Eamonn

Have to admit to being happy with the cards that I have been dealt. So I don't think that I would change anything. I/we would liked to have more then one child. But due to a nasty run in with testicular cancer as a young man, having the one that we have was not only a surprize but an added bonus. Maybe for a number of years I worked too hard and too many hours missing out on a lot of stuff. However I am at the stage of my life where money is not that important. Of course I would always welcome more but I look back and think that maybe the 18 hour days were worth it. Yes the ride so far has been a good one I have met a lot of really nice people many have become good friends one or two are best friends. Scouts and Scouting has had a lot to do with that. I know that I'm going to miss it when I give it up. Eamonn

We had a meeting last night picked up 3 more Lads who want to go. At last one from the other district. It seems that the other troop is not filling up at nearly the same rate as we are. Talking with someone from the small council next door. It seems that they are only sending one troop, which is about half full but they can't find leaders for the troop. I suppose we ought to count our blessings. Eamonn

Hey wots with the Mate bit?? Just joking!! I use the unknown Scout story a lot. Maybe because it amazes me that one little cockney kid doing one good turn has made such a impact on the world. "No Gov, keep yur bees 'n' honey,I'm in the brussels sprouts and I can't take your Oxford Scholar" (Cockney rhyming slang) (No sir keep your money I'm in the boy scouts and I can't take your dollar.) Eamonn

While I was of course very proud of OJ,Kevin made my day. As I say he is 17. Maybe I don't have as much faith in the program as I ought to have. But to have a Lad of 17 wanting to rejoin a troop is really a credit to the troop that he was in. OJ had asked him to join the crew, but he wasn't sure about that. All the way on the drive home he went on about how much fun camping is and he kept asking questions about the program. While this may sound a little dumb what really got me was that I had done nothing to make this happen. I tend to like to be right in there doing something and making things happen. This had nothing to do with me. Eamonn

I forgot to add that OJ is now the SPL. Eamonn

The Jamboree patch is issued to everyone who pays the deposit. The deposit is due Feb 1st 2004. So yes you will see people wearing them. As for them/us being the "chosen ones". We have asked people to sign up via the council newspaper. Those who chose to sign up and pay up will wear the patch maybe you mean "Those that chose?" Eamonn

While the BSA does allow a person to be the merit badge counselor for any number of merit badges. All Merit Badge Counselors are appionted by the District Committee. This committee can set guidelines and are responsible for the Merit Badge List,the Dean of Merit Badges works with the Advancement Committee. While I really don't know why there isn't a limit on how many badges one person counsel. It may have to do with geographical and distance concerns. I do know first hand that at times with out the district keeping an eye on things it can get out of hand. We had one guy on our district list who was down for 42 Merit Badges. As a committee we do not have to approve every counselor or give a reason for not approving. We could have a unwritten policy, but that isn't the way things should work. At present we have requested that people do not sign up for more then five and will look at any special circumstances case by case.One reason we are doing this is because we want the Scouts to use the list and use the Merit Badge Counselors. We have had a lot of Scouts with 30 or 40 MBs who have never gone "Out Of Troop" to earn one of them. We as a district have also made the appiontment of Merit Badge Counselor a one year term. Eamonn

Ok, for the past week or so I have had all the Scouting worries in the world, what with not seeing eye to eye with some people. Last night was OJ's troop night. I'm not involved with the troop. At supper he said that they were having troop elections and he was going to run for SPL. His mother said that she would drive him to the meeting. As they were going out the door he said that they had to pick up a Lad named Kevin. Kevin is a Lad who is 17 and just moved into the area and wanted to rejoin a troop in order to complete his Eagle Scout rank. Of course I wasn't at the meeting, but I picked both of them up. Kevin was full of it telling me how great it was to be back in Scouting. I don't know if he will ever complete his Eagle. But I know that that little drive with a kid who was happy to be back in Scouting did wonders for me. Hey Barry - Your right I do love this stuff. Eamonn

