Eamonn

I'm willing to admit that for a very long time it does seem that the stuff coming down from the powers that be, doesn't work and from my point of view led Councils in very much the wrong direction.

Sad thing is that in many cases the grass roots volunteers got sucked into this mess.

While I'd guess that most of the regular Forum Members are the exemption to the rule.

Most parents are OK with their kids doing things where:

The kids are safe.

The people who run the activity are seen as being good people.

The activity doesn't entail them having to get them very involved.

I know that when my son was at High School.

He'd come home with a slip of paper telling us his parents about some school club or activity along with a permission slip.

We'd more then lightly sign this.

He'd stay after school and the school activity bus  would drop him off home.

Reasons for not signing were normally based on, him wanting to take on too much and him not having enough time to do everything he wanted.

I to this day have no idea what the Computer Club did? Other then him telling me that Windows was terrible and Apple was the way to go. (This ended up with us buying him an Apple laptop!)

The Track Club only entailed me attending the meets. Which I found to be very boring

Soccer which he was very good at, didn't expect anything from me.

I went to the games and he got mad at me for yelling to much.

Of course some parents got sucked into becoming Booster Parents and the unfortunate parents who had kids in the band, seemed to be really involved. Maybe because they had spent a lot buying an instrument?

While maybe I was being lazy?

His days however seemed always to be full. Him leaving home at 06:30 and not arriving home till around 18:30.

Later when the school play was in rehearsal.

Trying to get home eat and get to his Scout meeting always seemed to be a rush and when he got older there would be an argument about him wearing his Scout uniform. 

They say that hindsight is 20/20.

Looking back, I have to admit that I feel that Scouting cheated him.

While he is an Eagle Scout. He really doesn't have the skills needed to take on new and exciting challenges.

While he did get a lot out of First Aid, he can't read a map, can't use a compass, isn't good with rope and hates to walk anywhere let alone hike!

He is a very kind and loving person who really does care for others.

Living the Scout Oath and Law isn't hard for him.

I really think that us trying to be anything but an outdoor fun loving organization is a big mistake.

I worry sometimes that we are guilty of trying to make this more complicated then what it should be.

I worry that we expect parents to spend a small fortune on the newest and latest high-tech equipment, which maybe might be good in the long term, but is over-kill for a young Lad just starting out.

While it is true that very often National gets things wrong.

I however do think that the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve is a sign that we might be heading in the right direction and should be the model for all Summer camp sites.

If National really does know what is trending? (And I'm not sure it does!)

We need to take a long hard look at parents and future parents.

Hopefully in time the changes made this year will die down and no longer be such a big deal.

We are however looking at a group of people who may not have the same values that we might have.

They might not want or like to have the commitment that many of us have.

Sadly many, even ex-Scouts might lack the outdoor skills or like the outdoors.

Many of us have refused to listen to what older youth have been saying.

Somehow we have been willing to disregard any opinion that didn't fit what we wanted or wanted to hear.

We refuse to accept that these people are our replacements and that their views and what they are saying really does matter.

Eamonn 

I don't know what studies the BSA has or hasn't done into 21st Century Volunteers?

My thinking, which might be way of base, is that people do not want to volunteer for something that is endless.

People might be more willing to volunteer to do something that has a very defined start and end.

We don't seem to have a problem recruiting volunteers who sign up to work for a day or so and know that once the task is completed they go home till they sign up again to do another task.

Like many of the Scouters my age, I really don't see myself as an expert in a lot of the things we do with our Scouts.

Over the years (A lifetime!!) I have became good at many if not most of the things that I believe a Lad needs to be good at so as to become a Scout.

Sure I'm very much for the youth led unit.

If someone has a lot of time on their hands they can go back and see how many times I've posted:

Train them, Trust them, Let them lead.

Wise words, wise words indeed.

The problem is that we are running out of people who have the know how to be able to train them and without that the rest of it just doesn't work.

Having a herd of parents hanging around makes it very hard to let them lead and does little for the Scouts when it comes to them knowing that we trust them.

When I first took Wood Badge - Back in the Dark Ages!

I swear that if I had to hear " Use Your Resources." One more time, I was going to scream.

We do seem able to attract parents who are some-what willing to volunteer their time.

In my view these are a resource that we aren't making good use of.

Having and allowing them to just hang around and play with the fire is not using our resources.

We need to find what interests them, what they might be good at and train them how to work with Scouts and maybe help them find out what Scouts and Scouting is really all about.

Eamonn   

I don't know that much about who it is that decides who fits into which or what group.

I'm thinking about the generation groups.

I supposedly am a "Baby Boomer".

Being that I'm very much on the tail end of the Baby Boomers, I'm not sure that I really fit in?

Up until about ten years or so, maybe a little more? I never really gave much thought or never mind to these groups.

Today there seems to be so many of them that I'm having a hard time keeping up and remembering who fits in where and what the characteristics are.

While maybe I'm happy to disregard a lot of this stuff as just being gobbledygook and not that very important.

I do however feel that those in the know, who very well might be a lot wiser and better informed then me, can and do know what trends are happening and sometimes what will happen.

Of course it's easy to look back and say that such and such a group did this and had such and such traits and characteristics.

It is a lot harder and maybe even not possible to come up with what the next group will do.

Kids today have a lot more going on then I had.

Old timers like myself can often be heard going on and on about how everything from TV to after school activities and high-tech has had an effect on why boys are not willing to spend time in Scouts and Scouting.

How true this is or isn't? Is a debate that will go on for a very long time.

I whole heartedly believe that given the opportunity most boys (And girls.) Do want to have fun, do want to try new and exciting challenges and sometimes like to be recognized for their achievements.

Along with this they also like the idea of being somewhat independent.

I also believe that Scouts and Scouting can provide all of this.

Sad to say what gets in the way is adults.

The media and the speed of the media has scared and frightened the living daylights out of many parents.

Parents are uneasy about ever leaving their kid.

I have seen Den Meetings where parents fill the room waiting till the meeting is over so as to take their kid back home.

Summer Camp, where there as many "ASM's" As there are Scouts , because Dads are uncomfortable about leaving their kid for a week!

For a while I have to admit I seen this as not being all bad.

More adult / parent support was great when it came time to recharter.

More adults meant more people selling pop-corn.

More adults made reaching FOS goals a lot easier.

Involved parents made transportation a lot easier.

Sales of uniforms and fees to National? I'm almost sure were seen as not being a bad thing.

National even made recruiting a whole lot of adults part of the long term plan a few years back.

Sadly, it seems to me that we got it wrong.

A good many of these parents were not volunteering to help the Troop or be of benefit to Scouting.

They were there for their kid and their kid only.

We as an organization were happy allowing them to tag along.

