Eamonn

Wow the Bolt one was good. I don't want to put my foot in it ao maye I should quilt while I'm ahead. Just to cover my tail. Eamonn

I have always had a hard time with acronyms and at times have a hard time with Scouteze. But it is kind of scary that I do understand "Successful failures." Way to go NeilLup. Eamonn

Dan Many thanks for your last posting. I think that I owe you an apology. I had you down as a pompous twit. Which you clearly are not. Back in England we have Group Scout Leaders, his role is to look over and help coordinate all the sections of the Scout Group(Cubs, Scouts and venturers. - They may have more now after last years changes.) When I was a young Scout Leader, I was pretty gun-ho. Our GSL would look at me and remind me that BP had said slowly slowly catchee monkey. I do think that more and more Scout Leaders are really trying to do a better job of following the program. At least they are not falling into the "We have always done it that way" trap. Again if I came across too strong please accept my apology. Eamonn

That might be a different "Thread" Boy I feel like a heel coming up with one that bad. Almost like I have no "Sole", Still we do spin a good yarn. Eamonn

Bob as you know up until nine days ago I was the Council Training Chair. for our council. In 2002 we had the honor of being the council with the highest percentage of trained leaders in the country. As a council we are very lucky that we do not have that great a turn over of leaders in the Boy Scout program. In our District other then new units all the Scoutmasters have been around for at least five years many for a lot longer. In Cub Scouting I don't know why we have managed to get people to sign up for training very soon after they come on board. It could be that they feel that they have a need to be trained. When I was a District Commissioner there was always the rush to get the charters in as quiclky as possible during this time the Council Commissioner would hold extra meetings. At one of these meetings a District Commissiober said that troop so and so was always late due to the fact that the chartered organization met with each leader one on one and went over what had happened and where they were going. While I was sitting there feeling kind of smug that we had all of our charters in I have to admit to being green with envy wanting that chartered organization to be part of out district. I have never felt that the role of the training committee was to make training mandatory during my term we as a committee tried to make it as user friendly as we could we tried never to miss an opportunity to promote training. We viewed Every Boy Deserves A Trained Leader as our goal. Here in this neck of the woods words like Mandatory do not go over very well and seem to bring out the worst in people. It could be an American thing after all you guys didn't take too well to the tax on tea. Then again this is the area that gave birth to the Whiskey Rebellion. Eamonn

OJ is on the rampage. He is very upset with his Crew Advisor. The Advisor is a friend of mine who has had a very rough time of it over the past few years. He was one of the ASMs to the Jamboree troop in 2001. The day we arrived home and as we were unloading the gear his wife informed him that she had left him. They have 3 great kids the two young ones went to live with her but the oldest boy opted to stay with him. Then he lost his job, got another one only to lose that. If it wasn't for bad luck this poor chap would have none what so ever. With all that has been going on the Crew really has taken second place in his life. Which I understand and I think in his heart of hearts OJ does. In November they were to go to some kind of training in Maryland everything was set but at the last minute the Advisor got a job and had to go to New York. Those that were going had no way of getting there. They did ask me the day before they were to leave which wasn't enough notice for me and my work. The Crew members were upset. They do have a female leader who has a son in the Crew but she has a young baby so getting away is hard and staying in a tent in November just is not going to happen. She called me to say that the Advisor was not making it to a lot of the meetings and was unsure what to do about the two deep leadership. I said that I would go if and when needed. I do have a big mouth. So I attend a couple of meetings and nothing is happening. I have a word with the officers and in a nice way tell them that if they don't come up with a plan and do something that the crew will start to fall apart. While I'm imparting these words of wisdom I add that they need to improve their communication. A week later in the mail we find a Crew News letter telling us that they are going to ski day at Nemacolin Woodlands. I offer to drive those that need a ride. The Crew Leader has talked with them and said that he has had a lot of stuff on his plate but he is "Back". The Crew really gets behind this ski trip they recruit new members because of it and are very excited. Then last night the Advisor called to say that he isn't going. They were counting on his car also another crew member who has a car now has to work. So they have all these members and are now phoning parents to beg a ride. I don't ski. I hate being cold in fact I went out and bought this new high wicking underware in order that I won't be too cold. If this were not a Scouting type event I would find a nice cosy mug of Irish coffee and sit back and watch the people who enjoy playing in that cold white stuff. I feel bad for these crew members and in some ways feel that I have interfered over stepping my mark for the position that I hold in the District but not as a parent. I am keen to drive these guys as it will be a chance to play with my new SUV. I don't know if I should just stand back and allow them to sort it out or if I should go out and rent a van for the day. I dearly want this crew to get off the ground. However I don't have the time to get too involved while at the same time do not want to be seen as interfering from the sidelines. I feel as if this a "Catch 22" Situation. Any ideas what I ought to do? Or have I done too much already? Eamonn

