individual wants and needs much of the findings of the experts can be ignored with little or no real consequence.

This isn't always true as there are special cases, but when that happens? The trick is knowing that unqualified people like myself are in over our head and need to get the individual the help that is needed.

Ea.

Kinda think that all of us know and are aware that kids are not the same as adults.

I'm not sure when a child starts knowing that some things are right while others are wrong.

There is very often a big fuss when teenagers who are charged with some crimes are charged as adults. Why? I think many of us do hold to the idea that young people are not as accountable as older folks are.

It might be interesting to look at young people in other countries and other cultures and see how they measure up?

Does a young guy in certain parts of war torn Africa grow up faster than a spoiled brat from PA? - I don't know.

Some MRI's have shown that the brains of young people are not as developed as older adult brains.

Ea.

Lisabob

Just read your last post.

It hurt.

I don't like guns and don't own one.

The likelihood of me shooting someone is very small.

I'm not sure when a kid stops being a kid, but like you my son is my child and no matter how old he gets that is a fact that will never change.

While I have never met your son. I'm going to guess that were he to walk toward me on a dark night? I might notice him and not feel any sort of a threat.

I wish that I could put my hand on my heart and say that was also true if a young black youth were to do the same thing.

Of course I don't harm or hurt every black youth that walks toward me, but to say that I treat black and white youths the same, would be to tell a lie.

I have walked through the capitol cities of at least ten countries many times late at night and have never ever been harmed, mugged or put upon in any way.

So why do I have these feelings of being uneasy?

I'm not proud of them.

I know that I'm being unfair. - But...

Maybe it's like my being around certain breeds of dogs?

I've never been bitten by a dog yet I tend to trust a Golden Retriever more than maybe a Pit-Bull. I believe that Pit-Bulls get a bad rap. Yet I own a Goldie.

Ea.

It was and has never been my intention to in any way try and guess or second guess what happened that tragic night.

Maybe that's not possible?

For me, while of course the fact that someone ended up dead is truly tragic, this thread was more about looking at my feelings on race.

I have many ex-Scouts who aren't white. We keep in contact, the fact that they are from Africa, Jamaica, India or else-where really has never mattered to me.

I work fairly closely with two African-American men. One I like and get on with very well, the other I have very little time for. He just isn't a very nice person. He wouldn't be very nice if he were Chinese, Indian or white.

I treat people, all people as I find them. Race, religion and ethnics are not something that I've ever really worried about.

Maybe at times I am guilty of buying into the way some groups are portrayed.

If I came across a bar where there was a lot of motor-cycles parked outside, I really don't think I'd want to nip in for a quick beer.

I do think that the French and French people are very arrogant.

I find that the Irish are very hospitable even if some of them do drink a little bit too much at times.

Eamonn's list of how he feels about some people and some races is fairly long. But even with all of this I don't think that I'm guilty of trying to put everyone into a pigeon hole.

I think that many of us want or try and put people into neat little groups.

We or at least I, tend to think that some people by profession are to be trusted and respected.

It takes me a little longer to accept some people because of how they might look.

I'm not going to warm up as quickly to someone covered in tattoos with bits of metal hanging from all parts of his body as it does to someone who I see as being normal.

So while I was happy to think that I wasn't a racist, I'm now thinking that I do have my own prejudices and this can and might mean that I act differently toward others.

A big deal has been made of how Trayvon Martin was dressed.

My son owns and wears a lot of hooded sweatshirts, so in theory the way someone is dressed shouldn't make any difference. But if it was late at night and a big hairy guy came toward me wearing clothes that looked like he belonged to a motor-cycle gang? I'd be worried and want to get out of where I was at in a hurry. Even though the guy might be a really nice fellow.

I know a lot of convicted murderers. These guys come in every size, every age and every color.

I've had dealings with a fair number of gang members, black guys, white guys and Hispanics. In my dealings the blacks outnumber the others but the Hispanics are a lot better organized.

It's kinda strange when I talk and deal with these guys we talk and deal with what they have done as something that happens "Outside". Even though gangs are a problem on the "Inside".

Deep down I know and firmly believe that grouping people together is just wrong and that there are good and bad people no matter what race what creed or anything else. -Yes even the French!

I just need to keep reminding myself.

Ea.

" it should drive you to continue with being aware of your surroundings and having a plan to follow if anything were to occur"

Gunny2862

As you can imagine working where I do with the convicts all around being aware of the surroundings and what's going on is a must. - Kinda gives a real meaning to "Be Prepared".

I think what is irking me about all of this is that I was happy thinking that I had my feelings about race all tied up, nice and neat.

I liked to think that I didn't have any feelings of racism what so ever.