The training's we offered never really gave them the tools or the skills that would benefit the day to day workings of a Troop.

These parents were not by any means bad people, but they were happy to just hang around and do what was needed to protect their son and if possible have him race to Eagle Scout rank ASAP.

While I can't back it up. In my opinion, we hurt the Scouts by allowing this.

We didn't allow the Scouts the independence that boys of that age crave.

We allowed people who didn't understand the big picture to make advancement the be all and end all of their sons Scouting experience.

We allowed these parents to waste their time and very often the skills that they could have used if they had taken on / volunteered for something that they were good at or could have done well.

It's hard to say or know what toll this took on families?

I know of families where the mother became more and more upset about having her husband go off, waste family vacation time that she made it very uncomfortable for her spouse.

The big idea of Scouting bringing families closer together was anything but true.

What I fail to understand is how we and the people who have their fingers on what's happening missed this?

In the area where I live Scouting is dying.

A slow and miserable death.

There are a few old timers who still serve Troops that in their hay day, these served 30 or 40 youth members. Today? Maybe half of that.

Packs and Troops are so small that any sort of delivery of the program as it is laid out to be delivered, just doesn't work. and new recruits soon get bored and quit.

We keep trying to recruit adults the way we always have.

We expect them to take on the task just like we did and do things very much the same way.

But this just isn't working.

Many of the ex-scouts, now in their late twenties and early thirties lack the basic skills to help a young Scout work his way to First Class.

We failed them.

Worse still is that we are not doing anything new to find out what it is that they might be willing to do.

We just keep on hoping that what we know isn't working will somehow fit the bill.

Without adults who can master the basics and pass them on, we are very much lost.

I just don't understand how we failed to see this coming.

Eamonn

I like these big Scouting events.

The young people lucky enough to attend come away full of the joys of Scouting, knowing that they belong to something that is so very much bigger then they could really ever imagine.

As a Scout in the UK, I was a little bit miffed when another Scout from my Troop was selected to attend the last World Jamboree that Japan hosted.

I haven't looked it up, but I think that was in 1971?

The Lad who was selected was a great pal of mine. He came from a single parent home, lived in a really bad area of council flats (The projects)

Lucky enough our Scout Group had more money then they could ever spend! They paid for almost all of his expenses.

That year the Jamboree was hit by a typhoon. Steve (My pal.) Had some wonderful photos of the storm.

I managed to get myself selected as an Assistant Scout Leader for the Greater London Central contingent for the 1975 Nordjamb world jamboree.

I can't remember what the cost was.

I had a truly wonderful time.

The first week was spend living with a family in Sweden.

They weren't involved in Scouting, their church had somehow got involved with the home hosting.

Staying and living with a family that wasn't English was a real eye opener for me.

The event was outstanding, meeting other Scouts sharing meals with them and then of course there was fireworks! A wonderful firework display.

We had used my Troops camping equipment, we spend half a day packing it all up to be shipped to Norway.

We used six man tents, the camp patrol boxes that I used when we went camping.

We had a couple of training weekends before the event and had monthly "Troop Meetings."

Thankfully, all our gear was waiting for us when we arrived.

Next to us there was a BSA Troop.

They arrived and all their gear was brand spanking new. Still in the packing.

I was very impressed! 

Somehow who ever had put the equipment list together had forgotten to add water carriers, so we ended up sharing ours with them.

After the Jamboree I was full of the International Scouting bug.

I already had a very dear and close friend who was a Scout Leader in Holland and we had summer camped near Rotterdam a couple of times.

In 1976 we went to Kandersteg, in Switzerland.

This was a wonderful experience for a group of kids from London.

In 1977 I came over to the USA.

I'd been really surprised about the Americans and all their new gear at the 1975 Jamboree.

I worked as a International Camp Counselor for ten weeks and the BSA back then laid on a week long bus tour of the east coast.

The bus was full of International Scouts from all over the world.

It was in 1977 that I first met the young Lady who would 1983 become my wife! (No I didn't rush into anything!!)

We had a son who became a Cub Scout.

I was serving as a District Commissioner when we went to Philmont.

While I was attending the conference OJ was busy with a program offered by Philmont.

He teamed up with a little Lad from Mexico and a little fellow from England.

They spent almost all their waking hours together. I think that the Lad from Mexico and him are friends on Facebook. 

In 2001 and in 2005 I was the SM of one of the Troops that we sent to the National Boy Scout Jamboree.

In 2001 my son went as a Troop member which did mean that I had to pay for the two of us.

In 2005 he went on staff. 

Him going as a staff member meant that he wasn't part of the Council contingent and being able to plan his own way to and from the event saved him a ton of money.

In 2001 I was the Council Training Chair. Being able to work with real live Scouts was a real treat for me.

I really enjoyed all the Troop members and like to think that I went out of my way to ensure that they had the best experience ever.

In 2005 I was on the Area Committee and a District Chair. Again spending time with Scouts was just great.

I did attend a couple of meetings with the group who came over from the UK that were tasked with the planning of the World Jamboree in England.

I was on the selection team that was selecting both youth and adults members for that event.

The plan at that time was that I would attend.

However when I looked at what the BSA was planning to do and the cost. I seen spending $10,000 for my son and myself as being just too much.

We visit England fairly often.

I did my first Wood Badge course at Gilwell Park , back when I was a young Scout Leader I'd landed in hot water for building a monkey bridge on the Training Grounds!

So, at least for me and my family the event just didn't look like value for money.

I was really surprised by the number of adults who contacted me when they found out I was on the selection committee.

Many were older guys who seemed more about adding another Jamboree to their resume then about ensuring the Scouts were going to have the experience of a life time.

One of my sons best friends did go to the UK.

The Lad is just about the nicest that you could ever meet, very outgoing with a smile that lights up everywhere he goes.

He arrived home full of the joys of Scouting.

These events have become very expensive.

Maybe more then many if not most families can afford?

My hope would be that Councils find a way of reaching out to ensure that Scouts do get the opportunity and do what they can to select youth members who will benefit the most from attending.

The "New" National Jamboree site is just down the road from where I live. Asking parents from the area to spend a lot of money for a week or so is really a hard sell. But with the cost of summer camp being $350.00 -Maybe not?

Eamonn

As a little fellow I had a great time in Scouting.

My parents were not in any way involved in the Troop.

While willing to pay for what I wanted to do and turn up when asked. -That was about it.

This meant that I was free!

I really enjoyed and relished in this freedom.

When we moved to the USA, some friends got me to sign up to serve on a Council Committee that rarely met and didn't do much.

I was OK with that, willing to support the Council.

Time past, we had a son.

I was very busy. He joined Cub Scouts.

Somehow I ended up as Cubmaster.

