Eamonn

Think it's worth saying that the Patrol method is a goal. When everything comes together and it works that's great but a lot of the time there are reasons why it is a work in progress. "Youth Led". "Boy Led". Call it what you will can and does work only after the leaders(Youth and adult.) Understand and grasp why it should work and how it can be made work. Old fogies like myself are known to harp on about: "Train Them, Trust Them, Let Them Lead". But sometimes don't stress the importance of the first part "Train Them." I like food, I like to eat! I'm a great cook and most of the time I can enjoy cooking. I'm interested in eating and have the skills needed to come up with a nice meal. Still all too often the conversation in our house tends to go something like: HWMBO asks "What do you want for dinner?" I reply "What have you got?" This leads to a great deal of silliness, her telling me that I know what we have, me saying that I don't and we end up having chicken. - Again. SM's need to do what they can to set the youth leaders up for successes: Ensure that they have the skills needed to perform the tasks that they will encounter. Try to ensure that whatever it is that is being done is something that interests the majority of the Scouts and if needed provide options that combat the deer caught in the head-lights look when Scouts are asked "What do you want to do?" Just about every Scout needs new challenges and excitement in order to keep him coming back. At time a PLC will need to be nudged into doing something new instead of the same old same old. One big challenge for the adults is allowing what will happen to happen. As adults we tend to have a vision of what the completed project will look like or what we want it to look like. It can be hard to stand by and watch as Scouts don't perform or do the project to our expectations. The temptation to rush in and fix everything is great, allowing them to work things out and maybe not ending up with the end product that we expected is hard. All adults who work with Scouts need to remind themselves that they have two ears and one mouth. Taking the time to listen to P/L's and youth leaders, learning to ask open ended questions and not offer solutions or jump in will most times result in the Scout working out what he wanted to know by himself. Once or twice a year the SM should take a look at what he or she has done at the PLC? Look long and hard at what is really happening. When I was a new leader I thought I was using the Patrol method, but when I took a close look, all I was doing was using the PLC as a messenger service. I was telling the P/L's what was going on and what was happening and they were carrying the message back to the Patrols. There were times when I looked that I saw that I was acting like a coach. Again the PLC was not running the Troop they were just playing along to my playbook. -There were times when this was what was needed. - The trick is knowing when the time has come that it's no longer needed. There are some wonderful Troops in the area where I live that just don't use the Patrol method they never have and as long as the guys who are in leadership position are around and taking new leaders under their wing. -Never will. I'm not exactly sure what it is they are doing? Or how they go about getting it done? I do think that they might be cheating the Scouts out of something? But it would be 100% wrong of me to point the finger or put them down for the way they do things. Sure it's not the way I'd do it, but it works for them. I have to admit the smug way some leaders have of bad mouthing others who do things a little different than maybe they might do them along with the guys who want to bash others over the head with quotations from BP (Be they real or not1) to me is just very un-scout-like. Eamonn.

"I don't know what HWMBO is or means" Barry, Barry, Barry. You and I joined the Forum about the same time. We've exchanged emails and you don't know the HWMBO is Her Who Must Be Obeyed? My Lady wife of almost 30 years. CalicoPenn I was a big John Denver fan, seen him live in London. John Denver and Placido Domingo singing Perhaps Love never fails to move me. When I first found out that HWMBO had cancer I played it over and over. So much so that I found myself singing it to the dogs when we went on our big long walk. (This week the poor dogs are stuck with Streets of London by Ralph Matell.) Never was much of a Perry Como fan. But the Peter, Paul and Mary specials were always good. Seen them shortly before she passed. Drove to Cleveland, she came on stage wearing a mobile oxygen tank. The poor dogs get subjected to a lot of Peter, Paul and Mary songs. Ea.

"Forget Andy Williams, this column makes you sound like Andy Rooney" Wow! That would be my dream job. A 3 minute work week!! -I'll take it in a heart beat. I enjoy a good carol service, where I can belt out a few carols, but Christmas songs 24/7 for an entire month? Too much jolly is hard to manage. Ea.

