Eamonn

Swiss Army Knife. OGE, Please don't tell me that you use the tape to cover your ears. Preventing the sweet sounds of Slipknot!! Eamonn

Welcome BSAT17SPL. I don't see how or why there needs to be this big fuss over allowing electronic devises. We have a group of Lads who have become Scouts. In order to become Scouts they have made the Scout Oath. If a Scout is courteous, which he has promised that he will be - What's the problem? If a Scout is thrifty, which again he has promised that he will be. He will look after his property and he will use his time carefully. I don't see the need for all these rules and regulations. Why is a Lad not paying attention because he is reading MAD magazine different then a Lad not paying attention because he is playing on his Gameboy or listening to his Walkman? Both are not being courteous. What is the difference between a Lad singing at 2:00 AM and a Lad playing a radio? Why would a Lad who belongs to this Family oriented organization, need permission or have to sneak off to talk to his parents? Can a deck of cards cause as many problems as a PDA? I have yet to hear of electronic devices at camp being used for gambling? Or a group of older Scouts staying up half the night to work with a calculator. I thought that we were in the business of preparing young people to make ethical choices. Do we really accomplish this when we force feed them a whole bunch of rules? Rules that have no real standing other then with a group of adults who want to impose their will. I just don't see it. Unless we are saying that we don't trust our Scouts. If that's the case, things are really very sad. Eamonn (This message has been edited by Eamonn)

How Busy? Depends on the: Badge,Size of the District. How many Counselors for the Badge. Location of Counselor.Time of year (Winter sports - Slow in summer) How Many Calls: Same as above. I don't like the idea of going through one person because: How can He / She make appointments for three people. Not knowing their schedules? What happens when this one person is not available? Isn't the Scout making the appointment an important an important learning experience for the Scout? Our District List has over 200 Merit Badge Counselors and we have 600 Scouts - Talk about being swamped !! At present Scouts choose where they want too travel to. (If there is more then one Counselor) This saves everyone time. If the person acting as middle man doesn't know every area in the district. We have never had any problems with people getting swamped. Some Counselors will take all Scouts, some will only take Scouts from one Troop. There are some Counselors that have never had a call as they are the Counselor for a MB that no one has taken in years. My thinking is that we have a system that works. So why try and reinvent the wheel. If being a Counselor is too much the Counselor have have their name removed. If the Scout is having a hard time finding or can't find a Counselor that is available for the MB that he wants he can contact the Dean of Merit Badges or the District Advancement Chair. At present we list the Counselors name, address and phone number. We do not list E-mail addresses. The list that the Scout receives does cover the buddy system along with a guide of etiquette - Not calling after 9:00 PM or calling before 9:00 AM and hints on being polite on the phone. To be very honest I think the idea of going through one person would be a real pain. Eamonn.

How very sad. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and the Scouts who were there. Eamonn.

If you hunt around both the Philmont site and the OA sites there is a lot of stuff that you could put on a disk or a power point presentation. Eamonn.

Do I have the wrong band? I just did a GOOGLE found a band that was called Slipknot and is now called the Knot. I downloaded "They Love Each Other" and"Kid Charlemagne". I thought that they were good not outstanding but good.Looking at the set lists it seems that they play a lot of different music. I must have the wrong band? OJ, asked me to turn the volume down on John Lennon - Cold Turkey, the other day. Darn Kids. No appreciation for good music. Could it be that the SM's son is a closet Step dancer? Eamonn.

Neil While I agree that we should be working to move ahead smoothly and whining and "Squeaking." Is not the way to do it. I do so hope that we never forget the mission statement and allow the "Big Guys" to rule the roost. These Organizations that may be the 10,000 car buyers to day, may over time give way to car buyers from elsewhere. We can never allow the car to be designed just to fit their needs, we need a car for the masses We only have to look at our big cities to see that things are changing. As things change we have to be prepared to make changes. I happen to think that so far the BSA as an organization is on the ball. Not because it is catering to any special group or groups, but because it has brought on board a lot of talented people with a lot of insight.Add to this the work that is being done at the Council, Regional and National levels by some very hard working professionals and I for one am not going to paint a picture of doom and gloom. Eamonn.