When the time came for him to join Boy Scouts, he made it very clear that he didn't want me around.

Have to admit to being a little hurt.

But I remembered how much I enjoyed not being under the watchful eyes of my parents.

We had a new Troop that was just starting in our church but he opted to join another Troop.

I knew the SM well, I liked and respected him.

So off he went without me.

I got involved at both the District and Council side of Scouting.

After a couple of years the SM of his Troop had to quit because of work.

His replacement wasn't the greatest and it wasn't long till my son was looking for another Troop.

He found one.

By then I was the District Commissioner.

His new SM seemed to want me to get involved. But I really just didn't have the time.

My son remained in Scouting till he aged out.

I think that he "Out grew." Troop Scouting when he was about 15 or 16, but by then he was deeply involved with the OA and the Lodge.

We did go to the 2001 Jamboree me as SM and him a member of the Troop, by 2005 he wanted to go as a Junior Staff member.

He did earn his Eagle Scout Rank.

While maybe it is wrong for me to speak for him? Still, I think that he a great time as a Scout. Time spent working as a summer camp staffer and away from home was good for him.

Sure I missed out on what he was doing and only now years later am I hearing about some of the stuff him and his mates got into.

I also had a great time, I worked as Council Training Chair. I staffed Wood Badge, served on the Area Committee and worked closely with some wonderful and interesting volunteers.

We give our kids a lot but it is important that we give them "Roots and Wings."

Eamonn

Many if not most of us here believe in Scouting and have a passion for it.

So it's fair to say that maybe I'm unable to offer an un-biased opinion?

I really don't care if BP did or didn't come up the: Game with a purpose.

I do think that I really like the sound of it.

No kid that I have ever chatted with said that he joined Scouts  because he or she felt the need of to have his or her values or character looked at.

They join with the great hope of having fun, spending time with their friends and doing activities that are fun and maybe adventurous.

While maybe there are other groups, other organizations that offer young people similar opportunities?

I don't know much about these other groups and have never been a part of them.

At the risk of sounding selfish. I enjoy the company of young people and get a kick out of them trying new things, accomplishing new tasks or mastering new  skills. 

The purpose part starts falling into place when they see the benefits of teamwork, start caring for themselves and for others. I enjoy seeing and watching them grow and at the same time having fun with them.

Thinking about it.

No. - Not every child has to be a Scout.

Some will try it and for whatever reason decide that it is really just not their cup of tea.

Some will quit because we are guilty of not delivering what we promised or maybe not what they expected.

However I also think that it would be truly wonderful if every child was given the opportunity to be a Scout.

Eamonn

One of the traditions left over from back when I was a Scout was that near the end of the annual summer camp the adults would take the PL's out to dinner. Normally at a nice restaurant. 

We were camping in Ireland in Galway.

I took all the PL's out to a steak house (Their choice.)

The waiter was taking the orders and asked one Lad, how he wanted his steak.

The Lad didn't miss a beat and replied "Nice"

Eamonn

Not far from my home there was a farm that I tried to buy but lost it to a group that is into antique farm equipment.

They bought the land about 15 years back.

Back then there was as you might imagine a lot of excitement and activity.

They have a saw mill and using local cut wood built all sorts of buildings: A meeting room /small house type building, all sorts of sheds to house a fair sized collection of old tractors and a blacksmith shop. Along with an area built for tractor pulls.

Their seventy or so acres is next to a couple of fields that I own.

In all the time we have been neighbors we have never had a cross word.

They have always been very helpful and can never do enough to help me with all sorts of things.

I am a fee paying full member of the organization which is listed as a charity.

They list their aims as Education, Preservation and Awareness.

Everyone involved is a volunteer.

The one guy who seems to be always there is a rough looking fellow.

Kinda like Grizzly Adams. He has a shave and a haircut every spring whether he needs it or not!

He calls my dogs "Meathead" His manner is very rough and gruff but he has a heart of gold.

I truly like and enjoy him.

After all this time the founding members, who weren't spring chickens when they bought the place are now either very old or dead.

While in the spring and summer they have a handful of guys show up on Thursday evenings to work in the blacksmith shop their volunteer base is falling.

They only have two big events a year. A spring plough day, where they plough the fields using old tractors and teams of mules horses and other horse like animals. I as a rule have a walk around and it seems to me that I see the same old faces only fewer of them and the faces are older.

When OJ (My son) was a little fellow we would bring carrots of the animals.

Sadly now I rarely see any young people and the animals are cheated out of the carrots.

In the summer they have a Farm Show.

It used to be great with all sorts of demonstrations, homemade ice-cream (Which OJ could devour in vast quantities and ended up costing me an arm and a leg.) Live music even an open air R/C Mass.

This year there was none of that.

I went to pay my annual dues and buy my tickets for the annual tractor raffle.

The Lady Membership Chairman went on and on saying how few people had turned up and how hard it is to get new members.

Other then these two events the rest of the year only sees the local farmer who leases some of the fields for growing corn and soy. A couple of older fellows who turn up to mow the grass before the big events, Grizzly Adams (Patsy is his real name.) and me and my dogs.

They used to make money hosting tractor pulls but one night a part flew off a tractor and someone got hurt so the pulls have been few.

I have no idea how much money they have or what their financial situation is.

But watching what is happening my guess is that if they don't get some new blood in the very near future the chance of them continuing is kinda slim.

All of this brings me to an idea that I have been mulling around for a little while.

I have been thinking that they would make an ideal chartering organization for a Venture Crew.

They have a wonderful knowledge base and could offer a varied program of activities.

The down side is that a good many of the members are not what you might call young people friendly.

These are a group of old farmers who are very much set in their ways.

While I would be willing to serve as a leader I have to admit to not knowing very much about what might be offered.

I have never fixed or worked on a tractor, never used a plough, never done anything to do with blacksmithing.

Still using this as a base I'm OK with doing the more traditional Scouting type activities if that's what they might to do.

So far this is very much all in my head and I have not spoken or talked to anyone.

I don't in anyway see this as saving this organization.

They will stand or fall on their own merits.

I haven't really kept up to date with the changes in Venturing, but I don't see that as being a big deal.

So I'm asking is this a good idea or a bad idea?

I welcome your thoughts, ideas and comments.

Many Thanks.

Eamonn     

Not sure why, but I wasn't able to get the audio to play?

I have a very dear and close friend who was a Roman Catholic, came to the States to work as a camp counselor and converted to become a member of the LDS Church.

He remained active in Scouting in the UK even after they made their policy on gay scouts and leaders clear.

However when a openly gay man was made District Commissioner, he became very unhappy and not long after married a female member of the LDS Church and moved to Utah, where he became active in the BSA.