The number of people who will get seriously sick due to a food allergy is very few. They as a rule know what it is they have and also knows ways to avoid it. Basementdweller, Have say that my experiences with "boys from the hood" Is the exact opposite. Parents are rarely home so the kids live on a diet of pizza, fast food or things that can be re-heated in the microwave. Talking with a large number of inmates the special meal that they enjoyed as a family was Kentucky Fried Chicken. Many of these guys don't know what a vegetable looks like. Some have never had a Home cooked meal. If it doesn't come in a box they just think they don't like it. Maybe the hood around your way is different from the hood around the Philly area? Ea.

I must be a creature of habit. I get up at the same time, have my own little AM ritual, leave the house at the same time and listen to the radio on my way to work. The car radio is set for an oldies station. The day before Thanksgiving it stopped playing oldies and went to Christmas music. One drive to work was enough! 18 minutes of Christmas music nearly sent me over the edge. I was having a little moan about this darn Christmas music to a co-worker an inmate was near by and joined in the conversation. I mentioned that when I was younger I thought that Andy Williams was kinda cool and had the best Christmas TV specials. The inmate an African American guy in his early 30's had no idea who Andy Williams was/is. Yesterday the same inmate was talking to the same co-worker from before. I was passing by when they stopped me to ask me what my favorite Play-Station game was? I had to admit that I'd never played on a Play-Station, but had bought a couple for my son. Both guys found it hard to comprehend that anyone had never played on a Play-Station. Someone who earns a lot more money than I do in our central office came up with the bright idea that our emergency response teams no longer needed pagers and we would go over to sending and receiving text messages. I just don't "Get" Texting. If you have a message for me just call and if I'm not able to answer your call leave a message and I'll call you back or follow what directions you leave. Having to stop the car and play with my cell phone sending text messages? Just seems daffy when I could just talk with or listen too the message. I was in OJ's car last night with him driving. His phone went off 14 times in less than 20 minutes. Most times he just glanced at the phone and did nothing. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that for a great many of our Scouts and their parents, the Internet has always been there, they were born with it and just accept it, same goes for lot of the "Toys". I'm not silly enough to not be able to accept that this is what it is. I just wonder if old guys like me are able to understand the thinking and mindset of these younger people? While it is a surprise, HWMBO has bought me an I-pad for Christmas. Maybe the hope is that this will help nudge me into being more 21st century friendly? Maybe it will just be a waste of $700? Ea.

Lisabob As you know my son wasn't sure if he wanted to complete his Eagle or not. I was fine with whatever it was he wanted to do. HWMBO wasn't. She had already bought all the napkins, place cards and that sort of thing and wanted them used to make room for whatever it was that was next on her agenda. There in lies the problem. It was his Eagle V Her agenda. OJ tends to over think things and can be very mule headed (Gets that from HWMBO! Not me!!). He got the idea that Eagle Scout rank didn't mean anything, based on kids he went to school with who had received Eagle rank and who he thought didn't earn or deserve it. I was of course very proud when he did get it, but I tend to be very proud of him a lot of the time. (The rest of the time? Maybe not so much!!) Teenagers are known for being a right royal pain in the you know where! But they also seem to find ways of doing and getting done things that they set their mind on. My guess is that your son already knows and has worked out what it is that he wants to do and will end up doing it. My son is now 23. When I look back at him being a Scout and what I think he got out of it all? I'm extremely grateful that he got to know and hang out with a really nice and super group of kids that are still his friends. Sure he learned a lot and did a lot, but for me just knowing that this group while sometimes guilty of being dumb and mischievous were never going to cause any real trouble and end up in over their heads was important. While HWMBO was busy pushing him. I did my best to just play it very cool, telling him that what he did or didn't do was his choice. When he did decide that he wanted to go for it and wanted to complete his project (That was all he needed.) I tried to be as supportive as possible. Even if on the weekend he did the physical work I was busy being the CD at WB. Ea.

