Eamonn

OK, I really don't want to resurrect the very long thread we had on bringing cell phones to camp. There or only one or two Scouts in the Ship that don't have cell phones. I may not understand why these are so important to these young people, but am willing to accept the fact that they are. Most of these Sea Scouts, wouldn't leave the house without their phone and their parents are in most cases happy that their kid has the phone. I have asked everyone adults and Scouts to turn their phones to vibrate when we are holding our meetings. The Scouts are good with this, the adults aren't. I think maybe they don't know how!! My new problem is I don't think that I need to over hear long conversations, when we are driving. A few weeks back we had a four hour drive and one female Sea Scout was on her phone for most of the time talking to her new boy friend. Her Mom was in the van and didn't seem to have a problem with this and the conversation was not anything that might be seen as bad. It just was never ending!! I think that phone conversations should be private. The longest conversation I've had had with OJ on his cell phone is less than five minutes! I'm aware that this problem is mine. I just think gabbing away on the phone while there are other people around is just rude. To this end I have asked our Scouts to keep calls when we are driving as short as possible and if they need to "Talk" to someone wait until we stop. Am I being an old stick in the mud? Eamonn.

Having spent about 10 years as a key 3 member, I can say in our little district that is does happen, but it seems to happen without much fuss. When OJ decided that he wanted to change Troops, because he felt (Yes him not me!!) that the Troop was just handing out Merit Badges and the outdoor program wasn't what he wanted, him and a pal looked at other Troops and transfered. The father of the other Lad who served as an ASM went with them. As far as I know there wasn't any fuss and there wasn't any hard feelings. I have had a few upset Cub Scout parents and Cub Scouter's change Packs because the Adults in the Pack can't play nicely with each other and one because there was a mix up at the Pine Wood Derby Race. Looking from outside of the unit and trying to make sense of what at times makes no sense, it seems that most of the disgruntlement (Is there such a word??) involves money and how it is managed. Leaders who favor their Son over the other Scouts, either by what is seen as unfair advancing or appointing their kid to SPL. A few years back there was a case of a little Lad who was being picked on and bullied by the other Scouts. The SE some how got involved in that one. His involvement only made things worse. We have had one guy who was a real Twit kicked out by a CO (A volunteer Fire Company) He has spent his time since being an even bigger twit, trying to make all sorts of trouble where ever he can for both the VFC and the Council. I have a Lad in the Ship who left his old Troop because his SM was adding requirements, so he joined the Ship and his little brother transfered to another Troop. His Mom is still active in Cub Scouting. At the request of a CO I broke all the rules and informed a CM that his services were no longer needed (I had kept everyone informed and the SE said that if need be he would do the deed.) But bad as this may sound, we have 42 units and I looking back over 10 -12 years. I like to think that I'm a very nice fellow and that everyone likes me. But there are people who don't.They may not know that until they have been around me for a while. Sadly most of the units where there are conflicts tend to be units where there are problems to start with or there are adults who have gone a little over board with the tweaks. Eamonn

If you have the crew member run a Google search On Backwoods Cooking, I think he or she will find lots of good sites and ideas. http://www.18gtn-scout.org/scouts/extras_2.html Does a good job of covering the basics, with some ideas with cabbage leaves I hadn't seen or thought about. I don't have a Venturing Handbook with me but there maybe something in there as well? Eamonn.

Thanks Fred. Action Replay. "Hey Dad can I take the car? I have to pick up a few things" "Sure" Time passes. "Here Dad" Two Fathers Day Cards. (one from OJ, one from the dogs!) "Hey Dad! The Explorer needs gas, can you fill it for me?" Time passes. $43.00 Later. "Hey Dad, I'm off to camp now. Do you have any cash?" Time passes. $25.00 Later. "Buy Dad, I'm off to camp. See you in two weeks. Have a great fathers day." Him working at camp will send me to the poor house!! Eamonn.

Hi scoutldr, Saturday/Sunday, October 14-15 Shenandoah National Park (Cabin Course This course takes place in and around the Pinnacles Research Station Cabin. There is no Monday component and no backpacking required. All students will stay overnight in the cabin facilities.) http://www.patc.net/volunteer/trailpatrol/Forms/LNTFlyer.pdf http://www.patc.net/volunteer/trailpatrol/Forms/LNTRegForm.pdf Eamonn.