Now? I'm not so sure.

The details of what happened that night will I think all come out.

As I posted, I don't know what really went down.

I do know that I'm left looking at how I feel.

Why do I feel more uneasy with a group of black youths walking toward me than a group of white youths?

If I have this feeling do the police also have it and does this mean that black youth are treated unfairly?

Ea.

"And does anybody at all think that (all other conditions being equal) if the child had been white, and the shooter black, we'd even be talking about how the shooter hadn't been arrested yet, a month after the murder?

I don't have an answer.

I would hope that we can learn from all of this, rise up and become stronger.

Ea

Peacock?

Was a Cook-coo when I first took WB.

I don't wear a uniform very often and don't wear my red wool jacket a lot.

But on the back of the jacket I still wear the big Nordjamb patch from the 1975 World Jamboree.

Does this qualify me as a Peacock?

Ea.

Oh we of little faith!

I've been around Scouts for a while and the one thing that I've learned is to expect the unexpected.

Don't try and understand it.

Just accept it, enjoy it and move on.

Ea.

Does my feeling un-easy or me feeling fearful make me a racist?

Ea.

I was going to post this in the Open Discussion area but thought maybe it should go here.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Trayvon Martin. No parents should ever have to suffer the loss of their son.

I'm not sure what really happened that night.

I'm not really sure why George Zimmerman felt that he needed to shoot this 17 year old black boy.

It does seem that the local police in that area didn't do such a good job of investigating and communicating what happened and why it happened.

My great hope is that now with so many different groups looking into what did happen justice will be served.

While the media has brought race, race discrimination and civil rights into the forefront. I have felt the need to take time out and take a long hard look at how I feel about some of these topics.

The feelings are mine, I can't help them. I might be able to change them? But they are what they are, so there is really no right or wrong.

I like to think of myself as not being a racist.

I hope that I don't and would never be guilty of discrimination.

Having said that maybe it's easy for me?

I live in an area where there really isn't any minorities. I think when my son graduated from high school there were only two black students in the class and I've never seen the families out and about in the small town where I live.

We do have a church in town that has a congregation that seems to be entirely black.

I've driven past on a Sunday and seen most black middle aged and older females dressed up in their Sunday best looking really smart. - I remember back to the days when my family wore their Sunday best to go to Mass.

This congregation is there on Sunday morning and by lunch time is gone and the people are not seen till the next Sunday.

For my part it's hard to discriminate against any group that isn't there.

Where I work?

That's a completely different kettle of fish.

I don't have at hand the break down of our prison population by race. I do know that these numbers are available.

I have not visited all the correctional facilities in the State.

But where I work I'd guesstimate that the population of inmates is about 65% Black, with Whites, Hispanics and what-ever is left making up the other 35%.

I'm not color blind. I know when I'm dealing with a white or a black inmate.

My own personal goal at work is to be fair, firm and consistent.

My employer, the State has charged me with the care, control and custody of all the inmates in the jail.

I like to think and hope that I treat everyone regardless of race the same.

When I'm working I don't have the time to not treat everyone the same. The truth is that doing things this way makes life easier for me.

When I'm not working I do wonder why there is so many young black men in jail?

I kinda know and am kinda aware of the socioeconomic factors that are in place.

Still at the end of the day I'm left feeling that something is out of whack.

A few years back my brother was visiting the USA and we went to Washington D.C.

One dark night we walked from the Lincoln Memorial to the White House. On the way to the White House we seen coming toward us a small group of young black guys. They were doing nothing wrong. They were maybe a little loud laughing and joking, but they didn't seem and as far as I know they took no notice of us what so ever. Still I have to admit that I felt more than a little uneasy.

Not so very long back I missed my turn off on the NJ Garden State Parkway. I ended up in Newark. Other than the airport I don't know much about Newark, but where I was didn't seem like a very nice place. As luck would have it there was a police car parked and I asked the policeman for directions. He was a nice guy, he was black. He informed me that I wasn't safe and needed to get out of where I was at as soon as possible. (I did!)

If I truly am not a racist? If I truly want to live up to the idea that I don't hold any prejudices? Why then do I allow myself to be scared when I'm in a mostly black neighborhood or see a group of young black youths coming toward me?

Is this my fault or can they take part of the blame?

There has been in the media talk about the Black Code of Conduct.

Do we need a White Code of Conduct for whites in back neighborhoods?

Am I wrong in thinking that all this talk of codes of conduct just makes things worse?

Ea.

Lord knows that when it comes down to the requirement being the requirement, I'm a real pain in the neck.

In my book you deserve a lot of praise and have earned my admiration, when you post:

"I feel bad, especially because I don't think these boys have been given the experience they deserve."