Ed I think your Dad was a cool neat old fellow and I nerver met him - I think. Eamonn

Maybe not if you "Toe the line." Sorry it was too easy. Eamonn

Yes Dan I would like you to be more specific.Saying that they are not following the Scouting program is a little too broad for my understanding. Bob White as you know you and I seem to be on the same page most of the time and yet again I agree with how you see "It." I feel sure that you can't agree with the wholesale dismissal of those who at this time may not be getting it? As for only allowing youth members to remain in the program if they are meeting some as yet unexplained Scouting program requirement is very scary. I sure as heck would hate to be the person who has to enact the removal of these people that I thought we were here to serve. While there may be many wise and gifted people in these forums who managed to take to leadership like a duck to water. I wasn't that lucky there was a period of time when maybe on the outside things looked great, the troop was the largest in the area, advancement was strong, our outdoor program and uniform standards were second to none. However during this time most of what we were doing was about me. I was going through the motions of the Boy Led Troop, still I was the chairman having the Patrol Leaders carry my ideas and what I wanted to do back to their patrols. The Troop was for a couple of years an extension of my ego.While I don't want to pass the buck, I did what I did and it was down to me. In some ways the reason I was doing it was because that was the way it had been when I was in the troop. If the people in charge of "It" had removed me I never would have strived to improve and while maybe a replacement would have been found. Maybe one would not have been forthcoming. I have no idea how many youth I have worked with over the last nearly 30 years. I have no idea what impact if any I have had on them. I do know that if someone had accused me of not delivering the Scouting program that there were times when they would have been right. If they had insisted on my removal I would never have had the chance to grow and develop. Of course as I grew and became a better leader so did the members of the troop. If there are problems within Scouting surely it is in the best interests of everyone that we work towards fixing what isn't working. I don't have the answers. I do have opinions about areas that need to be looked at and could improve. Most of my ideas have to do with the Commissioner Staff, better relations with our charter organizations and all of us having a better realization that while we may spend a lot of time doing what we do to serve Scouts and Scouting it is wrong to use us as the yardstick to measure other peoples commitment to the program or their worth to Scouting. While being a member of the World Wide Brotherhood of Scouting means the whole world to me for many of our youth members it is just a small part of what makes up their life. We as adults should be thankful that these boys and girls think enough about what we are to doing to attend the meetings and outings that we offer we also need to make sure that we do not waste their time and that we keep our word. So please Dan enlighten me as to how turning away all these youth meets with the Mission of Scouting. Tell me how a Leader will ever get it once he or she has been removed. Let me know how a poor kid from the projects will benefit in body and spirit when there are no longer units there to serve him. Yes Dan I want to know, please be as specific as you can. I really want to know. Eamonn

Thanks Hops.Some very wise words of wisdom there I really enjoyed reading it. Eamonn

"Phaser's burning phassers burning draw nearer, draw nearer In the rock glow in the rock glow Come sing and be merry. Eamonn

Let me see Red Wool Jacket or eleven pair of Venturing socks with maybe an odd one so that I could have a spare the next time the dryer eats one? Go for the jacket!! Eamonn

Thanks to so many people having the flu this has been a log hard week. In fact seven days without a day off and many extra hours. Maybe I'm out of sorts and maybe I'm just dumb and being a little hot headed. However over the past few weeks I have seen about people "Not Getting it" and the removal of people who don't "Get it" I have no idea what "It" might be? How "It" is measured and as to or for the removal who other then the chartered organization is going to do this removing? Our mission is to help young people make ethical choices over their lifetime. Is this the "It"? Yes we have methods which when followed do work. At times we do need to ease up a little on these methods at times they may not be right for the situation that is being faced. Is not following the methods of Scouting the "It?" Maybe my values are not in line with this remover person. It could be that he/she places more importance on the troop and I think that my family comes first. Am I not getting "It?" This kind of talk is wrong. Just because we see something that we may not like we have no idea what sort of influence this person may be having on the life of one of our youth members. This person was selected by the charter organization while I have no idea of what "It" is, I would think that they own it and they have the last say as to if it is being passed on as they would like. Yes there are rules and laws that have to be followed and if these are being broken and people are being put in harms way or hurt yes the Council needs to step in if the chartered organization hasn't. Please tell me what "It" is and the benchmark for it. Eamonn

I been out of England long enough to miss all the Mad Cow outbreaks. I was over there when Foot and Mouth was on the run. Many of the farmers lost entire herds and faced ruin. In some areas scout camps closed for fear of spreading the disease. We were lucky it never crossed the Irish Sea. In fact the farmers in Ireland while making a few extra pounds were sending money over to help aid the English farmers. I never eaten cow brains but have had calf brains they were poached in a beef stock and served with black butter. Many restaurants in France still have them on the menu. I wasn't that keen on them. I do like sweetbreads. But will not be eating them for a while. Eamonn