While I really don't have that much to do with Scouts on the troop level. I do have a lot to do with the one Scout who lives in my house. A long time ago I stopped coparing "Us and them." We as a family live within a set of values that we all share.We of course follow the law of the land. At times these values do come into question and there is open discussion and debate. OJ, being 15 years old is the person who asks most of the questions. Or has at times not lived up to these values. Of course he is not the only member of the family who allows this to happen. I at times fall very short on some things. Everyone in the family is a member of the BSA.While at times we get lost in all the stuff that is going on and the activity. We as a family have taken the values of the BSA to heart.As a dad I use a lot of the tools that Scouting has given me to try and be a good parent. I try to set the example for my son. Again at times I don't do as good a job as I would like. One great thing about a family is that we don't and never have shyed away from the word love. I really love my family. Even when one of us fails or does something wrong. This love is strong enough to bind us and hold us through the rough spots. We all are very aware that we are not just Scouts for 90 minutes a week or when we are dressed up in uniform. OJ the Scout is just OJ. Scouts and Scouting has given him a lot of stuff that has now become part of him. Maybe it was always there but Scouting has reinforced it. Yes there are areas that we all need to work on. When I lose my cool and become upset. You can bet that being kind is a long way from happening.I know when this happens the example that I'm setting is not that great. While we share many if not most of the same values. We do not always have them in the same order of importance. Right now he thinks that being physically fit is very important, while I am happy to be in good health. He at this time does not see being part of the church as being a high priority. While I do. He is fast becoming his own person. My hope as a father is that I have laid a good foundation. I like to think that he lives up to the Scout Oath and Law. But at the end of the day only he knows where he has failed and where there is room for improvement. Baden Powell is to have said that "It is better to do good then be good." One easy thing about doing good is most of the time there is an end result (Of course the same goes for doing bad.) Living good can be a tough thing to determine. OJ doesn't need to work on being a lot of things. He already is. At times he may seem to lack loyalty but he has a knack of working things out sometimes with help from his mother and I. Sometimes he will just sort things out. So how would you evaluate a boy who is not your son. How much do you really know about him and his family? While there are a lot of wise and wonderful postings so far. I think that this requirement is more about giving the Scout an opportunity to stop, reflect and do a self- assessment of how he thinks he is doing. We as adults do offer the Scouts/youth in our programs the chance to "Do Good" via the program. We give Lads the opportunity to learn to work together and learn good leadership. Still as the sun goes down how they feel about what they have done that day is theirs. They own it. They know if they have done their best. Eamonn

While I have been aware that there are a good number of people in these forums who really do know what is in the books. I kind of liked to think that I wasn't a duffer about this stuff. Yes more then once I have posted something that I really thought was 100%. Only to find that I couldn't be more wrong. When this has happened I of course feel like a real twit. When our Man of Steele pointed out that there was no need for the parent to sign the Venturing App. I felt that once again I had been caught with my pants down. Yesterday I was on the phone with a friend who works in the national office. We were discussing my problem with the school crew. Of course he was "Off the record." I said how the parent didn't need to sign the app. He said are you sure? In the end he put me on hold while he went to check. At least now I don't feel so bad. This chap has held all the professional positions in Scouting. So while Dave was right, at least in my ignorance I was in good company. Eamonn

Hi Mollie I am not a patch collector. I have a great many that live in tupperware boxes. The boxes live in an antique blanket box that I paid too much for at an auction. The top of the box has a printer, a fax and an elephant plant. So I don't look at the patches very often. Some years back I got the tupperware boxes out and my son went through them. He looked at me and said "Hey Dad when you die can I have your patches?" Eamonn