NeilLup I don't know about American Dads? Back home, I tried to look like butter wouldn't melt in my mouth,while I informed young lady's fathers that I was a Queen Scout! It didn't work!! Maybe that's why his Mom is an American? Eamonn.

After 3 years or more? As a Life Scout, OJ has his Eagle Scout BOR this coming Tuesday. My love for him is and always has been one of the most important parts of my life. I love him completely and utterly without condition.Him being or not being an Eagle Scout makes no difference to that. He turns 18 in July. But he is by no means a "Death Bed" Eagle candidate. One reason for the delay is that he has been busy. Last Summer flew by, he worked on summer camp staff and at the Jambo. He is serving his 3rd term as Administrative Vice Chief of Wagion Lodge 6 and his second term as Section Secretary, throw in Sea Scouts, soccer, chorus,track, working part time, doing stuff at home and it's easy to see why the delay. I'm 99.9% sure that he will do well at the BOR. I'm very much the proud Dad. His project was a good one, made better in my eyes because he had over 20 other young people turn up to help with it. It's a shame that his Grand-Dad (Her Who Must Be Obeyed side) isn't around, he was a SM in our small town. I know that he would be almost as proud as I am. He informs me that he is going to make Quartermaster. But just like his Eagle -If he meets the BOR requirement? That will be his goal. The Board will meet with him at Camp. I'll drive up to see what the outcome is. Needless to say if all goes well he will be one happy little (Size 13 shoes!) Camp staffer and I'll be ne happy Dad. At times I know I moan and groan about the BSA, but when I think about how much good stuff my kid has got and gets from just being a member, I'm very grateful for the BSA and all the wonderful people who have done so much for the kid I love so very much. Happy Fathers Day to all. Who knows I might get a belated gift? Even though it will never be mine. Eamonn.

While I agree whole heartedly with the Gentleman from Massachusetts A couple of things cross my mind: RE:No one has seen him at any Troop activity since 9/05. I have to wonder why? If he met all the requirements before 9/05. Not seeing him since is not grounds for denial. RE:He has a record of never assisting any other Scout with Projects. Again I wonder why? If the projects are on a day that he might be working or involved with another activity? Of course he isn't going to be able to help. RE:..been involved in a number of fights with other Scouts. He was fired from camp as a Leading Scout for stealing. When? I see the role that Adults play as doing what we can to help Scouts succeed. Sure they have to meet the requirements. But branding a Lad as "Not an Honorable scout. " doesn't help the Scout and does nothing to help build character. I'm sorry if I come off sounding harsh? Welcome to the forums. Eamonn.

I have been playing with the idea of taking the Master Class. So this is great news. I don't think there is any way I could even consider it this year, but maybe in 07 or 08. I'm taking the Trainer course this Fall in Virginia. Eamonn.

Someone e-mailed this to me. I don't know how authentic it is? "You've got to listen to this! It's a phone call from a man in Texas who witnessed a car accident involving 4 elderly women. It was so popular when they played it on CHUM FM that they had to put it on their site. http://www.chumfm.com/MorningShow/bits/march24.swf (This message has been edited by Eamonn)

I'm thinking that I might buy both the Tim Russert books: Wisdom of Our Fathers and Big Russ and Me. He seems to come off as being a nice chap. I think a pal of mine has bought me: Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog. I can't think why?? When no one is looking I will read Hoot, I missed the movie,, but will add it to the ever growing DVD collection. If there is time I might re-read Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy. Eamonn PS: SWScouter You have to read: Bleachers . It's one of Grisham's best non-law type books, I enjoyed Skipping Christmas it's funny but you can read it in about an hour.The Painted House, is good maybe I enjoyed it more because I grew up far away from Arkansas farming and it was all new to me?

"He was spending his time making sure the units he had were running quality programs that were recruiting and keeping kids in the program instead of spending his time creating more mediocre units and his numbers proved it worked. " This sounds good. But it just doesn't work. We are a small council with small districts. Still in our district we have 42 units. It isn't possible for one person to ensure that 42 units are delivering a quality program. Add to this that there are hard nosed people like me. I don't want or need some young whippersnapper getting in the way of what the Ship is doing. Sure there are times when we will need help but that's what the District Committee and Commissioners are there for. I'm happy for a DE to do his job while I do mine. Program isn't his job. He doesn't know the Scouts I serve, he knows nothing about the families they hail from. Has no idea what activities the Scouts want to do. He doesn't select the leadership, has no say in what the committee wants or does. So how can he hope to ensure anything? Eamonn.