KS I love the way you think. Still I get invited to so many Troop Courts Of Honor where the Scoutmaster gets up and with great pride states that summer camp was a great success we earned X-number of merit badges. It would be really nice to attend one where the Scoutmaster got up and said something like "It was a great summer,the Owl patrol made the gateway. The Beavers set up a super orienteering course which we all had fun with, the Foxes spend some time preparing a nature hike and that sort of thing. While I do have a slight problem getting used to the idea of the Council Camp as opposed to the Troop Summer camp in a field. As I see it the camp is not the problem. The problem is with lack of planning before the camp by the PLC Scoutmaster. Having work as a staff member at camp there are a good many leaders who are happy not to plan anything while at camp. Some think that their biggest job for the week is the placement of their easy chair. Please don't laugh it's true. Others use the time to cram in a few more merit badges. Still the week at camp, the highpoint of the Scouting year for most troops and the patrol method is cast aside? No this can't be right. Eamonn See if I can get away with just posting this once??

There was a big debate sometime back in Australia as to if Boy Scouts would still learn to light fires. I read a lot from both sides and both made a lot of sense. Who knows maybe even over here your days at the fire circle may be numbered. You could take a picture and use it as a screen saver. Then in time bore the pants off everyone telling them how it was in the good old days. (I'm joking.) Eamonn

Think we have been down this road before. Everyone calls me Eamonn. Because that is what I want to be called. When it comes to full name I make a point of using my full name all three of them. My Son is Oliver-James, at this time he does not want to be called Oliver, he prefers OJ or Oliver-James. When I visit a unit I make a point of asking the adults what they want to be called. Some of the packs call the leaders by Mr or Mrs First Name (Miss Jane Mr Bob) A lot of the troops call the adults Mr. Jones or whatever. I do ask that people call me Eamonn and when someone introduces me as Mr. .... I always correct them. At School back in England the staff always called us just by our last names. "Smith stop doing that!!" I have no idea why. When I am dealing with young people I ask what they want to be called. If a boy is David I ask if he prefers David or Dave. If someone has a nickname again I ask. I do tend to use titles even with first names I have a great pal who has a Phd I call him Doc Ed. Even our family doctor is Doc. Mark. While I am nearing only 50, I think it is important that we call people by what they want to be called, no matter if they are a youth or an adult. One strange thing has been that we used to have the residents names outside of their apartments in the assisited living home, but thanks to HIPPA we now only have their first names. Still while the staff refer to most of the people by their first names there are a few people who are called by their first and second name, they have never asked to be called that way it just happens. Even our Scout Exec. Who is happy to be called Bill, when people talk about him they always use both names. Eamonn

Bob beat me to it. Eamonn

This is the first that I have heard of "Mandatory Training" I had read that there was a recomendation that all leaders complete Wood Badge within five years, it was only a recomendation. Our Friends across the pond in England do have such a rule and in their material they state that if your not willing to take the time to get trained maybe this is not for you. I am all for training and really do believe that every boy does deserve a trained leader. However I don't think that Mandatory Training is the answer and I also think that making it so may be against BSA rules unless the Chartered Organization is the body making the ruling. We have no way of knowing what is going on in the lives of all of our volunteers, so while it might be fine for me to take training what about the chap who is working two jobs has a house full of kids and his parents are not doing so well. He might be able to spare some time to serve with a unit and might want to get to training and will when his load lightens up a little. I really do not see how a council can dictate this ruling to a chartered organization. You didn't select the Leader so unless he there is a good reason you can't ask him to leave trained or untrained. Please don't let this go through. You might be better off spending time trying to make training more available and attractive rather then scaring off the people that we need so badly. Eamonn

It did it to me again. Eamonn

Only the other week myself and the Vice President for program of our Council were talking about this. The sad thing is that at summer camp we offer very little in the way of promoting the Patrol Method. In fact I would go so far as to say that other then some involvement by the SPL, the Scouts for the most part forget that they even belong to a patrol. The tents are put up in such a way as to please the people who put them up. The Camp Staff. In most cases a nice ring of tents around the site perimeter.Troops are offered the opportunity to be "Self Catering". However it is rare that any troop does. We offer very few activities that are for patrols, those that are offered tend to be end of the day one time things such as an Anything That Floats race. The Scouts arrive some have planned what merit badges they are doing and when they are doing them. Some leave little time to move from one to the next. It is a Merit Badge Mill. That same week I was talking with a ASM from a troop in the District which I serve. He said that the troop was going to camp somewhere in New York State. He was a little worried that the trip and the camp was going to cost a little over $300.00. As opposed to the $160.000 that our council charges for summer camp. I asked why they were going he informed me that the camp offered more Merit Badges. Not to get off subject but..... 1977 was my first taste of American Summer Camp. I came over as an International Scout Counselor. They were unsure what to do with me so thay made me a camp commissioner along with a couple of Merit Badges. One week there was this little Lad who fished. He had a great time fishing everytime that I saw him he was fishing. I have no idea how many fish he caught if any. But it was great a young Lad, a great summer, a great smile a happy kid. I was checking the sites as the troops departed and there was this little fellow along with his parents and his Scoutmaster. The Scoutmaster was telling the parents what a no good for nothing son they had and how all he had done all week was fish. I can't ever remember being so upset. I felt like giving the Scoutmaster a good old bop on his nose. Needless to say I didn't. The Scoutmaster is still around the council and is still a miserable old goat. One year when I was on the Silver Beaver Selection committee his name was put forward. Service to youth? Not in my book. He is not a Silver Beaver. Eamonn