What I'm about to post might by many seem to be a cop out! But that is what it is.

You can only be responsible for what you do.

If another person (Leader) has signed off on the requirements as being met. Then you have to go with it. - You can't undo what has been done.

You don't have to condone it or agree with it. You don't ever have to allow it to lower the standards that you set.

But what's done is done and the best you can do is learn from it and move on.

Welcome to the forums and Good Luck.

Ea

I'm very much for a complete co-ed program. Starting in Cub Scouting and running all the way.

But.

I don't know if this will ever happen and I don't think it will be the end of the world or of Scouting if it doesn't happen.

While I don't want to take away anything that being an Eagle Scout represents. I do at times think that we are guilty of maybe holding up the Eagle Scout rank as being more than it really is.

It is to my mind a shame when a Sea Scout who has earned Quartermaster rank has to explain the rank by saying it is the "Sea Scout Eagle Scout rank". While I know that I hold a bias, I think Quartermaster is a lot harder than Eagle and should demand the same if not more respect.

The fact that female Sea Scouts can and do earn the Quartermaster rank does not take away anything from the rank.

A lot of what happens in the BSA depends on numbers.

My thinking is that when the membership falls below a certain level the BSA will have little choice but to take a long hard look at what to do next? This very well might mean going co-ed.

I don't see it happening in my life time.

Ea.

I'm sorry Dean, I disagree about these being questions that are asked.

I'm proud of my accomplishments, I'm proud of a lot of the things that I've done. This doesn't mean that I look down on others or play the one up man-ship game.

I didn't post in the other thread. I did read most of what was posted.

When it comes to looking down on others, which I think is a sad and wrong thing to do. I believe that most often in our organization it's the youth leaders, the people who work with the kids who are most guilty of looking down on the other volunteers who don't work with the Scouts.

I have a very dear and close friend who is a M.D. A really great guy and a real character. His family escaped from Cuba with him. His Dad worked in construction and at a gas station to get him through school. He has served on the Council Executive Board for a very long time and has served as a Vice President and as the rep from the Council on the National Board. Any and every-time I have ever mentioned about a Scout needing something be it a uniform or help paying for camp this guy has put his hand in his pocket without asking any questions. He has supported the Council financial for a very long time.

I was over joyed that when I received the Silver Beaver he was standing next to me.

Sadly the comments I overheard about him from the contact volunteers seemed to be mostly negative. The feeling seemed to be that because he didn't work directly with the youth he was un-worthy of the award.

The truth was and is that the people doing the put down had no idea of what he had done and was doing.

I was very hurt when Scouter's from my own area said that the Silver Antelope was an award that was only ever given to the "Suits" and that I had somehow switched sides when I received it. The truth was that no matter what I was still me and when it comes to doing what's best for the kids we are trying to serve, there are no sides.

Each of us does what we can and many do the best that they can.

My idea of Purgatory is to be locked up in the same room as a group of Tiger Cub aged Scouts. I think if it were to happen there is a good chance that when the door was opened one or two of the little guys might be missing.

Does this make me a bad guy?

I think each of us serves where we feel we might do the most good. This very often is dependent on how much time we have and what our other responsibilities are.

More often than not when I meet a Scouter that I don't know he is the one that will bring up the fact that he was /is an Eagle and will let it be known how much training he has had. At times me having this information is useful but so is someone letting me know that they are a RN or have some other skill or knowledge that might come in handy.

Each of us can only be intimidated if we allow it to happen.

While I of course respect what other people have done and can do. When it comes to Scouting and getting a job done? I use that information to my advantage and meeting the goal. Right now one of my tractors is broken, I need someone who can fix tractors a guy with a PhD in physiology unless he can fix tractors isn't going to do me a lot of good.

For Scouting to work at its best we need a lot of different people with a lot of different skill-sets to work together and work toward the same shared goal.

There really isn't a lot of room for one up man-ship.

Ea.

While you do deserve a pat on the back and a well done.

I do have to admit that I was always very uncomfortable with any sort of FOS goals.

As District Chair. One of my duties was to meet with the SE each year and set the goals for the District.

The District Goal. - That being how much we could get from the people who served on the District Committee.

The Community Goal -How much we could get from the business community.

The Family goal - How much we could get from the units.

I seen all of this as being a load of you know what!

I wanted to know how much he wanted from the District -That being "Hey guy give me a number!"

To be really honest I didn't really care what the number was, but my thinking was that that if I got him down to a small number, he when he made his budget wouldn't be tempted to over spend.

I did hand out cards to the members of the District Committee but I let it be known that more than any amount of money, I as chairman appreciated everything they did for the District and that there wasn't a goal.