I have not as yet had the chance to talk with him, but he is a Facebook friend.

He posted on his page that he wasn't very happy with the change in the BSA. - I must admit that I wasn't surprised.

He also posted a link to a newspaper in Utah. Most of the comments were about the LDS starting their own youth organization.

Some people posted that the loss to the BSA might be so big that the BSA might go under.

However what really struck me as being odd was that more then half the comments were about how expensive it was to keep and outfit a Lad in Scouting.

I was expecting more then people complaining about the price of a uniform shirt.

I know very little about the LDS Church.

We only have one LDS Church near where I live.

They of course do have Scouting units but they are in another District

My only dealing with the Troop was some years back when my boss invited me to her sons Eagle Scout COH.

I'd never been in a Mormon Church before.

It was a small complex with lots of different rooms and a basketball court.

The presentation was in the church and I was really taken with the strong feeling of family and closeness.

Have to say that I was very impressed and left feeling warm and fuzzy -Maybe the cookies and punch helped?

I have at times questioned the outdoor abilities of some LDS leaders but both the church and the BSA share a long history and my feeling is that any form of a split would be a shame.

Eamonn    

Hi and Welcome.

I crossed the pond just over 30 years back - Yes that makes me feel old!

Some of my fondest scouting memories are from being a Service Team Member at Walton Firs, back when it was a National Camp Site.

The Camp Warden was Bill Cook a very interesting fellow who while at times was maybe a little eccentric ? Was a gifted Scouter. He served in the Royal Navy as a Signals Officer on submarines. Was truly gifted with Scout pioneering and I think it was from him that I got my great love of messing around with rope and building stuff.

He was very much responsible for bringing the Scout Rifle Shoot to Walton Firs.

A few years before leaving England it seemed that a great number of my pals moved from London out to Surrey.

I lived in Fulham and the prices of property seemed to sky-rocket.

I still have a few friends that I keep in contact with.

You might know Martin Gerrard?

Martin was very much my mentor when I was a young leader. In fact he took me under his wing when I was organizing my first summer camp.

I know that he went on to serve at some very high places, but to date I have yet to meet anyone who just seemed to have the knack of just communicating with young people and having them listen to his every word.

Just before he retired from the London Metropolitan Police my family were visiting home Martin arranged for us to have lunch in the VIP dining room at New Scotland Yard - He'd come a long way! When we first met he was still a constable.

I have a wonderful story about how one day we were driving from Fulham to Walton Firs when we came across two guys fighting, one was bashing the other with an iron bar. Martin broke up the fight. He isn't a small man, he stuck the guy who had been using the bar in the back of his car and told me to keep an eye on him while he looked after the other guy.

I was about ten and a half stone soaking wet (147 pounds.) I did my best to try and look tough.

Not sure if it worked or not? But I was ever so happy when the police came and took my little pal away. Thankful that my pants were still dry !!

Those were good times!!

Eamonn

Aging is a funny thing.

It is said that with age comes wisdom.

I'm not so sure.

Back when I was a little fellow I was OK with believing that the Catholic Church was the way to go!

This was thanks to my Irish Catholic parents, nuns beating out the catechisms to a rhythm  with a ruler on a desk.

At about age 15 or so I started questioning my faith and for a while turned away.

I did return but still had and still have questions.

This has at times led to some really wonderful discussions with people who are far more religious then I am or ever will be.

These chats have always been respectful and good natured.

No priest has ever got that upset because I have said that I disagree with my church and the teaching on birth control.

As I got older I became more of what might be called a Cafeteria Catholic.

As  a Scouter the only unit I ever led that was chartered by the church was a Cub Scout Pack. So the subject never came up.

Over the years my thinking about the Scout Oath and Scout Law have more and more became about me.

"On my Honor"

"I promise".

"To do my best."

As a leader of both youth and adults I am happy to not worry what National comes up with or does.

I as a youth leader am the face of Scouting to the youth I have in my care.

Even as a leader of adults I am at times the person who people see as The District or The Council.

I have no control over what National does, I have very little control over what others do.

I do have control over what I do and what I stand for.

All to often the idea of being kind is seen as being weak.

This is so very wrong.

I say that if we were all a lot more kinder the world would be a far better place.

I get and understand that some people are overjoyed with the change and that others are very unhappy.

Still if we are willing to be kind, listen to both sides and respect each other, my hope is that we can avoid any unnecessary hurt or harm.

Parents and their kids will join units where they feel most at home and most welcome.

Meanwhile I will continue to build pioneering towers a little higher then the good books say are allowed.

We will at times go into the gray areas at camp fires.

I'll watch as young kids climb trees or even use water guns.

But I will never knowingly harm a Scout or hopefully another Scouter.

The youth we serve invest their youth in us.

This really is a blessing.

My great hope is that we don't waste time fighting and squabbling amongst ourselves.

Eamonn      

A couple of weeks back both OJ (my son) and myself were both free and made the trip up to our council summer camp.

Not sure if it's old age? But I really can't remember the last time I was there when camp was up and running. I'm thinking that it's been three or maybe four years.

The camp is very special for me. It was there where I spent my first summer in the United States and this camp was my reason for being in the United States.

It was at this camp back in 1977, that I first met the young Lady who was foolish enough to later become my bride and who has stuck by my side for over thirty years.

A good many of the young guys I worked with that first summer are to this day my nearest and closest friends.

Over the years I have helped build and improve the camp. That summer in 1977 I remember teaching rappelling using two tent platforms that had been bolted to a couple of trees, now there is a very fancy tower, the small creek where we canoed and tried to row boats has been replaced by a really nice lake.

The Cub Scout Camp is a little way down the path and I have fond memories of taking OJ there when he was a little fellow. Great memories of him and his pals making rockets, splashing around in the creek, supposedly looking for signs of wildlife. I remember paying a fortune for owl balls that I bought from somewhere in Washington state and me being almost as excited as the little guys when they found bones and skeletons inside the balls.

Anyone who hasn't worked with boys of Webloes Scout age has missed a lot.

I think that I ran just about every BSA  outdoor training course at this camp.

Working with adult leaders is always fun and anyone who knows me knows that I think fun is the main ingredient in Scouts and Scouting, without fun it just doesn't work.

I have wonderful memories of truly great campfires, everyone singing' yelling, involved in skits where they made real fools of themselves.

The camp is very special for me.

OJ camped there every summer with his Troop and served on staff for four summers. He got deeply involved in the Order of the Arrow and served as a Vice Chief for what seemed a very long time. I was more proud seeing him get Vigil Honor then I was seeing him get Eagle Scout, maybe because he got it before I did! 

I was so very happy that he seemed to make the same real friends at camp as I did when I was there and was overjoyed that he opted to run with these guys who while none of them were Angels and were great at finding mischief and ending up in hot water, never messed with drugs or really bad stuff. 