I had intended reading the other books that Dan Brown wrote, but I bought them and read them. I've been brushing up on my Leave No Trace so am nearly done with the Back Packers Guide to Leave No Trace. As a rule I stop in at Barnes and Nobel and hit the marked down books. The other week they had 3 for $10.00. msnowman I do much the same thing reading the same books over and over. Every time I re-read anything by Dickens I find something I missed. Eamonn

We take off for our Summer Trip at the end of next week. Still time for me to get to the book store. What are you reading this summer? Eamonn.

I'll ask our Sea Scouts what they take pride in on our group page and post the results. Eamonn.

All commissioners should be approved by the council executive board. They receive their commission from the council. Clicking around the Commissioner pages on the BSA web site will or should give you a good idea about what Commissioner service should be. Back in 2000 I attended the Philmont Conference on Delivering Commissioner Service, the conference is aimed at Council and District Commissioners. I came away thinking that some councils just don't understand what the heck Commissioner Service is about. Some commissioners have no idea what they are supposed to be doing. What the heck am I doing with all these old people? When I became District Commissioner, the staff I inherited were a very mixed bag. We had the really good commissioners. The really bad commissioners and the ones that when asked why they hadn't been near a unit or meeting asked if they were still on the list? I never worked out how come the better commissioners seemed to serve the better units that didn't need the same amount of help as the struggling units. Sadly some people see becoming a District or Assistant District Commissioner as some sort of promotion. Along the lines if you are there long enough and hang in there one day you'll make it. Sadly we had a lot of old timers who seemed to have been there for ever and were of about as much use as pockets in your underwear. In fact they were hurting the program by giving wrong information and retelling how they used to do things back in the day. It seems in some councils and districts Commissioners have become the dogs bodies, they are busy doing everything from FOS to Day Camp and helping with recruitment. This really isn't their job. I have to admit to finding the Commissioner Training a real pain, the books are good but for the most part Commissioner College is a waste of time. Good fun and fellowship but not a lot of new ideas. Starting new units is not the job of the District Chairman or Commissioner, this should be done by the District Membership Committee, they should do the "Ask" and introduce the DE to the Executive Officer of the CO. They should work with the other committees to get the ball rolling The Training Committee to get training under way. The District Commissioner to get a UC. Maybe the camping committee to promote summer camp. The relationships committee to help set up Good Turn For America or other service projects. The Finance committee to help set up budgets. Does this always happen? No. I think that maybe you are in the same boat (pardon the pun!!) I'm in. The BSA "Model" for starting a new unit starts with either the CO contacting the Council/ District and the Membership committee swooping in to do their magic. They get the CO and get the CO working on recruiting the adults they want to lead their unit. After that things should fall into place. You and I didn't follow the model. We had the adults (Us!!) We knew what we wanted to do. (Sea Scouting) We found our own CO and started recruiting. All the stuff that the District Committee should have or could have done for us was by-passed. Like you we are the only Sea Scout Ship in our council. It seems that everyone else is a dirt Scouter and knows nothing about what the heck Sea Scouting is. Still looking back to when I was District Commissioner, nearly all the big problems I had to deal with had nothing to do with program. Most had to do with adults who couldn't play nice. Dealing with unit funds was a big one. Parents who felt that their son was being picked on by other Scouts. Leaders just up and quitting leaving units with out a leader. Problems with units with CO were also a big one. These are the same problems that a pack, troop, crew or ship might face. They are not program specific. Nine times out of ten if I just got everyone together and listened to what they said by the end of a meeting they had resolved their own problems, my role was just bringing them together and getting the ball rolling so that they could talk. At this time we really don't have a UC. The District Commissioner is new and new to Scouting (Nice fellow and a really good Den Leader.) There is a feeling that I can look after things -Maybe because I said I could? The Council Commissioner and I are really good friends so if something came up I'd give him a call. He is doing the "Big" Charter Presentation, now that we have all the Scouts in dress whites. It will be at the Elks, they are sponsoring a Ship's Ball and we are holding a Bridge of Honor and Change of Watch Ceremony. The Scouts are doing all the cooking and parents are serving. Later there will be an adult dance in the Elks. It's $60.00 a couple and we hope to make a few bucks. Eamonn.