A few years back we loaded up the old car with a few crates of Guinness, a few crates of Fosters Lager, threw in a couple of bottles of Jamison Whiskey. We headed down the Boyne Valley to Knowth and spent the night fishing and telling tall tales. Around about noon the next day we made our way to Slane Castle where we had lunch with Lord Henry Mountcharles. Not sure if this counts as a camping trip. There was no alcohol policy, however those drinking the Fosters were looked upon as not being real Irish. Heaven knows what abuse a Kool Aid drinker might have had to bear. Needless to say this was not a Scout outing and was not on property owned by the BSA and all those who participated were above the legal drinking age. Eamonn

Thanks for clearing that up Bob. Glad that we are both on the same page. I can't help thinking that we have maybe got into this a lot deeper then Hunt had intended. While I would welcome his correction, I think that he was asking that we as a group in this forum try and be a little more flexible or understanding. I'm not saying that it is going to happen or if it is a good thing or a bad thing. Eamonn.

Here I go again with that wet blanket. Bob it sounds like you are saying that the squeaky wheel will get the grease. While many of us are aware that some of our Chartered Organizations are bigger then others. In that they charter more units or have more youth that belong to their church or organization. It might seem that these "Big" Guys have more say and more input then say some other organizations that may not be as big, or have been around as long or as vocal. I would hope as Scouting becomes more diverse, which I feel it will we as an organization will be more open to new ideas - whatever they may be. We will not be driven by the size or loudness of any given Chartered Organization. I am in no way even suggesting that we ever change the "Core Values" Of Scouting, but embrace the diversity that is heading our way. Yes the squeaky wheel will still be represented but there is and will be enough grease for all of our chartered organizations. Eamonn.

Yes Ed the uniform is not required for rank or for membership. However it is a uniform and you can't wear parts of it or replace parts of it with shorts, blue jeans or dress pants. You ( Or the Scouts in Troop 1) wear it all or don't wear any of it. Sure there are a lot of units allowing Scouts to wear whatever pants they like. But this in no qay makes it right. Eamonn

OGE, Sir Paul McCartney has said many times that Lucy has to do with a child's painting. Still we could spend hours discussing un-Scout like song lyrics and cover everyone from John Denver, Peter, Paul and Mary to the Sex Pistols. As a Green Meanie, who has deleted some of the stuff from my sons hard drive due to it being just too much for my point of view. I suppose I qualify as a hypocrite. I have not as yet heard or listened to anything by Slipknot. So I don't know if they would pass the Dad / Delete test or not. I don't care if a Scout is reading the Boy Scout Handbook, if there is something else that he is supposed to be doing. He is not behaving in a Scout like manner. Still I don't see the music lover as the big problem. The big problem is the Scoutmaster. Eamonn.

Come on Ed You know what you are saying and doing isn't right. Eamonn

Well Mr. Beaver I hope Mrs. Beaver never sees what you posted. If Her That Must Be Obeyed seen that I had posted such a thing - Man oh man would I be in hot water. I may not know everything but you can take that to the bank. Eamonn.

Underage drinking is wrong. It is so hard here in PA. For an underage drinker to buy alcohol that in most cases they have to enlist the help of someone over the age of 21. Of course 18 and 19 year olds are going to have friends that are over 21. However in my book the parents in this case are way out of line and deserve everything that they have coming to them. Eamonn.(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

