Eamonn

As a young Scout I spent many hours thinking about Girl Guides/ Scouts. But we won't even go there!!!

While I have to say that your ideas are good. It does seem to me that we would be bolting the door after the horse. It is a sad reflection on some of our Adult leaders that they rely on District Events to be the backbone of the program that is offered. So it might be that these Lads would not be out in the cold if there was no winter camporee. Eamonn

I never thought of myself as part of the Starbucks crowd (The nearest one is about 50 miles away.) But I always take my French Coffee press to camp. Has anyone bought the new instant hot water heater that Coleman has? Eamonn

I think the entire world of my son. If it were possible to love a kid too much he would be dead.This love is very far reaching even when some of his actions do not meet with my approval I still love the heck out of him. He is just a run of the mill everyday kid. Most of the time he does his best and at times is on the honor roll. I don't love him any more when he is or any less when he isn't. I don't pay him to get good grades and have been known to wag the finger when I think that he isn't trying. While I don't work in the education field I know that some kids just have a knack for school work and book work. It isn't something that they have to work at, it is just some gift that they have. Some of these kids are very "Book Smart" But may be lacking in other areas. When we honor these kids who are naturally smart / clever we are not honoring hard work, we are a lot of the time just recognizing that they have a gift. Some kids have big feet, they don't work at having big feet they just have them. Maybe the example of ADD was not a good one, still there are kids in our schools with all sorts of learning disabilities. These kids are really trying to keep up. I thank the Good Lord that my son does not have to work as hard as these poor kids do. Academic excellence is great but please don't confuse it with hard work. Many years back I remember reading that in order to be remembered after you die you have to have been: A great warrior,a great poet or a great cook. By the sound of that no one will ever remember me. Eamonn

I would hope that everyone regardless of age would live up to the Scout Law in these forums.While we may not agree with the opinions of some we don't have to resort to name calling. My old school motto is "Manners Make the man." Eamonn

Packsaddle I enjoyed both the books and the TV series that James Herriot was involved in.While his real name was James Alfred Wight OBE. He was a real Yorkshire Vet joining the Yorkshire practice of J.Donald Sinclair in 1940. How much of the work is fiction? We will never know. Sad to say he died of of cancer at home in Yorkshire on Feb. 23,1995. Even after his books made him famous he continued his veterinary practice saying "If a farmer calls me with a sick animal, he doesn't care if I'm George Bernard Shaw." As well as the Vet books he also wrote a lot of books for children. He did serve in the RAF as is in one of the books and was over in the USSR looking after sheep and was in Istanbul looking after cattle. If I remember right All Creatures was on one channel while at the same time The Dukes Of Hazard was on the other. At that time we only had 3 channels. Eamonn(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

Bob in our neck of the woods we call the week long course JLTC. Just in case you are ever in our neck of the woods and are in dire need of it. Eamonn

Hi and Welcome to the forums. You might want to see if the guys in Texas have anything. I have had a lot of luck asking for stuff and getting it. Eamonn

As far as I'm concerned I'm all for females in the BSA. Our District does not as yet have any female Scoutmasters but there seems to be an increasing number of female ASM's. We have a newly formed Crew that has a female adviser. So at the Unit level it does seem that the women are more visible and on the move. We were the first district in the Council to have a female DE.There was a certain amount of trepidation before she started. Most of it from us guys at the District level, we were unsure how the old time male leaders would accept her. It went without a hitch. This might be because at the time we had a female District Commissioner. This Lady who was a teacher ran COPE courses during the summer at Council Summer camps, was a Vigil member of the OA. Served on both Cub Scout and Boy Scout Wood Badge staff and went on to become a DE in the Washington D.C. Area.She is a great friend of mine and at times I do seek her advise and counsel. Just as I think that there is a need for females to be in Crews with female members I do think that there is a need for male members to be at most Boy Scout outings. It is sad that some females feel the need to try and "Out Perform" their male counterparts. I do belong to the generation that still holds a door open for a Lady and I do watch my P's and Q's when there are females around, which isn't a bad thing. The bottom line is that we are all trying to do the best job that we can for the youth that we serve. I would hope that in this day and age we would never allow male or female, black or white Christian or non-Christian to get in the way of this service. Eamonn

How about looking at some of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.HMS Pinafore or The Pirates Of Penzance. Lots of neat ideas and some great music. You could look at some famous ships or sea captains name each den/crew after the ship.Most of the one's I know are of course Brits. But there are some outstanding American sea captains that even gave us a run for our money. Now I find myself with the darn tunes stuck in my head. Eamonn. You can order the music on line from Wal-Mart.

In our area the schools do post honor rolls in the local newspapers. I really see no reason to do so. OK, so when my son is mentioned we are all very proud and Grandma cuts it out for the scrapbook. Still I have friends that have kids that suffer from ADS and due to this their names are never listed. It doesn't seem fair. All these "Honors" are based on academic excellence and the grades that the students receive, not the effort that the student puts in. I don't think that I would make a fuss about it. It is however worth looking at. Eamonn.