Twice tonight the subject of age came up. Of course the normal comments about ho it seems that old people seem to live longer. I think that's why we call them old?? I started thinking about all the stuff that we have today that wasn't around or if it was we didn't really have it 20 years ago. Her Who Must Be Obeyed, Grand-pap lived well into his 90's. He started working as a butcher in a company store and ended up as a funeral director!! I don't know if the two are related?? One day I asked what he thought was the best new thing that had come along in his life time? I thought he'd say something about communication tools. I was a little surprised when he answered refrigeration. What changes do you see coming along 20 years from now? Eamonn.

This pride thing can be hard. Unit pride and Leader ego are two very different animals. Competition is fine and dandy, but your not always going to win, in fact you might never win. (Yes Sea Scouts do have Regattas and inter-ship competitions.) Getting the youth to grasp the idea that this is their Ship /Crew /Troop is a big part of it. Even if this means that things don't go as well as when the adults do it all or organize everything. Setting real goals that can be met, but are still challenging helps everyone in the unit feel better about the unit. I'm not big on rules and that sort of thing, but there are standards. Work with the Petty Officers to have them set them high. Don't cut corners. Work with each member as an individual. Individuals make the unit. Be the example setter, make sure you keep your word, don't make promises that you can't keep. Never forget that the kids joined to have fun and enjoy themselves, if this isn't happening they will quit and there isn't going to be a unit. Don't shy away from things that might seem hard. Let everyone know that you care about them and look for things that they do well and share in their pride. Eamonn.

"Im curious, why did the ship select the Ranger Award over Sea Scout advancement? " Come the end of October till about the end of April it's too cold to do much on the water. In fact I think it's too cold to do much of anything !! We do plan to attend the Winter Training in Maryland. This year we lucked out the roads were fine, but things could have been very different!! Located where we are at the base of the Laurel Hill Mountains, with some of the Scouts living almost in the state parks, it seems a little silly not to use them. We do follow the Sea Scout plan as well. Eamonn.

CNYScouter Some how this Thread was posted in triplicate I removed two which didn't have any replies. Eamonn. Normal Service will resume as soon as I hit the submit.

I don't know why? But I seem to have a knack of landing myself with extra things to do. One of the reasons why I got involved with the Sea Scouting program (Other than some Lads thought it looked cool?) Was that I thought and still think that the Council that is lucky enough to have me does a poor job of doing anything for the older kids in the Council. Not just older Scouts but older kids. While I'm sure that in some parts of the country the Girl Scouts are doing a wonderful job, that isn't the case in our area. As ever I have been very vocal about my feeling. I met with our Council Key 3. Needless to say they seen starting more Crews as the answer!! I very respectfully informed them that they were nuts. That the number of Crews was in fact part of the problem. I explained and pointed out that while we have 20 Venturing Units on paper, nothing is happening. As I expected they said in a very polite way that I was full of beans. I asked our Council Commissioner what methods he used to judge the health of a unit? He said membership, Quality Unit, advancement. My comment that I thought the membership reports were flawed didn't sit very well. I had done my home work and met with the Registrar last year no Crew made quality unit! There is no record of any Venturer earning any advancement (Come on 20 Crews surely there should be something?) The only Tour permits issued this year not to a pack or a Troop wee to the Sea Scout Ship. The only money earning application submitted was from the Sea Scout Ship. The Council President isn't what you might call a program type, but even he had to admit something was "Fishy" The SE tried to explain to the President (Who really doesn't know how things work -The SE likes it that way!) That many of the Venturers are active in or with Boy Scout Troops. I really wasn't trying to cause him any real embarrassment. My point was that we as a Council really had to start providing some sort of a program for older Scouts and the older youth in the area. Nearly all of the Crews in the Council share the same CO as Boy Scout Troops with the same number. While a good number of these CO are churches, as far as I know none are what might be called part of the church youth group -If you get my meaning. I explained this to the Council Commissioner and President, so while maybe there might be a couple of Crews that have some off the wall special interest, nearly all would be what I'd term general interest. We came away with a plan to invite each and every Venturer in the Council to start working on the Ranger Award. I agreed to try and set up whatever was needed to help them meet the core requirements. (So far only two Crews have shown any interest -But we are going to invite the kids not the unit.) What is it with Venturing and all these Table Top presentations? Any way so far. First Aid: The local Red Cross is being very helpful, but still want to charge $25.00 per person. They are also willing to help with the Emergency Preparedness We are using the same fellow who covered the Emergency Preparedness requirements for the Jambo. Cooking: We can cover the requirements and demonstrate them but they will need to do the cooking with their home unit. Land Navigation We can do all the requirements, but they will have to set up the teach the navigating skills on their own Wilderness Survival We can cover most of what is needed, but I think we are going to have to get some help with Search and rescue patterns and they will need to Write a risk management plan for an upcoming crew high adventure activity with their home unit. Who knows this might be what they need to start doing things? Leave No Trace I'm thinking about taking the Trainers course (Not Master) Has anyone taken this and is it worth while? On the LNT Web page they say that there is a chance that we might be able to get a Master to come and run a course. There is a weekend course in VA later this year. It isn't that expensive. I'm thinking that next year we might request a visit from the Traveling Trainers. Communications. I think we will will just explain the requirements and let them work on that with their Crew. Some of the Sea Scouts are thinking about which electives they want to try. I don't plan on trying to help the Venturers from other Crews. Not that I'm trying to be mean, but the hope is that when they have the core requirements done they will go back and start planning their own activities. Me and my big mouth!! Eamonn.