Have just returned from dropping Junior off at Scout Camp. Me thinks it will be his last. Next year he is off to the Jamboree, he wants to do the OA Trail Crew at Philmont. He was really keen to see the back and the going of his Mother and me. We had stopped and had a nice lunch, he had managed to get yet another $20.00 out of me and inform me that he had taken my radio, my sleeping pad and that he would need a big bag of ice when we return on Wednesday. The troop has 30 Scouts attending Summer Camp, along with 10 Adults. OJ, is SPL. He spent half the night mapping out how the color guard was going to raise and lower the Flag. The other half looking for a troop hat that wasn't his, but belongs to another Lad who has his. He has been gone for two hours and already I miss him. Sure I know that he will be fine and have a grand time. But I'm one of those weird parents who really looks foreword to the summer and having him home. We do a lot of stuff together and I really enjoy his company. We can talk for hours about nothing and everything. On the drive home I couldn't but help think about his first camporee with the troop. He had just crossed over from the pack and it was cold. He looked so small, lost amid all the big Lads. I remembered something that I had posted a week or so back about giving our kids roots and wings. Next month he gets his driving permit and I suppose that we will soon get less time to spend together and the $20.00 will become $50.00. Still I can't help feel proud of him, mainly because he is a good kid. I know that He isn't going to want to spend much time with me when I go up for parents night and when I pick him up on Saturday, he will be asleep before we reach the main road. Still I look forward in the weeks to come of hearing his account of summer camp 2004. Eamonn.

Let me see if I have this right. The Scoutmaster has a son who has obsessive compulsive disorder. The result of which is that he goes around kicking people. There is a Lad who likes a band called Slipknot.This Lad really likes this band a lot. However the Scoutmaster and this son who goes around kicking people do not rate this band. When other people object or try to prevent the Scoutmasters son from kicking other people or try to prevent it the Scoutmaster objects. How am I doing? I don't care if the Scoutmaster likes it or not allowing anyone to hit or hurt anyone is not allowed. I would first have a chat with the SM. If need be armed with a copy of the G2SS. If I was unable to get him to see the error of his ways, I would have a chat with the Troop Committee Chair. I would also talk to the music loving Scout telling him that there is a time and a place for everything. Ask him what Scout Laws does he think that he might not be keeping when he is being disruptive? Then ask him what action he thinks is needed to correct the situation. I don't care what tag we put on people. No one has the right to go around kicking people. If the Scout and his Dad are unable to see this they are in the wrong organization. Eamonn.

When I seen the comments in the other thread. I have to say that I was more then a little peeved. Sad thing is that a lot of the times that I get peeved at things the thing that I'm peeved about does contain a morsel of truth. I had never thought that Senior Forum Member tag carried any weight. There are people who look in these Forums, occasionally who do have a great understanding of certain subjects. I suppose we all have our own little lists of those people that we admire and take heed of and those who we totally disregard. But isn't this true in every walk of life? Haven't we all had the boss that seems to know nothing? In real time in our District, I see new Leaders who seem to take to the program like a duck to water and old guys who never found the pond. In that other thread, senior members were made out to be a happy little band who sit at their keyboards patting each other on the back. I don't think this is the case. Maybe we are just too well mannered or have respect for others and that being the case we refrain from using offensive terms. As for being old - When I grow up I want to be a man, just like me!! Eamonn.

Thank you Mark, It ought to read 30 Day Goals. Fuzzy Bear It seems strange that you bring up"Carrots." Only the other day the DE and I were saying how we now seem to have a bigger turn over in Leaders. We are at a stage in the District where it seems a lot of the good and faithful old timers are becoming just too old and at the same time people who were great Den Leaders and Cub Scout Leaders are done. Their son has crossed over and they are not volunteering to do anything. We thought that maybe more recognition might have kept them going. Anne I think a lot of the stuff covered in the new Wood Badge, has guided me in getting new people off on the right foot. I have a better understanding of where they are as far as reaching a goal and know what stage they are at. From this I can with the help of the DE, offer the style of Leadership that is needed for them to get the job done. Some of the places that I think we mess up in are: Not providing a written job description. Not giving the new guy real work to do. Not training him how to do. Not allowing time for celebrations when something has been done well and recognizing the people that made it go well. I am at times amazed at the dividends a $10.00 cake and a few bottles of pop can bring. Beaver Old Chap, I have to admit that Commissioner Staffing is hard. In fact I'm having and have had problems with the Chap who is our District Commissioner. His second biggest problem is that he doesn't delegate and keeps trying to do everything himself. He of course is always playing catch up. This never being ahead of the game takes away from the time that he should be spending with the Assistant District Commissioners working on recruitment. Still we have 26 Commissioners for 42 Units. Some do an outstanding job some don't. Scoutldr. Me thinks that you need a good cup of tea or maybe something a little stronger. Sit yourself down and think what the job of a District Training Chairman really is? Heres a hint. I'm the District Chairman. I sure as heck don't run all the unit programs in the District. I have served as both a District and Council Training Chair. At first when I a District Training Chair. It was because of the work that I had done in training and I felt that I had to be present a each and every training. As time went on and this became more and more difficult I changed it, I started training the people who would present the training. Sure at first I was very much like an expectant father. But much as it hurts my ego these people were good and did a better job then I was doing. They had the time and weren't as rushed as I had been. Eamonn.