I do really hope that Sturgen was joking when he posted: "The boy's in my troop fear my pocketknife." If he isn't will someone please take that knife away from him as quickly as possible. Fear is not any form of leadership that belongs in the BSA.An action like the one that he is prescribing has no place in Scouting. He would do well to read over the Scout Law and think how far out of order he is. Eamonn

I mentioned my dislike of winter camping just to let everyone know that I do have a bias. I totally agree that we should teach Lads how to prepare for camping in winter or when it is cold. I think that I did read "Be Prepared" in a few of the books. If I was a Scoutmaster, which I'm not and the PLC said that a winter camporee was to be then I would go along with it and do everything that I could to ensure the success of the event.However as this is to be a District event there is little that can be done to ensure that the Scouts that attend are prepared. Sad as it may be there are Adult Leaders in the district that are not that smart.These tend to be the adults that never attend a round table and are more then lightly to use what the district offers as the only outdoor program that the troop offers. I am almost sure that at the next district committee meeting a Winter Camporee for 2005 will become a reality. I will try to make sure that we do as much as can be done via handouts and maybe a shakedown to get the Scouts that do attend to have as safe and happy a time as can be had. Eamonn

Glad that you are home safe and sound. At times American politics and American Football are way beyond my comprehension. I would have thought that a nice game of cricket and a simple election day would be almost as much fun. Eamonn OJ will be attending NOAC which is in Iowa later this year.(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

We had our car there for the week. It did help keep a lot of the clutter out of the tents and we did use it on the day off as well as to pick up ice and bottled water for Her That Must Be Obeyed. The Man Of Steele (Hi Dave!!) hits on a lot of good points. It is one of the most friendly places that I have ever been. Sad to say the week that we were there it was wet and at times cold. Be prepared to spend a lot more then you budget in the trading post. One thing that really got to me was when you talk to other Scouters from across this great nation you will find that your council isn't as bad as you think it is!! We arrived a day early and I wasn't that impressed with the local hotel or the food there. The other stores are good and we again spent a little more then we expected too in one of the art galleries. Eamonn

I once again am a little lost. As to where this is going. I am all for the methods of Scouting. I do tend to agree with Bob White that the final two pionts are a little much. As to the humor? I did smile. I happen to think that even the idea that there is a Uniform Police is so absurd that the only thing you can do is smile. Still at the end of the day Uniform is a method of Scouting. At times OJ my son is not that keen on wearing the full uniform. (Yes he has a few entire uniforms.) I explain to him that when he says the Scout Oath he is making a pledge to the ideals of Scouting. Some of which will come easy and some will not be so easy. He may not like that he has to help other people at all times but he has to give it his best shot. The Uniform is the outward sign of his commitment to the program and he should do his best to wear it. When we adults ignore the uniform method what message are we sending to our Scouts? I think that the message is that it is ok to pick and chose what their commitment is." Ok so I won't wear the pants - They aren't cool". "Ok I don't want to help people at all times I think that I will only help them two days a week." Please note that I have said that a Scout will do his best to wear the uniform. If he can't afford it or there are real reasons for not wearing it that is a different kettle of fish.As I visit the troops in our District I see more jeans then Scout Pants, even on Lads who I know own them. Sad thing is that many of the Scoutmasters seem scared to say too much about this. Maybe they just need to give it a little more thought. Eamonn

Maybe the BSA needs to make sure that everyone understands that OA is the Order Of the Arrow and not Old and Arthritic!! Eamonn

I'm with Twocubdad and the Large Elderly Gent. Eamonn

The District did send a list of needed equipment to each troop. As to if the leader passed it on to the Scouts? It would seem not. I have to wonder at how some parents can send a boy out in the cold without a change of gear or even a warn coat. To make matters even worse many of the troops have got away from having troop tents and now these little Lads are in a $19.95 tent from K-Mart or someplace. As for the Leaders of some of these troops I just don't know where they are coming from. Yes this is S.W Pa. So you would think that they would be better prepared. Could be that the cold has made them lose a few too many of the little gray cells? With the wind chill it is going down to about 5F tonight. The schools had a two hour delay due to the cold. I question the wisdom of taking young Lads camping when it is like this. It is one thing to get caught in it. But to plan for it? I just don't see it being much fun. And yes my AARP card will be in the mail next year. Eamonn

I wasn't over on this side of the pond for Captain Kangaroo. I did visit the web page and just loved what he had to say about parents being the role models for their children. While I am in no way a TV snob, I don't watch that much network TV. While I do admire the way that some shows have gone out of their way to show how diverse America has become. Many are just plain bad. Todays sitcoms aren't even funny. Eamonn

It now seems that Beagle 2 is lost somewhere up there on or near Mars. For those of you who thought that the Brits. Were playing funny word games with the name Beagle, we weren't HMS Beagle was the ship that Charles Darwin joined in 1831 as a the ship's naturalist. Charles Darwin's father said of the voyage that "It's a wild Scheme - No good will come of it." Of course this voyage led to the "On The Origin Of The Species" which for many revolutionised our idea of life. The Beagle's Captain Robert Fitzroy was an expert meteorologist who founded what has become the modern day Meteorological Office in the UK. Of course we wish the NASA landing crafts all the very best of luck. If by chance they come across a stray Beagle do please let him know that we are looking for him. Eamonn

As is known I am very much a fair weather camper. I dislike the cold and dislike being cold. Some might say that I'm a real sissy when it comes to the cold. Our District used to have a winter camporee. The last one three years ago was over a very cold weekend. I attended with all of my cold weather gear and was still cold. Some of the troops were totally unprepared to camp under these conditions.In fact I was worried about the health and welfare of some of the Scouts. Boys with no change of clothes inadequate sleeping gear and menus that were very poorly planned. I was very upset and went to the district committee meeting and was very instrumental in taking this event off the district calendar. In fact we replaced it with a Snow Day held at a local Ski resort. Just like a bad dream it is coming back to haunt me. The Activities Committee want to bring it back. My thinking is that if a unit wants to do this that is all well and good, however if the District is holding the event the District needs to set some sort of guidelines maybe in the way of a shakedown and maybe a training event. This sounds good but it is not what the District ought to be doing. What are your thoughts? Eamonn

SOCK IT TO ME! (No Please Don't) Eamonn

LOL Eamonn

There can be no words to express how sad and tragic this is. My thoughts and prayers are with with the family and the troop. Eamonn