Much as I love the camp and hold it so very dear to my heart. I have to admit to having never been a fan of  these Council Summer Camps. I feel bad admitting that.

I don't like that that always seem so over organized.

I love summer and believe that summer is the best time for a boy to be a boy. The idea that he is running from class to class, eating food that is cooked for him in a mess hall? Really isn't my cup of tea.

As an adult leader I looked forward to our UK type summer camp of two weeks with a van load of gear Scouts camping and hiking in Patrols. My great joy was in watching and seeing each individual Lad grow.

Before we took off for the ride to camp OJ brought up the camp web site to see who was in camp that week. Looking at the entire list for all the weeks he noted that almost half the Troops attending this summer were Troops from out of council and without these out of council Troops the camp would be half empty.

Kinda sad. Back when I first went to the camp it was ten weeks with most of the weeks full, now it is down to six weeks with a couple of those barely half full. 

The weather was really beautiful, a warm summer day and when we arrived at camp there was a nice warm breeze in the mountains.

The camp itself looked good. There have been years when thanks to improvements it has looked more like a building site.

We were both welcomed as if we were long lost friends.

The Reservation Director is also the Assistant Scout Executive and my first night in the States was spend on his couch.

The Camp Commissioner reminded me that I had been his grandsons Cubmaster and  the Ranger was in my will which gave him OJ should both Her Who Must Be Obeyed and myself die when he was a little Lad.

I ran into adults who reminded me that I had been their Wood Badge Director or had taken their son to the Jamboree or sailing when I had the Sea Scout Ship.

A couple of Troops asked if they could visit me and do some real pioneering. (My gear is far better then what the camp has! and I'm kinda good at that type of stuff.)

We visited the Cub Scout camp and I was asked if I'd take a couple of Dens on my Dog Walk Hike. ( I know the fields and nature around my home and have taken the little guys out for about three or four miles just looking for and pointing out what's out there. I normally take my dogs and they get to play with them and love to play fetch!) We sometimes light a fire and cook foil packs.

They say that when policemen start to look young that this is a sign of old age? I don't know about that but one thing that really struck me at camp was how young the staff were. In fact everyone seemed very young.

There wasn't hardly any older Scouts to be seen and when I asked I was informed that there wasn't any programs offered for older Scouts because over the past few years there hadn't been any takers.

This is really sad.

We had a really nice day.

It was great seeing old friends.

I'm a little worried about how much longer the camp can remain viable with so few local youth using it?

I don't think that I will ever in a million years like or get used to the idea of a Lad in the summer running book in hand from class to class. I know and understand that this is what it is.

To be fair, the Lads doing the running all seemed happy enough.

The camp looked great. Everyone seemed safe and well looked after.

It was worth the trip.

Eamonn 

A couple of weeks back both OJ (my son) and myself were both free and made the trip up to our council summer camp.

Not sure if it's old age? But I really can't remember the last time I was there when camp was up and running. I'm thinking that it's been three or maybe four years.

The camp is very special for me. It was there where I spent my first summer in the United States and this camp was my reason for being in the United States.

It was at this camp back in 1977, that I first met the young Lady who was foolish enough to later become my bride and who has stuck by my side for over thirty years.

A good many of the young guys I worked with that first summer are to this day my nearest and closest friends.

Over the years I have helped build and improve the camp. That summer in 1977 I remember teaching rappelling using two tent platforms that had been bolted to a couple of trees, now there is a very fancy tower, the small creek where we canoed and tried to row boats has been replaced by a really nice lake.

The Cub Scout Camp is a little way down the path and I have fond memories of taking OJ there when he was a little fellow. Great memories of him and his pals making rockets, splashing around in the creek, supposedly looking for signs of wildlife. I remember paying a fortune for owl balls that I bought from somewhere in Washington state and me being almost as excited as the little guys when they found bones and skeletons inside the balls.

Anyone who hasn't worked with boys of Webloes Scout age has missed a lot.

I think that I ran just about every BSA  outdoor training course at this camp.

Working with adult leaders is always fun and anyone who knows me knows that I think fun is the main ingredient in Scouts and Scouting, without fun it just doesn't work.

I have wonderful memories of truly great campfires, everyone singing' yelling, involved in skits where they made real fools of themselves.

The camp is very special for me.

OJ camped there every summer with his Troop and served on staff for four summers. He got deeply involved in the Order of the Arrow and served as a Vice Chief for what seemed a very long time. I was more proud seeing him get Vigil Honor then I was seeing him get Eagle Scout, maybe because he got it before I did! 

I was so very happy that he seemed to make the same real friends at camp as I did when I was there and was overjoyed that he opted to run with these guys who while none of them were Angels and were great at finding mischief and ending up in hot water, never messed with drugs or really bad stuff. 

Much as I love the camp and hold it so very dear to my heart. I have to admit to having never been a fan of  these Council Summer Camps. I feel bad admitting that.

I don't like that that always seem so over organized.

I love summer and believe that summer is the best time for a boy to be a boy. The idea that he is running from class to class, eating food that is cooked for him in a mess hall? Really isn't my cup of tea.

As an adult leader I looked forward to our UK type summer camp of two weeks with a van load of gear Scouts camping and hiking in Patrols. My great joy was in watching and seeing each individual Lad grow.

Before we took off for the ride to camp OJ brought up the camp web site to see who was in camp that week. Looking at the entire list for all the weeks he noted that almost half the Troops attending this summer were Troops from out of council and without these out of council Troops the camp would be half empty.

Kinda sad. Back when I first went to the camp it was ten weeks with most of the weeks full, now it is down to six weeks with a couple of those barely half full. 

The weather was really beautiful, a warm summer day and when we arrived at camp there was a nice warm breeze in the mountains.

The camp itself looked good. There have been years when thanks to improvements it has looked more like a building site.

We were both welcomed as if we were long lost friends.

The Reservation Director is also the Assistant Scout Executive and my first night in the States was spend on his couch.

The Camp Commissioner reminded me that I had been his grandsons Cubmaster and  the Ranger was in my will which gave him OJ should both Her Who Must Be Obeyed and myself die when he was a little Lad.

I ran into adults who reminded me that I had been their Wood Badge Director or had taken their son to the Jamboree or sailing when I had the Sea Scout Ship.

A couple of Troops asked if they could visit me and do some real pioneering. (My gear is far better then what the camp has! and I'm kinda good at that type of stuff.)

We visited the Cub Scout camp and I was asked if I'd take a couple of Dens on my Dog Walk Hike. ( I know the fields and nature around my home and have taken the little guys out for about three or four miles just looking for and pointing out what's out there. I normally take my dogs and they get to play with them and love to play fetch!) We sometimes light a fire and cook foil packs.