Have to admit that when we cooked all of our meals over wood fires we rarely left them go out and always had a big pan of water on to boil.One never knew when the urge for a spot of tea might hit. Now other then for a entertainment camp fire, I don't see the need. Still when I visit the Troops at camp I see this fire burning all day. I think it is done to give the Leaders something to do or gather around. I have been told that the smoke keeps the bugs at bay. Eamonn.

This is a spin off from the post that KS started about becoming a R/T Commissioner. He made a good argument as to why he was willing to take on this extra responsibility. It seems that everywhere I go I bump into people that are wearing a stack of hats. Some wear this as a badge of honor, others have a friendly moan about it. I'm only registered in two positions. One that so far only takes up a very little of my time and will get bigger and when this happens I will be done with being the District Chair. However I do find myself being asked and doing other jobs that need doing. This at times does cause conflict at home and I hear "Why are you doing this?" Most times my only answer is that we just didn't find anyone else or just because So and so asked me too. During my time as Chair. I have put into force a policy that we (The District) will not ask a Unit Leader to serve on the District Committee or as a Commissioner. Bob White has pointed out that Unit Leaders serving as Commissioners isn't supposed to be allowed any way. My thinking was that we the District Committee are here to support the units. If we are taking people away from the units we are in fact not doing our job. In some ways I am very fortunate in that over the past couple of years we have put together a good nominating committee, who have worked wonders in bringing more non Scout people on board. The sad or bad thing is that willing as these people are they need to be trained so they know what they should be doing. We have packed many of them off to the Council ran District Training and the reports were less then good. I also am of the believe that people wearing too many hats, while they may get the job done are in fact hurting the program. Mainly because as long as they are doing all these jobs and filling all these roles, the need to fill them is less urgent and at times no effort to find new people is made. Some might say that I am a Task Master, but at every District Meeting we set 30 goals for each Committee. I expect that these goals will be met. I have our DE check up to make sure that this work is progressing and she reports to me. If things are not going well I want to know why. Sure things pop up people get sick, things happen at work. Still if someone said that they were busy with the Troop, Crew or pack I would remind them that I am holding them accountable. When I first became District Commissioner, I got really fed up hearing the same reports. The same problems with the same units month after month. I found that when we wrote down what was going to happen and made the Unit Commissioner and the Assistant District Commissioners accountable for getting the job done, not just reporting the problems things started to happen. While it is not really true I look at it as "You Work For Me And I Come First." I want this stuff done. Can anyone really work for two or more masters? Eamonn.

KS, We would need to start another thread to cover some of the points that you bring up. Please believe me when I say that I know where you are coming from and have at times "Fell victim" to "No one else will - So I will" Sad to say that: "So I will" becomes "..I will have to." Anyway you might find a lot of neat stuff in the UK Site: htt://www.scoutbase.org.uk Eamonn.

Thank You. Sad to say I'm not kidding. Our Lodge no longer paints faces. While I in no way claim to know much about Native American, I have been led to believe that their use of paint was symbolic of their and in their religion. I don't think that this is the message that we need to pass on these young Scouts. I know that I would be upset if people started messing around with the trappings of my religion. But I'm happy that Prince Charles isn't in hot water. Eamonn.

Have been thinking about this and am having a problem with the word Dissent. Dissent as in "I beg to differ." Is OK. Dissent the act of protesting. I think needs looked at. Dissent the act of expressing opposition through action and words. Has no place in Scouting. Eamonn

I have no idea how this ended up in Scouting Around the world. Eamonn.