Picky eaters? There are some foods that I don't like or am very particular about. I'm not keen on most nuts, I'm not allergic to them, I just don't like them. Same goes for peanut butter, Brussels sprouts, hard cooked eggs, calf brains and caraway seeds. During Lent I try not to eat meat on Fridays. I try my best to avoid these foods and it's not a big deal. I watched as Patrols make their menus for camp outs. It's fun to watch democracy at work. If my son eats eggs he is sick. He has known not to eat eggs and has avoided them. When he was young he did tend to want to wear his allergy as some kind of badge of honor, but that got old. Most kids know what they can and can't eat and most don't make a big deal about it. I've had kids who don't eat certain foods at home but will eat that food at camp. Have had Scouts who due to their religion can't eat certain foods. While maybe not having certain meats as the main menu entre, they know not to eat some breakfast meats and just double up on the other items that are available. Restrictive medical diets? Can be be very difficult. Best thing is to talk and work with the parent. I sometimes have a big problem as a dietitian I sometimes know that the diet that their kid is on is the work of some stupid doctor who has no idea what he is talking about. But I remind myself that the kid isn't my kid. Most times a standard menu that a Patrol has come up with can be made to work for most diets with just a few tweaks. So far while I have had a few Scouts who were vegetarians, I've never had a Lad who was vegan. For work I did an entire menu cycle that would have met the needs of vegan inmates. It was to be a pilot plan that the department was going to try, but got put on hold. It was done using our standard menu with tweaks that made it vegan friendly. One thing that does get to me is the adults who are on restrictive diets that seem to think that while they are at camp that their diet can be put on hold. These guys are playing with fire and are asking for trouble, which really isn't fair to the other people around them. For the most part with Lads of Boy Scout age, the best thing to do is not make a fuss. There is a wonderful life lesson in them learning to deal with what it is they have and might have to deal with for a very long time and there isn't always going to be someone catering to their every need. Ea.

I wish when the 21st Century Course came along, it had been called anything but Wood Badge. I've been around WB for a very long time. I've been around Scouts and Scouting for a very long time. Back when I first took WB in England at you know where. In the early 1970'S. English Scouting was doing its best to make the Advanced Party Report work. There were and had been a lot of changes, the uniform changed, the wording of the promise and law changed, some things and group that once were, were no longer. But at the unit level things seemed to be very slow to change. Most Troops were led by a very small group of men who a lot of the time had a leader that seemed to have been around for ever. There was a Group Committee, but the Committee had no say in how the Troop was run, what it did, how the Scouts did stuff, advanced or any of that good stuff. When it came to the Troop the Scout Leader was king. When I first became a Scout Leader, I was it! I was all alone. Over time I did manage to get some help, but in my eleven years as SL our Leadership Team never had more than six people in it. Even with six we were more often than not seen as being a Troop with a lot of adults, most Troops in the area ran with two maybe three adults. Reports come and go, things do change. Back when I was SL in the UK parents were seen as a necessary nuisances. Parents were not made feel welcome and most parents were happy to unload their sons and trust that everything would be fine and dandy. A good many of the Scouts in the Troop I led had to take two different buses to get to the Troop meetings and parents were happy to allow a young Lad of 11 or 12 to make that trip alone or with a pal. We did invite and allow parents to visit camp on the Spring Bank Holiday Camp, but other than that and the annual Christmas /awards party we never seen hide nor hair of a parent. The last long term strategic plan I read from the BSA,not the one we have in place now, I think the one before? Talked about recruiting one million more new volunteers. I thought this was a very tall order. But then I visited our Council Summer camp. The number of Troops that had almost as many adults as Scouts in camp was mind blowing. Parents today are not as willing as parents used to be to allow their son to go away and do stuff, unless they are under the watchful eye of a parent. Putting the minimum numbers aside. It takes a small army of adults to be involved to run a Pack. Tigers and partners? Den Leaders and Assistant Den Leaders. Whatever the Den Leader Coach is called to day a Training something or another? (I'll think of it!) A Cubmaster and a Assistant Cubmaster. Then of course there is the Pack Committee. I haven't done a count but I'm thinking the number is over 20? The skill level of a new Den Leader is most times not that high. Sure Troops don't have as many adults as Packs seem to have, but the Troops I saw at camp had as many as 24 Dads in camp. Maybe with all these adults around someone who is trained to lead them isn't such a bad idea? Just maybe? Ea.