Try and remove as much of the air from the bag the bag. Unless you like your onion and pepper a little on the Al dente side it's a good idea to pre-cook them a little first. Adding a little salt and vinegar to the water helps with clean up if for some reason the bag breaks. Seasoning the eggs before you cook them is a good idea. To ensure that everyone is safe you might want to use pasteurized eggs,or egg substitutes, this helps ensure that any salmonella enteritidis is removed from the eggs if they aren't cooked to at least 160 degrees F. Eamonn.

Oldsm, I'm sure you are a very nice fellow, but I think I'm with SemperParatus, you need to lighten up a little with this Lad. Make sure that you aren't allowing your feelings toward his parents cloud your feelings toward him. Maybe try having one of the other adults have a chat with him? Maybe you need to let your hair down a little? Give the kid a break. Eamonn.

"I asked the salesman in our local scout shop (a national one) and I made it very clear that I was a Den Leader for Cubs. He explained that the campaign hat was appropriate for any BSA Scouter since we represent Boy Scouts of America -" This is Easy!! He was wrong!! At the end of the day no one really cares what hat/cap the Cub Scouter's choose to wear. No one is going to make a fuss. No one is going to say a word. But if you are going to the White House as a representative of Cub Scouter's you might want to make sure you have the right hat on. Sadly and I have no idea why the Campaign Hat is a Boy Scout hat. ScoutNut A plumber? No !! As you may have read in the 1952 Uniform and Insignia Guide, the correct action for Scouter's with spinning heads is the wearing of a beanie cap with a propeller fixed to the top. The propellers are color coded and the high tech beanies used by pros are powered by a nine volt battery. At one time there were a few that were made for SE's, they could play music, however the only song available was "I've got to get out of this place, if it's the last thing I ever do." (These rare caps have as yet never shown up on E-bay, but there is a chance an ad for them may appear on the top of the Scouter.com page) The beanies seemed to upset several Lion Den, Den Mothers, in fact they were so upset that they all quit and Lions have never been seen since. Rumor has it that Lions might be returning. Scout Stuff is field testing a Lion Beanie cap for use by both youth and adults. As these new little Lions advance they will add dingle dangles from the propeller. Of course any Little Lion that isn't up to par runs the risk of having the tips of his propeller clipped. In keeping with leave no trace the clipping ceremony will be held indoors. The field testing was going well until a local manager of a Scout Stuff store in Punxsutawney reported that several Lion Leaders were seen on Feb 1 2005 wearing beanie hats with a picture of a groundhog on. This was seen as a sever set back to the test. A spokes person for the PUP (Punxsutawney Uniform Police) is said to have been so up set that he went back to bed and wasn't seen for six weeks. "Do you think I need a plumber?" No a salt shaker will work. Eamonn

Set a goal for all the Staff members. Eamonn