The longer I remained a member of the Key 3, the more I seen sending people out to beg from the units as a waste of time.

The units were made aware that the campaign was happening and if they wanted someone to come to their unit and give the parents and members of the unit the opportunity to donate, we (The District Finance Committee.) Would ensure that someone would make a presentation. Again there were no goals. Some units wanted the presentation, some didn't.

We really did take a lot of time selecting our Community FOS Captains and Community Chairs. We made sure that they were updated weekly, when a big donor was recognized and we felt we needed to "Work" on him or her, I'd take them out to dinner.

I had local business owners come up to camp and eat in the dining hall and then give them a tour of the camp.

The other Districts held a Kick-off Lunch. We didn't we had a party when we reached the number given.

In ten years we missed being Quality once, we missed due to not being able to recruit the needed 25 Cub Scouts.

We added a District Golf Outing that raised an extra $35k and a District Outstanding Citizen Dinner that brought in about $12k.

I have a fair sized ego and I loved the fact that the smallest District brought in the most cash.

Ea.

Not trying to hijack.

The other day I walked through the dish washing room in the jail during a meal service.

The inmates who use the very big dish-washing machine have to spray each tray before it goes into the machine. The spray hits the trays and splashes back at them so they cover themselves with the white 50 gal. Garbage can liners.

As ever I said the first thing that came into my head.

I didn't make a lot of friends when I said that they looked like walking condoms!

Oh well!

Ea.

While I of course I don't know how things are dealt with in your area. I know that a District going cap in hand asking to buy used equipment and stuff would not see any funding being made available.

When things like this happen, someone needs to step up to the plate and do the right thing.

The right thing is that if someone owns a whatever call him or her and ask them to come and pick it up ASAP. If they don't pick it up offer to drop it off at their home.

A lot of times them asking about items that are on "extended loan" has more to do with some sort of a power issue than the return of the item.

One sure way to not have to hear the "And they are still using my...." Is to give it back to them. - By returning it you have taken away any power they think that they might have had.

If they say that you can keep the whatever have someone write them a thank you letter and keep a copy. This is a good job for some sort of a titled person like a District Training Chair or Council Training Chair.

If the item is worth a fair amount maybe have someone in the Council Service Center write a receipt that can be used for taxes.

Depending on how far things have got out of hand? You might want to not use any of the "extended loan" items until such a time as the owner tells you it's OK.

Of course this very well might mean that whatever your doing might not be what it once was! But maybe it will open up a dialog where the District, the Council and maybe the Executive Board will see that Training and the needs of the Districts has to be a line item on the budget.

Much as things can be a real mess, it has been my experience that doing what is the right thing is never wrong and most often gets the people who are acting like children to shut the heck up and go play some-place else!

Ea.

I really don't like popcorn.

I hate the smell of it and never eat the horrible stuff.

I'm not in sales or marketing. But I do buy things that support a cause or an organization.

Our local Elks sell good quality brooms.

I have no idea what a good quality broom sells for but when we need a new broom I call the nice person from the Elks and hand over whatever it is she asks for.

I'm happy with my new broom and life goes on.

From a fund raising point of view the problem with brooms is that I don't need that many new brooms in a year. So of course sales of brooms, I'd guess are kinda slow.

Even if the Elks were to have a time when the went all out to sell brooms, I'm guessing most people would only buy one or two.

Thinking of things that I use on a every day basis that I'd buy maybe in quantity to maybe support a cause and maybe I wouldn't mind paying a little over the top for just because I knew I was supporting a worth while cause?

I came up with garbage bags.

I use a lot of garbage bags, I really never look at what they cost, I just pick up a few boxes and throw them in the cart when we are running low.

I could see me buying more boxes if a group were selling them for a limited time.

Of course they would have to be a good quality item.

If the bag had "This Bag Supports Local Scouts" Printed on th outside, come pick up day the entire neighborhood would know what a good person I am for supporting Scouting. If the box had a picture of a cute little Cub Scout on it and he looked at me every-time I went for a new bag, I'd remember where I got the bags.

Just an idea.

Ea.

When I first became a Boy Scout back home in England before the word boy was taken away. We were allowed to wear a sheath knife as part of our uniform.

Sadly some Boy Scouts were mugged and lost their knives to the muggers and the order came from above that knives as part of the uniform were no longer allowed.

I thought I looked very dashing with my knife strapped to my side.

Oh well! It's a good job that I have very sexy knees.

Ea.

"Air Conditioned Eagle Encampment"

Air conditioned or not, I find the very idea of an Eagle Encampment to be just wrong.

Talk about advancement gone wild?

Ea.