" "on the take" " How dare you! Last time I looked the guys who wear the uniforms of the United States armed services were paid with tax payers money. The doctors and nurses who work in Veterans hospitals? Are they also on the take? What about the police? Yes I get paid with money paid by PA tax payers. I spend eight hours a day five days a week with the guys who have committed some really nasty crimes. I don't wear a stab proof vest because I'm cold. While I think that I'm fairly well compensated and have a good benefit package. I take offense to anyone saying that I'm "on the take" Sure we could save a lot of money if we just let all of these guys out of jail and set them free to do what they do best. How dare you say such a thing. Eamonn.

Sadly my days of "Active Scouting" are about over with. In fact I'm thinking that next year will be my last as a member. Looking back at the past almost half century I know that I've been blessed. As a youth I was blessed in having people who were willing to take their time and devote it to myself and a group of kids like myself. As a leader on both sides of the big pond, I was honored that young people were willing to give up the most precious thing they had, their youth and spend it with me. I met some really wonderful kids a few little so and sos, but about his time of year when my mail box fills with cards from my (Yes I said my and not the Scouts I serve!) Scouts along with notes from them them saying what's new. I really do feel blessed. I was never sure how good or how bad a Scout Leader I was? But I always tried to act like an older brother and a good friend, even when I was telling them off for doing or not doing something. Scouts have a way of knowing and being able to see who really cares and who doesn't. I pride myself that I did care. I'm man enough to be able to admit that when I seen kids get hurt by the passing of a parent or end up in juvenile detention, I cried like a baby. I've had a truly wonderful run. I got to see the faces of a group of Scouts who mostly came from the flats (The projects.) As they woke up on a train as we crossed the Swiss Alps. I've had Scouts who when anything and everything has gone wrong come up to me and say "Ea this is great!" I've ha a fight on a Air Iran 747 when some twit tried to hit one of my Scouts. (Back when all the DC10's were grounded and we nearly all got stuck in New York.) I've watched and followed little fellows as they became big Lads and the became men. Just this week one of my P/L's emailed me to say that his son was now a P/L. The Scouts I've known have touched my soul. Along the way I've also met some wonderful adults. In fact today just about all my best friends are people that I got to know through Scouts and Scouting. I never ever led with a rule book at hand. I led with my heart. I like to think that even at my worst I did my best to set a good example. My goal was to try and install a feeling of caring for others, while also having fun. Thanks to Scouts and Scouting I know that I've had more than my fair share of laughter and fun. While maybe things in the organization will change, some for the better and some maybe not so much for the better? I feel sure that there are enough good people, people who understand boys and what it's like to be a boy to fill my shoes and take my place. The world is full of people who really do care and boys that want to have fun. Ea.

eagle90 Thank You. I bought a copy lent it to a very dear and close friend who moved and took it with her. Also lent my copy of Two Lives of a Hero, which I bought back when this site was selling stuff. The guy quit Scouting and I never saw him again. I'm sorry noname, while I do believe that you do have right on your side. I just can't help thinking that you are going overboard for something that just isn't worth all the upset. Yes it is wrong, but your best shot at fixing the wrong is to work at it from the inside. You wouldn't believe the number of committees I've sat on. A lot of times with guys who really did have the best of intention but were not only way off base, but anchored in the idea that what it was they were doing or wanted to do was right. I, a lot of times came home with steam coming out of my ears. A lot of times even though I was right I was subjected to ridicule and name calling. I was at times really upset and mad. I managed to get past my "Mad" by me knowing that they thought they were right, even though they weren't. Sometimes it took me a couple of years to win. The easy thing to have done would have been to just let it go or maybe quit. But I'm way way too Irish for that! While maybe it wasn't very Scout-like? I when I id win enjoyed the fact that I had won and did have a nice little good old fashioned gloat. Even going so far as offering to take these guys for an adult beverage just so I could watch them squirm as they tried to explain that they just didn't know that they had been wrong the entire time. Each of us is wired a little differently. I have a reputation of being a nice enough fellow, while the truth is I'm a bit like a bull dog we used to have. Once I grab hold I very rarely let go. Then I will kill you with kindness. Ea.