They say that when policemen start to look young that this is a sign of old age? I don't know about that but one thing that really struck me at camp was how young the staff were. In fact everyone seemed very young.

There wasn't hardly any older Scouts to be seen and when I asked I was informed that there wasn't any programs offered for older Scouts because over the past few years there hadn't been any takers.

This is really sad.

We had a really nice day.

It was great seeing old friends.

I'm a little worried about how much longer the camp can remain viable with so few local youth using it?

I don't think that I will ever in a million years like or get used to the idea of a Lad in the summer running book in hand from class to class. I know and understand that this is what it is.

To be fair, the Lads doing the running all seemed happy enough.

The camp looked great. Everyone seemed safe and well looked after.

It was worth the trip.

Eamonn 

I haven't lived in England for a while.

I was a youth member and a Scout Leader there until I was in my late 20's.

Other then the National Camp sites and a small staff in the National HQ everything was done by volunteers.

To my mind that's the way it should be done, the way BP kinda wanted it done.

I don't know about your windmill?

But windmills all over the world make Scouting work with just volunteers

Eamonn.

I agree that both Districts and Councils should do everything that they can to serve the units.

Happy units make for happy Scouts.

I also understand that many of us by nature have a hard time telling anyone NO.

Trying to ensure that "The District" doesn't become a inclusive club of silver-tab wearing old cronies can be hard.

While I would never ever ask a unit leader to take on a position on a District Committee, I have no problem asking any Scout youth or adult for help.

My view point is that we are all stewards.

I would hope that every unit leader hopes that his or her unit will be around for a very long time.

Around to help serve the values of the CO and be part of their youth program.

I seen my part in this as being there to help and support.

I will admit to being a lazy little toad and sometimes a bit of a coward.

Lazy because it is sometimes just so easy to ask someone you know and know will more then lightly say yes then go out on a limb and bring in new blood.

A coward because sometimes removing someone who isn't doing a good job and has held the position for a very long time can cause upset and pain.

I happen to think that it's important that Scouts know that there is a world wide brotherhood.

This brotherhood starts by know the Scout from a different school, working with adults from outside their home unit.

The OA does a wonderful job of this.

Scouts and Scouting works so much better when we work together, when we bring our ideas and experiences and are willing to share them.

If all a District can offer is popcorn sales (I hate the stuff! and bully units to rechartering on time?

That's just sad.   

Had a few friends over for burgers and beers earlier tonight.

The Gates speech came up in conversation.

One of my friends is the Parish Priest from a parish near by. He used to be our PP but got moved.

He was at one time the Executive Officer for the Pack, when my kid was a Cub Scout.

The conversation was a little like what is happening here in the forum, people taking sides, people seeing it as inevitable, others seeing it as the beginning of the end.

My pal the good Priest after he had finished a burger and a beer shook his head and said that if the Holy Father on his plane is giving mixed signals? I really don't know.

I think that I'm with the good Priest.

Eamonn. 

I kinda thought that it went without saying that we all do what we do for the youth in the area where or near where we live.

Sometimes this youth is not as yet a member so we serve him or her by offering  something that will attract him or her into our ranks.

While the adults in a unit are the people who make the rubber hit the road.

From a District point of view helping recruit new members both youth and adult  is important.

Starting new units that will serve the local youth is sometimes a bit of a pain in the neck and requires a lot of hard work which sadly often sees the new unit fail within a couple of years.

It is far better and far easier to work on retention.

Kids vote with their feet, if they are not happy they will walk away and any good that might have been possible goes out the window.

The District Activities and Camping Committee helps organize events that hopefully will interest the youth members and be fun.

They can help supplement what the unit is offering.

I will admit that as District Chair. I tried to push the idea that the District was doing too much and this was getting in the way of what the units were or should be doing.

At that time the District was holding a Spring Camporee, a Fall Camporee, a winter camporee a Klondike Derby, a District First Aid Competition and a District Pinewood Derby.

My thinking was that with all these District events along with what the OA was doing we were not giving Troops enough time to offer a Troop program.

I didn't manage to get my way. The argument against my plan was that we had a good number of Troops who if it wasn't for District events wouldn't have any outdoor activities.

The District Activities and Camping Committee also promoted Summer Camp and in our District worked with the OA in helping with the OA Elections.

They also worked with Troops who needed camping equipment and with new leaders who maybe needed help, sometimes having them camp a few times with one or two of the better Troops in the area.

The Membership Committee tracks membership throughout the year, which as a rule is no big deal as it is really hard to remove a name from a charter once it is on.

In our area very few Troops do any real recruiting, they tend to rely on  Cub Scouts moving up / crossing over. Tracking these little guys, trying to talk Troops into holding an open house of kinds is sometimes hard.

School Sign-Up Night is the big event in our area.

When it works well, it's great but when for whatever reason something happens that gets in the way coming up with a Plan B is a real pain.

This committee really does work hard.

The Advancement Committee tracks all the advancement in the District. If it becomes clear that a Troop has little or no advancement  this can act as a red flag.

They work on ensuring that Scouts receive their ESBOR in a correct and timely manner with all the paperwork done as it should be. The Dean of Merit Badges works on the list of approved Merit Badge Counselors and makes it available.

The finance committee helps put out the word about popcorn sales and other Council sales, but they can also help units with budgets and financial management.

The Training Committee is responsible to ensure that every leader receives the training that is needed. They work on organizing training events and if need be one on one.

The eyes and ears of the District are the Unit Commissioners.

Not only do they work on the rechartering, but the right person serving the right unit really can be a true friend of the unit. They also help keep units informed of what's going on and organize the monthly Round Table meetings.

This list doesn't get into all the people who might get asked to help, be it with a training event or camporee.

I totally get that maybe you and your unit don't need the District.

But having served over ten years as a District Key 3 member, the District and the kids in the area where you live are a lot better off when you offer to lend a hand and get involved.

Eamonn    

My education must be sadly lacking?

I've never attended a gay parade.

We don't have one in the small town near me.

Would I have to shave my legs? (Joke.)

Eamonn

Reading some of what has been posted about Councils and Districts has got the little grey cells turning over.

I get it that many if not most people join a unit and that unit becomes home.

Where I live most of the Troops have had the same SM for over ten years and many have had the same SM for far longer then that. Some have ASM's who were Boy Scouts in the Troop and have never moved far from home base.

Their first and sometimes only loyalty is to the Troop.

I also get that it's sad when the only time someone from the District comes out of the woodwork is when they are pushing FOS or that darn popcorn.

But like it or not you are the District and you are the Council. 

Without you and people like you, there is no District and there is no Council.