My first sleeping bags when I was a Scout were about a waste of time. When it started to look like I might stay in, my parents bought me a down filled Icelantic bag. I had heard that Sir Edmund Hillary had used it. I still have it and do use it in the summer. I remember it was for the time a lot of money. Something like 35 pounds uk.(about $58.00) That was in the late 60s or early 70s. I did try a coleman mummy bag with a synthetic fill. It was ok for the fall but I ended up giving it to my son.I bought it at a coleman outlet store and remember that it wasn't very expensive. I now use a Northface Cat's Meow. which is great. A little bit expensive I got mine at a store that was closing and had a 50% off sale and still paid $95.00 I think the real price is about $160.00. I am one of those "cold people" and do not like being cold. But I am also very frugal. So much so that some people think that I'm cheap. I think anything over $200.00 is too much. Northface has the Blue Kazoo which is nice at around the $200.00 also the Marmot Pinnacle is really good but it is nearly $300.00. You need to look at how much you are going to use this before you lay out this sort of cash. One thing that really hurts a sleeping bag is dirt. You do need to keep it clean. Alot of the new Dryloft filled bags wash up well. Something that the Down filled bags don't. EMS has a bag that is rated at 15o that comes with a fleece lined stuff sack which you can turn inside out fill with soft stuff and use as a pillow. It sells for about $170.00. Welcome to the forums. We are not big on rules. Well some more then others (Duck!!) Please feel free to ask away. We do try to act like we are Scouts. Eamonn

The answer is more then lightly the same as the answer to the Venture App.question. I do carry my card and use it a lot to get 10% discount at Gander Mountain. Our local has Thermorest pads with 30% off. I used my card last night. Eamonn

acco40 Strange as this may sound I happen to agree with you. However as I said last time there was no selection as only the four who went were the only ones who applied. It was funny I knew when the committee were meeting and a few of the members. After the meeting one phoned and told me that I was to be the Scoutmaster. My head was starting to swell and I was feeling very honored till he let me know that I was the only applicant. It didn't do the ego much good!! This year the other troop only got one adult to apply. While I do have to admit that while at the Jamboree the other Scoutmaster and I did discuss the idea of doing it again. Mainly to see if we could make some changes that would improve the experiance for the Scouts that attend. I have no real idea why the leaders in our council shy away from this opportunity. We do seem to have a lot of people from the council that do attend as Jamboree Staff members. Most of these are guys who do not do very much with the youth. We did have a problem with the Jamboree Committee. It had become a little bit of an "Good Old Boys" club. Still even with this I don't think this prevented leaders from applying. While it is sad to see some of these guys who have worked so hard for Scouting grow old and then step aside. It does give the newer guys and gals a chance. Eamonn

I think that I have stated that I am all for numbers. I have been heard crying from the rooftops that Scouting is a living thing. Just like a business we either are growing or we are dying. Which reminds me of a story. "A catholic church had a very popular priest who was relocated. Sad to say his replacement was not that popular. Soon there were things that in the past were done by the parishioners,were not being done. Committees had positions not filled and all in all things were not going well. Still there was one chap who was like a timex watch. He just kept working away doing as much as ever, if not more. Someone asked him if he liked the new priest. He said "Not much" They then asked why he kept working so hard. He said that he wasn't working for the priest, he was working for the church and the church would still be there long after the priest was gone." On this Venturing issue. It seems to me after really trying to look at it from every angle that "They" are saying "Any program is better then no program." I started with a very hardline point of view. In part because of my distrust of the FD. and some of the things that he has tried to pull in the past. I will go to the dinner and will explain that I think that the values of Scouting over ride everything. There can never be any ifs ands or buts. When we take them away I'm not sure what we have but it isn't Scouting. We may be able to alter the methods and in time make them work as they ought too. Heck - I took that voyage of discovery myself as a leader. I kind of grew into doing things the "right way" After doing different "Eamonn Ways?" I do have to admit that I think that my feelings about the FD are clouding my judgement. I am trying to put that aside. What is sad is that the idea does have merit and with the right preparation could work and work well. No matter what I say the FD will have a chance to meet with the people from the school and make his pitch. We all want to get as many youth as possible into Scouting. Not for "Year End" Not because it will look good on a resume(sp)But because we believe in the program and it is the right thing to do. Eamonn