Back in the day! When I was a young college student in England I was a member of the Young Socialist Party. Back then I whole heartily did believe that socialism was the way to go and that us students and young people were going to save the world. Over time my ideals softened and I stopped being active in the party and joined the Labour Party. The then Labour Party in the UK was having a lot of internal problems. Some party members (Me included.) Wanted the party to be a lot more left-wing than it was. We demanded nuclear disarmament, wanted better health care, better care for our old age pensioners and the unions to have more power and a bigger say in how things were being run and how things were done. Today? Thanks to a lot of luck and some very hard work, I consider myself to be - What I'd call comfortable. I don't want for anything, if there is something that I want or might like to have? I can afford to buy it. While thanks to some very shady shenanigans by a lot of very greedy banks and the like I have seen a great deal of my money just disappear. I'm not happy about that. I'm not happy when I see that because of just sheer out and out greed social programs that are intended to help the people who need our help the most are being cut. I'm not happy when I see school districts having to make cuts that will in time result in kids leaving school with an education which doesn't allow them or the country to be able to compete. I'm not happy when I see the little old Lady standing in front of me in the drug store hand over a large sum of cash for her medicine. I at times feel very guilty. I suffer from the "I'm alright Jack". Which I know is just wrong. Maybe it's easy being left wing or if you like a socialist? When you are well heeled? But for me the mark of a truly civilized country is shown by the way we look after the poorest and worst off. I think if I'd had the power when the greed of these banks became apparent I'd have nationalized all of them. Ea.

I remember reading a book a couple of years back written by a parent who was also a journalist, if I remember correctly a sports journalist for the New York Times. His family lived in the area where Hilary Clinton was supposed to live in when she ran for office. The book may or may not have been called Scouts Honor? I'm sure that another Forum Member will remember it and correct me about the title. The son of the writer joined a local Troop. One of the Troops big fund raising events was a Christmas Tree Sale. The father and son participated and worked their tails off selling trees even though they were Jewish. Not sure what this has to do with anything? But this thread made me think of it. Have to admit that I did know and was aware of the policy that made Boy Scouts supporting other charities a big no, no. In some ways it makes sense. In other ways it seems like a complete waste of ink. I kinda see that it makes sense that if I thought I was donating to a cause and then found out that the cause I thought I'd donated too was passing my donation on to another cause, which maybe I didn't want to support, that I might be a little miffed. If the truth be told when I stick a few dollars in the kettle, other than feeling that the poor soul ringing the bell might be cold? I couldn't care less who the heck is ringing the bell. Yes I have as a unit leader invited Scouts to turn up and ring the bell. As a rule it's cold in December and the kids are wearing jackets. I never asked them to wear their uniforms mainly because no one would see them anyway! It's sometimes funny what people think. In our area for a very long time it seemed that all the local packs just before Christmas sold stuff from Tom Wat. (Great little box full of over priced wrapping paper and junk.) Lots of people thought that Tom Wat was part of the BSA. Have to admit that I'm not a great lover of any activity that excludes others. We don't just have COH for the Lads who are receiving stuff, we hold them for everyone. Still I'm not sure if this party fight is one that I'd want to get involved in. In fact around the holidays the last thing I'd want is yet another something that I felt I had to attend! But I'm well known for being lazy. Sure I can and do see that spending the few dollars out of Troop funds is a little out of line. But I'm not sure I'd want to make a fuss. I would like to think that rather than make a fuss I'd go along with "Peace on earth and goodwill to all men" Even the guys who might not be right and are in the wrong. Ea.

BartHumphries Yes I enjoy all the books and the TV shows. My little sister was a solicitor then went on to become a barrister. Great little story. She was appearing in the High Court in Oxford. Defending some guy. The night before she took a VCR evidence tape home to view. The tape got stuck in her VCR. The following morning she took the VCR to some sort of a repair shop in Oxford. The repair took longer than she thought it would. Oxford is pedestrian friendly (No cars in the city center.) So just before the case was due to start, she was seen sprinting through the streets of Oxford wearing her wig and gown. After all that, the Crown won and she lost and the guy ended up in the clink! You win some and you lose ... Eamonn. (I bought HWMBO the sweat-shirt from the PBS store.)