Only the other week myself and the Vice President for program of our Council were talking about this. The sad thing is that at summer camp we offer very little in the way of promoting the Patrol Method. In fact I would go so far as to say that other then some involvement by the SPL, the Scouts for the most part forget that they even belong to a patrol. The tents are put up in such a way as to please the people who put them up. The Camp Staff. In most cases a nice ring of tents around the site perimeter.Troops are offered the opportunity to be "Self Catering". However it is rare that any troop does. We offer very few activities that are for patrols, those that are offered tend to be end of the day one time things such as an Anything That Floats race. The Scouts arrive some have planned what merit badges they are doing and when they are doing them. Some leave little time to move from one to the next. It is a Merit Badge Mill. That same week I was talking with a ASM from a troop in the District which I serve. He said that the troop was going to camp somewhere in New York State. He was a little worried that the trip and the camp was going to cost a little over $300.00. As opposed to the $160.000 that our council charges for summer camp. I asked why they were going he informed me that the camp offered more Merit Badges. Not to get off subject but..... 1977 was my first taste of American Summer Camp. I came over as an International Scout Counselor. They were unsure what to do with me so thay made me a camp commissioner along with a couple of Merit Badges. One week there was this little Lad who fished. He had a great time fishing everytime that I saw him he was fishing. I have no idea how many fish he caught if any. But it was great a young Lad, a great summer, a great smile a happy kid. I was checking the sites as the troops departed and there was this little fellow along with his parents and his Scoutmaster. The Scoutmaster was telling the parents what a no good for nothing son they had and how all he had done all week was fish. I can't ever remember being so upset. I felt like giving the Scoutmaster a good old bop on his nose. Needless to say I didn't. The Scoutmaster is still around the council and is still a miserable old goat. One year when I was on the Silver Beaver Selection committee his name was put forward. Service to youth? Not in my book. He is not a Silver Beaver. Eamonn

I can only add my best wishes and echo the things that have been said. This award is yours, you worked towards it, you earned it. Please be sure to spend a little while thinking about all the work that your parents put in to helping you reach this goal. How many hours did they work to send you to camp and pay for all the things that you needed? How many hours were put into driving you to where you needed to get too? I bet that they are as proud as punch, still they do need to hear it from you. As many have said you are a marked man, still the Big Guy Upstairs who helped you get this far will help you live up to what being an Eagle Scout is really about. Good Luck and God Bless. Eamonn

I would think for $13.50 a pair Mrs Bush would have had to have a part in making these socks. That is $1.30 a toe. Maybe I need to jump down turn around pick a bale of cotton, jump down turn around pick a bale a day - Better make that two bales so I can afford the socks. Eamonn

The mailman came today with my new Boy Scouts of America Official Retail Catalog. I have always been a proponent of uniform. To this end I have ensured that OJ has always worn a full Scout uniform yes even the pants. Now that he is a member of both the troop and the crew he has been after me to buy him a Venturing uniform. I thought that this would be no big deal. We are not poor and can afford a few of life's little extras. I really have no idea what clothes cost. I tend to buy what I need when I see it on sale. Most of my shirts cost under $20.00 and pants cost about $30.00. I am not a great fan of Wal-Mart or K-Mart, nore of a Sears type guy. So I open the catalog. A Venturing shirt:$31.40. I can live with that, maybe a little more then I would pay, but as I say I tend to buy my shirts when they are on sale. Venturing Pants:$65.65. Now this seems to be out of line. I know that pants don't cost $65.65. But then I got to the socks I just bought a pair of super duper Timberland socks that have all sorts of things going for them. Wicking and all that good stuff. I paid $4.50. Venturing Socks $13.50 a pair. That is so far out of line that it isn't funny. Venturing is for an age group where a lot of the youth are buying their own clothes and a pair of socks costing $13.50 is just not right. I am aware that Venturing does not have to wear the official uniform, but I can't help feeling that these prices are out of line. I bought a pair of Columbia pants at Gander Mountain that were priced at $29.00. I got them with 30% off. At these prices I wonder how many people will buy? Eamonn