2001 was my first National Jamboree. I was the Scoutmaster for one of the two troops that our council sends. The Scouts and the adults all had a super time. After the event we had a close-out meeting and it was decided that if the two Scoutmasters were willing they would get to do it again.Both of us were willing and both are going to be the Scoutmasters for 2005. The council has four districts. We have a North Troop and a South Troop. The North troop is taken from the two districts in the northen end of the council and the South Troop from the two districts in the south end of the council. I have the honor of serving the troop from the south. Last time all the troop leadership came from the same district that I am in. In fact there was no real selection only four people applied. One thing that both the other Scoutmaster and myself asked for at the close out meeting was to get an earlier start. For 2001, we didn't start working on the jamboree till the Fall of 2000. Which wasn't a lot of time. So this time we are off to a flying and much earlier start. We have held a rally for the Scouts and their parents. Which was really well attended. We asked for adults to apply for the other leadership positions. The North troop got only one. We got a lot. But all from the same district as the one that I'm in. So all the adults are from one district. The 3rd Assistant Leader isn't from our district. But it is well known that I really like him. I was the speaker at his Eagle Scout presentation. I had him be the guest speaker at the Council Recognition dinner, where he told us about his experiance at the World Jamboree. He was asked to speak at one of the big fund raising dinners and retold his experiance at the national jamboree and thanked me. He is the Lodge chief and an all round real nice lad. As I say I really think the world of him. I wish he was in the same district as me. There is no real selection for the youth attending. They need the ok from their real Scoutmaster and a deposit ($175.00 Non-returnable.) We have 36 spaces. To date we have 30 filled and they are all from one district. Yes the one that I'm in !! I have spoken to other people in the district who said that they were thinking of sending their son. I told them to move fast. It now seems that the other district is a little upset. Some units were having fund raising events to raise the $175.00 and now it looks like there will be no room for them. While I know that I have done nothing wrong. It sure looks like I have gone out of my way to fill this Jamboree Troop with Lads from the same district as I'm in. I am having a meeting this week and know that we will have the troop filled before the end of the week. Should I hold back and give the Lads from the other district "First Dips"? Or just it play out as first come first served? I don't know how many places are open in the other troop maybe some of them could go there. Eamonn(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

While I am not sure If it was ever pointed out.I feel sure that Macgyver must have been a Scout. Not to get off the topic but.... I just managed to get a tape of the original "Italian Job" I tried sometime back to get it from Amazon. They wanted $80.00 for a used tape. I picked up a new copy for $11.00. Needless to say I loved it. Her Who Must Be Obeyed wasn't that keen. Eamonn

I used to think that all the important lessons were learnt in kindergarten. Now I know that they are in the Guide To Safe Scouting. Great Posting - Thank You. Eamonn

Hi, Just to clear up a few points. No this is not and never has been a unit. Yes, I am the District Chair. And No I am not going to win. I still have had no word from the professional staff other then Pam, our DE. While it might be wrong and unkind of me I think that this is sheer cowardice. I did call the area president who is a volunteer.He is a vice- president of the council. I was cool, calm and only stuttered a little bit. I expressed my concerns about membership. I didn't want anyone "Signed-up" that didn't sign up of their own free will. We agree on that one. I said that I wasn't keen on having the DE as the Crew Advisor and that I had no plans of taking on a crew. He said that I didn't have to. But the DE was employed by the council and what her and her boss did was none of our business. I explained that I thought that what made Scouting great was the fact that our leaders were volunteers. He said that our professionals needed to learn the program. I don't agree. But knew that I wasn't going to win that one. I asked about Youth Leaders? He said give it time. This plan has been given the green light by the region. The feeling is that if we are going to make any progress in Venturing, we have to get into the schools. So I am not going to win at this level. What the School does is another story. OJ attends this school and I have invited the head to dinner. If this happens to come up, which it just might I will tell her that I think the idea is a good one if we can tie in with one of the exsisting school clubs and have a teacher act as the advisor. Of course if the spineless people had met with me as I requested I could have let them know who I was having dinner with. Shame that they didn't think that my resturant did all the parties for the school district. In fact wasn't that why they wanted me as the District Chair? Eamonn