Even after over a quarter of a century being called an "Alien" Still gets up my nose a bit! Yes I've been here a while. No I don't intend to ever at any time become an American citizen. I'm very happy just remaining what I am. Maybe? One day I will return to either England or Ireland. Two countries where I am a citizen. My wife (HWMBO) And son are both Americans and are very proud to be so. I'm narrow minded enough and selfish (Can't think of the right word!) To allow myself to think that just because I paid through the nose everytime I visited the American Embassy in London to get my Green Card (Which isn't green!) That it's not fair that others get away with it. But... I do see that a man or woman who may have arrivied here without having all the tees crossed and the I's dotted and has a child who is an American citizen might very well not want to leave his kid here in the land of the free and get on a slow boat to some place not so nice or some place where he or she might end up in a jail or dead. Maybe it's just me? But... I get a little concerned when I see that some people think having someone who hasn't been checked out, had the background check done. As being an OK person to tag along with Scouts at camps and whatever. This seems in a lot of ways to defeat the purpose of having a background check to start with. Surely the goal has to be to do everything that we can to keep all our kids safe and free from harm? I think if the guy /girl wants to fill out an application and see what happens? Then that's up to the person. -Their choice. I'd be happy to go along with whatever comes out after the application come back. Ea.

Having taken a very quick look at what's being covered at the conference, I think that it is a bit above what a District Membership Chair. Might need. Kinda like sending a First Aider to a conference on heart surgery. Many times a host Council will limit how may people from outside can attend just so that no one Council over-whelms the discussion. If I was tasked with sending just two people I think I'd opt to send the Pro. Who oversees the Membership Committee and the Council Vice-President for Membership. Ea.

As I have posted in the past, my teaching career didn't last very long. So maybe I'm not the best person to be adding my two cents. Add to that my stint was 30 years back! I've come to terms with the fact that kids learn differently and learn different things than I learned as a student and tried to teach as a teacher. I'm not certain that all the changes are for the better? But time will tell. I never went into teaching because I thought that I'd get rich! Back then and over there the Dust-bin-men (Garbage collector) made more that a teacher. While of course some of my reasons were very selfish. - Yes I liked all the holidays and time off and the great working hours. But, the main reasons I got into teaching was that I liked kids and I loved English History. My big mistake was in thinking that everyone loved English History and that kids were all lovable. The school was at the time and for the time state of the art! A brand new building with all sorts of wonderful facilities. A Drama Hall, five gymnasiums, countless workshops, art rooms and 5,000 Students. You might have seen the school if you watched the final serious of the PBS Prime Suspect? I think to be fair, at the time the English education system was in turmoil with lots of change and lots of new ideas. The old time teachers didn't like all the change and the parents weren't sure what the heck was going on. I'd been educated in a very strict, no nonsense way in a old world type school where teachers were called "Masters" , kids were seen but never heard and the reward for not doing what you were told was that you got whacked! I'm not now and never have been in favor of whacking anyone! But one of my main reasons for quitting was the feeling I had that I was out there all alone -Eamonn V The Students. I yearned and wanted support from the guys at the top but it just wasn't there! I wanted and needed the powers that be to listen to my concerns. That just wasn't happening. Maybe knowing what I know today I might be better able to manage the few trouble makers who made life sheer hell for myself and the students who wanted to work. Sending them off to have a cozy little chat with a nice kindly counselor and then sending them back too class just didn't work. At the time I really thought that having mixed abilities working side by side was a great idea. - I was wrong! It was a real nightmare! It just didn't work. Strange as it might sound and maybe because I'm a lot older and maybe a little wiser? It's far easier to teach the inmates in jail. In my book some ways that might make education better would be. Make sure that the teachers get the support that they need from school boards, head teachers. Don't leave them stranded in a room full of unruly students. Remove the unruly and unwilling students as quickly as possible so the teachers can teach. Get away from this stupid idea that everyone needs a college education. -They don't. Some students will get much further ahead learning a trade and mastering skills that will always be needed in the real world. Take a long hard look at what is really happening in the elementary schools. Kids who can't read, can't count can't do the basics need to be held back for their own good. Sure it upsets the parents but it's better for the kid in the long run. Give the grades that are earned, not grades that keep people happy. There is nothing wrong with being "Satisfactory" Yes that might mean a lot less "A Students" and a lot more "C Students". But if the cap fits.... Find a way to get parents, students and teachers to understand that School is a place of work, not a place where kids go to be entertained. At the risk of being overly harsh! The time for allowing kids with an alphabet of learning ailments has past, its got old. When these kids grow up and have to work and earn a living there isn't going to be anyone making special allowances for them. So get over it! Eamonn.