I spend a lot of my time serving at the District and Council level.

Being that I live in my Scout District, that District was always my first love.

I really wanted the Packs, Troops and Crews to do well.

As a member of the District Key 3 I played a big part in setting the goals for the District, these goals had to be agreed by the Council, normally the SE.

The membership goals were fairly straight forward. - Just end the year plus one in every section. (Sounds easy but we sometimes struggled.)

The Finance Goal was sometimes a big bone of contention. In fact it was a fight between the then District Chair and the SE, over the finance goal that led to the Chairman who was and still is a very good friend of mine telling the SE to do something that I'm unable to post here and resigning that landed me the Chairman position. (I'd been very happy as Council Training Chairman.)

There was as a rule other silly goals about attendance at different events and helping the Council meet its goals.

My view was and still is that the most important thing in Scouts and Scouting is the program.

I understood that a District Committee can't interfere with a Units program and there just isn't the man power to takeover even a struggling unit even if we were allowed.

The District can support all the units. 

While I was very fortunate in having the worlds greatest DE.

A woman who joined the Council when she was in her 40's and her only contact with Scouts and Scouting was that her son was /is an Eagle Scout. She was a single parent and thought that her son's SM walked on water.

Supporting the units and keeping the SE at bay wasn't easy!

The SE wanted budgets for each and every District event and hoped that we would make money on then all.

He had a list of FOS goals, Family goals, Community goals, District Goals (Money he thought would come from the members of the District Committee.)

Thanks to some really bad book keeping and Scoutnet all the budgets were wrong.

I firmly believe in volunteers working with volunteers so I waited till a Council Executive Board meeting and I presented all these budgets to the Council Treasurer asking him if he could be so kind as to try and make some sense of them. Meanwhile I wrote budgets that had each event making one dollar.

I met with the SE and explained all these FOS goals were just a waste of time. It was silly to ask District Committee Members to donate at the District level as many if not most would be donating in their units as part of the Family FOS.

I asked him how much money he needed?

I wanted just one goal. He wasn't happy but we came up with a number that I could live with.

My aim was to try and raise as much from the community and lessen the burden on the volunteers. 

The area where I live is very youth and Scout friendly.

I owned a couple of local restaurants and was fairly active in the local chambers of commerce, so I knew a lot of people.

The DE went over all the past records of who had donated.

It was funny, a great many of the local businesses were donating but they hadn't increased their donation in a very long time.

I knew that just about every business was being hit by a great many local organizations for donations.

My mail box was full of school teams asking me to buy an ad in their program booklet or the year book. Then there was the big organizations asking to help stamp something or an other.

The DE had connections with the local Lions Club our District FOS Chair was in with the Elks and both of these were a great help in getting the ball rolling.

I organized a kick off lunch on St. Patrick's Day (We always used that date.) By the end of the meal we were half way to our goal!  

The Council had a not very much fun $250.00 A plate meal of which about half went in the cost of the meal and other junk.

I invited all the businesses that had donated to meal up at camp on parents night.

They got to eat in the Scout dinning hall, take a walk around camp and stay for the campfire.

We went way over the goal.

In fact we were always worried that if we made too much the SE would keep raising it!

We wanted to make sure that the community knew and was aware that Scouts and Scouting was alive and well in our area.

Our local papers  were great, they offered me a monthly column. We asked all the units to either contact the local papers or contact our District Committee Publicity Chair. She kept a wonderful scrapbook which she made sure was at the R/T Meetings.

It was great we had photos of Cub Scouts washing fire trucks, with police dogs, Scouts hiking in the snow or camping. 

Supporting the units is hard.

Some units will say that they don't need any support but even if that were true! These units can be a great asset at helping others..

I'll post more of that later.

Eamonn 

I'm thinking that Mr. Gates did his homework before making this speech.

Many of us thought that some of the organizations that charter a lot of units, I'm thinking of the Roman Catholic Church and the Mormon Church would never have anything to do the BSA if the policy against gay leaders were to change. 

Could it be that Mr. Gates had a chat with some of these fellows before making the speech?

I remember posting, some little time back, that I didn't think the change would come in my lifetime. - Looks like I was wrong.

Kinda strange as about the same time as I posted that I had just spend a very long time driving a car full of Sea Scouts from Pennsylvania to Georgia. The topic of gays in Scouting had come up. 

These young people all seen the policy as being just plain wrong.

If we were to have a vote? Who gets to vote?

Do you ask an old codger like me or the young person that we hope will one day step up to the plate and serve his or her next generation?

As a parent I wanted the best for my kid.

I wanted him to be safe, free from harm.

I also wanted him to get the most out of the time he spent in Scouting.

I was lucky, being the District Commissioner in a small District I knew the who's who.

I knew the guys who shared my values and might have the best shot of passing them on to him.

My guy feeling is that parents will make the call as to who they allow to lead their kid.

I'm not sure, maybe when the time comes and I'm blessed with a Grandkid and the Den Leader is a guy who is married to another guy but is able to deliver the program in a kid friendly caring way?

I'll be as grateful to him as I am for all the good men who took their time, used their skill and knowledge on me.

These men played a big part in molding me and making me the man I am today.

Back then in England it wasn't unusual for lifetime Scouters to be unmarried. 

Could it be that these men were not heterosexual?

I never gave it a thought back then, we were busy doing fun and exciting Scout type stuff. 

Today? I don't care, I'm just grateful and thank God for them.

There are lots of kids who need you today.

Sadly I see the result of young men who are in jail and I can't help think that maybe, just maybe if these guys had someone who had got them involved in a Pack or a Troop, maybe a Father like person? These guys wouldn't end up having to put up with me!

Please don't give up the ship. -Do it for the kids you serve today.

Eamonn

She isn't called "Her Who Must Be Obeyed" For no reason!

This came up when it first appeared several years back. 

Back then many of the same things that are being posted now were posted then.

My thoughts are that I do see why the BSA has got hold of this, it goes along with some of what they have said about similar "Pointing weapons at others" And that good stuff.

I have enjoyed many a good water fight and it is a great activity at camp on a hot day. Better yet if the Scouts are dirty!

While not wanting to change the subject.

I was reading a book yesterday about the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

While I don't know how true it is / was it said that all toy guns sold in the North had to be orange so that they wouldn't be mistaken for the real thing.

This made me think about the little Lad in Cleveland, Ohio was shot and killed by a rookie policeman who mistook a toy gun for the real thing.

As a kid I played with toy guns.

We played cowboys and Indians.

We played war and we beat the Jerries'.

I of course played at being James Bond.

None of this has harmed me, I don't feel the urge to shoot anyone.

I qualify every year for the firearms test at work, but don't own a gun.