Packsaddle, What are you tossing in the fire? The notebooks or the students? I've got a few from where I work that ... (No better not!!) Ea.

Boy oh boy! My head is spinning! It's only if and when we allow advancement to drive or be the driver of the program that any of this becomes an issue. I'm a bit of a lazy toad. There is no way that I'm ever going to be willing to take the time to up-date any Scout's advancement at the time he thinks that he might have met the requirements. 99.9% of the time I can't ever remember what the requirements are! It's just not that important. I like to think that the program offered (The things that we do and are doing) encompasses most of the basic skills. A Scout doesn't cook just to advance, he cooks because it's his turn to cook, he learns from the other guys in the Patrol. We don't waste time at a Troop meeting with frayed little pieces of rope, we have activities where using rope and line are important. The newbie is the guy working along side the PL or older Scout reading the map and using the compass. So what tends to happen is that when the Scout feels that I've sat on my duff long enough, he will come to me and say "Hey Eamonn can we take a look at my book please." What follows is me asking when and where he thinks he did such and such? Him telling me. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we agree that next time we do whatever he will be the ??? (Fill in the blank.) Sure there are times when a Lad does forget something, it's not the end of the world or a hanging offense. Fact is that we are far too busy doing stuff and having fun too worry about advancement. Still when it comes to knowing and having skills I'm willing to say that I think the Scouts from any unit that I've been with are as good as the best of the rest. One of my great rewards is watching as a little Lad works with older Lads learning, picking up things and mastering skills till he gets the opportunity to pass them on to others, thus not only proving that he has indeed mastered the skill but is also going a long way to become the good citizen of the future and someone who cares for and about others. Ea.

I really don't think we are looking at LNT or Boy Scout Backpacking here. For me this about a couple of twits being rude. Sad as it might be stuffing a twit in a Scout uniform doesn't change the fact that he is a twit. How each of us deals with rudeness? Depends on lots of things. I have a few friends who can without missing a beat come back with really cleaver and smart replies. I know a couple of guys who might want to give the person or people being rude a swift kick in the pants. I've found that killing them with kindness works best! By the time I'm done being "Nice" they feel so bad that they just can't apologize enough. Ea.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_767142.html Not sure if this fits into what's going on here? But this was in our local paper today on the front page! Ea.

"Maybe I am not talking about rules, maybe a guide of ethics...." Kinda thought that was covered in the Oath and Law? Ea.