So while I do worry about toys being too realistic.

I think that maybe we need to allow people to use the common sense that they were born with.

Eamonn     

Some years back I attended a week long conference for District and Council Commissioners at Philmont. 

I came home thinking that there were a lot of Councils who were in really sad shape and did things that seemed way off base.

At that time we had just removed our SE.

As far as I know we had had followed the rules and done everything by the book.

There I was in New Mexico, one guy who was leading the conference was a SE and before I even sat down he was asking me about what had happened and explain all the consequences.

We (The Council.) Did get a rap on the knuckles in the form of a provisional charter for a year.

The removal of a SE can be done, but it is something that needs a lot of thought and care.

I later served on an Area Committee, which was about as interesting as watching paint dry.

While maybe the Commissioners did spend half a minute talking about program, the meetings were all about finance and membership numbers.

At that time the Area Committee served 13 Councils, many of them small and in rural areas, but any that were seen as not meeting the membership or financial expectations were threatened with the provisional charter.

I'm not up to date with all or any of the changes that may or might have happened.

But...

A SE can remove a volunteer.

However he or she should have good cause.

Sure if someone is harming others or molesting others, he or she can expel them and in my book should not only be able to do so, but do it ASAP.

I can't remember reading if you posted what your position in Scouting is /was??

For the most part in the day to day running of things

The rule is that who ever hired you can fire you.

(Yes I know your a volunteer, but the fire and hire goes well together!)

If you work /volunteer at a unit level your "Rights" Are a little different then if you only work / volunteer at the District or Council level.   

While some SE's think that they can walk on water, that isn't always the case.

If you are in a unit, the unit can represent you and if need be the Charter Representative can ask questions at the District meeting or at the Council Annual General Meeting. Of course a phone call from the unit Executive Officer to the SE might be all that is needed. 

No SE in his right mind would be willing to lose a unit just because his feeling were hurt.

If you only serve at the District level you need to talk with the District Chairman, the District Commissioner and the DE. Bearing in mind that the SE is the DE's boss or at least the guy at the top for him.

Working thru the back channels these guys can bring pressure on the SE and maybe he will rethink his position.

I being Irish /English have never been that good at holding my tongue.

I'm not sure why but I have a knack of giving people nicknames which for some unknown reason always seem to work there way back to the person I've bestowed the name on.

While I have always thought that the name fitted or was funny, sometimes the recipients haven't seen it that way and I've ended up in more then warm water. 

When this has happened I have apologized and moved on.

If you can sit down and think about what really happened?

Think if maybe, just maybe? What you said might in any way have caused harm or harmed the Council in any way?

Then you will be the bigger man for phoning the SE and making an apology.

We had one SE who while being a not all bad fellow wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. We had our ups and downs.

I however made sure that when he took Woodbadge that his ticket counselor was little old me.

We had some very enlightening little chats.

I hope that you find a way of resolving this as soon as is possible.

Good Luck.

Eamonn

I'm never sure about the glass?
Just when you think it's full, someone will fill it full of sand.
Or worse still call "Last Orders"!

As so often happens this thread has taken a few turns and I'm now left thinking about Discrimination.
I live in a "Lilly White" Community.
There are only three black African American families in the school district and no Asian families. I think that
there might be a Middle Eastern family, but the Dad was a Doctor and I haven't seen or heard much about him lately.

There was a synagogue in the next town, but it closed and the building was donated to the town. 

It's hard to discriminate when there is no one to discriminate at! 

My Father told me about how when he left Ireland looking for work and places to stay in England, that he ran into "No Irish need apply". Signs.

But me, being raised in an Irish part of London, never really had any problems.

A few twits used to call us Irish Catholics "Micks".

My brother and I took to calling each other Mick and this was great it confused the heck out of everyone.

Even to this day we still call each other Mick.

When my parents grew up in Ireland, there was hardly any non-white people there and being as they came from the middle of no where, I'll bet if they had been there that they would never have ran into my parents.

Maybe because the "No Irish need apply" signs upset my Dad and had such an impact on him? He was never one to discriminate.

My Mother wasn't as accepting. She called all black people "Darkies" and people from both India and Pakistan were "Pakies" 

Even though she had a Doctor from India who she really liked, she was never very trusting of people of color.

I like to think and really hope that I do not discriminate.

I like women have had female bosses without any problem

I've worked with people from all over the planet and never had a problem.

I've also worked with openly gay men and gay men who were in the closet.

Again with no problem once they found out that I wasn't interested.

For the most part jail is a wonderful melting pot.

Sure for the most part inmates hang out with people who are of the same race.

But I've watched in amazement as Hispanics, Blacks and Whites will work along side of each other, and even protect each other.

The facility where I'm at now has about 1800 inmates.

While I of course don't know all of them.

I have only met two openly gay inmates, both are very effeminate and I'm told that one was going to have "The operation" before he landed himself in jail.

There are a lot of rumors about who is and who isn't gay and who is who's friend. 

But for the most part the entire subject is taboo.

Something that is best not mentioned or talked about.

There are very tough rules against homosexual acts and inmates caught end up in trouble.

I spend a great deal of my time explaining to both staff members and inmates a fairly new policy that deals with the "Prison Rape Elimination Act".

Yes!! I know before everyone jumps up and down that rape and sex are not the same thing and it's more about power then sex and all that good stuff.

Thankfully the videos that we used to have that had a young good looking blonde inmate being taken into a bathroom by some guy who looked like  he ate nails for breakfast have been updated.

I teach a lot of different classes in the jail but this one is about my least favorite class.

Many of the staff members are young guys, not long out of the military and while I have to admit to at times enjoying the comedy after a while of hearing the same old same old it gets just that. - Old.

Because part of the course covers who reports what to who and the inmates are informed what to do if they are molested by a staff member, some staffer see me as being some sort of a rat.

If you have ever dealt with Scouts who give you that look of deer caught in the headlights ? Then you have some idea what it's like talking to a class of inmates about sex. It's not at all easy.

I have been an adult in and around Scouting for about 40 years.

In all that time I have never met or had to deal with an openly gay leader.

We had one Den Leader who left his wife and four sons to run off and get married to one of his sons art teachers but no one seemed to know that he was gay till he left.

I had a great friend and person who I respected and thought the world of (And still do!) Who served as my District Commissioner back in England who I found out was gay after he died.

I really do see how two people of the same sex can have feeling and care for each other.

I don't and never will understand gay sex and while I say that I don't discriminate.

Last night I was watching something on TV, The Night Shift? (I think that was it??)

Two guys kissed each other on the mouth.

While they have every right to kiss I have to admit that I shook my head.

For me it just seemed odd.

Maybe not so long back seeing a black guy voting was seen as being odd?

Eamonn