Soon after posting this I thought that Trust was maybe not the best word. Here in SW-PA the way the child abuse scandal was and has been managed by Penn State is both big news and very close to home. Maybe trusting people to do what is right and the expectation of them doing what is right for others goes beyond simple trust? My feeling is that the more local things are, the easier it is not only to trust but also to get past things and be able to forgive others short comings. I trust my wife and my son. I can get past the things I know that they will either not do or will do a poor job of. I'm also close enough to be able to forgive them and keep starting or restarting anew. This is the way it is in almost every unit I've been associated with. - I have got to know the other people in the unit and am able to find ways of working with them, even if at times they drive me nuts. While it can be painful there have been times when the best thing for the unit has been for me to call it a day or have them leave the unit. Serving at the District level? Again this for me was local enough that I was able to either enjoy working alongside the people who were also serving, distance myself from the people whom I for whatever reason thought were not trustworthy, quit. So I wasn't part of something that I thought just didn't seem or feel right. Or later on while serving as District Commissioner and then District Chair. Remove, so they were no longer a problem. While I think that I always knew? As a member of the District Key 3, I was very much being used to push and endorse things that came from above. (Above being the stuff that the DE was tasked with getting done.) There were times when it became clear that some of this was just wrong. There were things that I wanted no part of and had to fight to prevent from happening. When this happened I lost faith in the people who were trying to push it and I no longer trusted them. At the Council level, I found that there are some really wonderful and very talented volunteers who do an outstanding job. But ... I have had the misfortune to work with a few professionals who were either very incompetent or who had set their sights on being promoted that they were willing to cast any ethical thinking aside. While it might be easy to forgive these guys as individuals? The fact that they were rewarded for being as they were by National, only makes me question "What's going on?" Again making me lose trust in them that are supposed to be serving us. Also at the Council level, I really don't think that many of the people who serve on Council Executive Boards know enough about grass roots Scouting to be of any real use. I question why? A lot of them are there. I served on the Area Committee for a while. I'm no spring chicken! But I was the youngest member of that committee. Most of the members hadn't been around a real live kid in a very long time and seemed to not know what was happening in the real world. The meetings were about reports that dealt with membership and finances. While of course membership and finances are both very important, the committee seemed more about threatening Councils who weren't meeting or living up to expectations than trying to provide any real help or support that might help them. My dealings with our National Office have all been from afar. I had one friend who up until the reorganization a little while back worked there. It seems to me that there is a culture of "Blame the brass" in place. Very few people seem willing to stand up and state what they are doing is a good idea or good for the organization. I'm also very disappointed and astonished that the two SE's that were fired by the Council I serve were rewarded for being fired by being given jobs in the National Office! -This makes me wonder and lose trust in the type of people that work there? Of course I'm willing to state that my feelings have been influenced by my own personal dealings at different levels and there is a very good chance that I'm maybe not being fair? For the most part I'm far more willing to trust any volunteer than a professional. I honestly believe that when it comes down to doing what is right and what is in the best interest of a Scout, volunteers will step up to the plate a lot faster and a lot more willingly than a pro. Ea.

So far I have yet to find a system that's perfect. 83Eagle posts: "I just don't like getting a check made payable to me by the unit even though I have the docs to support it." I fail to see any reason for this or any real way to avoid it. I'm very much with Fred8033, when he posts: "My main concern is getting people reimbursed and reimbursed quickly." I would add that we need to also sometimes put our own financial feelings to one side?? That is to say, where as I might be OK or comfortable waiting for what I'd see as not being very much money. There are others who just can't afford to wait and that "Small amount" Isn't small to them. Back when I was a CM Her Who Must Be Obeyed served as the Pack Treasurer. The Pack checking account was set up so that all checks needed two signatures, with four people being allowed to sign checks. I was one of the four, but whenever possible I tried not to sign checks and of course never signed checks that were made payable to myself. The Pack Committee met a week after the Leaders Meeting. At the Leaders meeting we tried to get the Den Leaders to ask for whatever money they needed for the coming month. This was then presented by the CM to the Pack Committee and the checks were then cut. If the Den didn't spend it all they turned in any leftovers at the next meeting. Of course this didn't stop Den Leaders from coming to the house or coming to the Treasurer at Pack Meetings. We were never very fussy about itemized receipts, most times the entry in the check book and the Pack Account Book just read Check # 123 for X amount payable to whoever for Den Supplies. Our CO, our local R/C Church was OK with this. In fact even though we made it clear that we were open to having them go over the books at anytime they never wanted to and the COR was at most of the Pack Committee Meetings anyway. Nearly all of the checks for large amounts were made payable to the Council for things like resident camps,Re-chartering and membership fees along with topping up the money in the Pack Account in the Council Service Center. People in charge of big events like the Pack B&G Banquet, Pine Wood Derby were given hand money up front. Ea.

Kinda think that I remember that at one time we could post polls where people could select an answer and then view how others had posted. Not sure why it went the way it did? Anyway! Have been having a little ponder. I guess that many are a little like myself. We really do believe that the time and the cash we spend on doing our bit for Scouts and Scouting is worth while. Most of us enjoy the time we spend with the youth members and with a lot of the other adults. I do sometimes wonder how much do we really trust the organization? Do we really trust National? If not, why not? Do we trust the Council and the pros who are there to serve us and the units we serve? How about the District? What do we feel about that? I'm going to wait to see where this goes til I add my two cents. Eamonn