As many of the "Regulars" to the forum know. I was the course director for NE-IV-153 which ended in October of this year. I have served on seven courses each one better then the last? And while I do admit to being a great fan of Wood Badge and most of the Adult Training courses that we offer. I do have wonder if maybe we would have been better not to have had the patrols in the new course. Sure thing, being a member of the whatever patrol is a lot of fun and as a working team the size and just about everything does work. However with so many non Boy Scouters taking the course (70% at NE-IV-153 were not Boy Scouters.)It does seem that we favoring one program more then the others. Even though it is pointed out at the start of the course in the overview. Going over the course assessments that the participants filled in. The thing that they wanted was more info. about Venturing and Varsity Scouts. Sad to say this was not and really is not the place for that kind of information. If they want to find out a specific program they need to take the training for that program. Anyway, we had paticipants from five councils and I checked none of the five even have a Varsity Team. We really do need to move away from the idea that Wood Badge is a Troop Leader training. I may be way of base but I think that we are going to see far more Cub Scouters taking the course then Boy Scouters. I for one was happy to see the "Role Playing" taken out of the Scoutmaster training's. The staff member playing the part of the SPL was a little bit superfluous. The new video tapes do a great job of explaining the Patrol method. Also the outdoor training with the participants spending more time in their patrol camp sites is far better then it was in the Scoutmaster Fundamental course. Still we do have a good course and people are coming and having fun. I will one day try and see how many hours it will take the participants from our course to work their tickets. All this manpower working towards making things better for our kids can only be a good thing. I also think that the $15.00 was a good deal. I found out what pages of the staff guide were not allowed to be copied and didn't copy them. We did copy the rest of the book and copied the movies from tape to CD. We had to copy the book. The Region only gave me four books and we had twenty staff members. We would have bought extra copies but they just were not for sale. The set up of the new course does have the staff paying their own way. Something that wasn't the case in the past. Being a "Staffer" can be expensive.What with all the little extras that need to be bought. Even the Course Directors Conference is not a budget item and those who attend have to pay. The North East Region has the conference at Camp Alpine in New Jersey. The cost of the weekend was, if I remember $225.00 per person.So what with travel and the cost of the conference it is an expensive little outing. Still I would do it again. Eamonn

Have to own up to not being in tip top form tonight. In no small part due to an ongoing disagreement with both the Scout Exec and the Nit who is our Field Director. Our district has met all our goals except membership. We are in fact the only district to meet the finance goal and popcorn goal. While we are still doing work on membership, sad to say it just ain't happening. Along comes the Nit. He wants to sign up a couple of grades in the high school and make them Venturers. He has this plan that the kids will be herded into the auditorium and work on Venturing advancement stuff. I asked for a face to face meeting to discuss this and have been informed that there isn't time. I have tried to explain that there is no adult leaders. He tells me that the hope is that eventually a teacher might come forward. In the meantime our DE will fill in. Pam our DE by her own admission knows little or nothing about Venturing. I have E-mailed him the BSA "What Is Venturing" page and tried to explain that what he is trying to do is more along the lines of Learning for life then traditional Scouting. But he tells me that the Executive Committee (Not Board) wants this. While I am not supposed to know. At the staff meeting held yesterday I was being viewed as a trouble maker and they can't understand why I am not for this. To be really honest I am more then upset. I know that he will "Sign up" all these kids without application forms filled in and signed by the parents. There will not be the committee members that the BSA requires. As for me being a trouble maker. They have yet to see trouble. If need be I will get a court injunction to stop this going through until all the paper work is in order.I really hate to embarrass the council like this but what they are doing is wrong. 2003 has been a tough year. We busted our tails to meet the goals and try to meet membership. Being a Quality District means a lot to me. But telling lies and cheating is not the way that I want to get it.

It is kind of nice to have this topic being looked at without too many jabs. Maybe I'm just a go with the flow type of chap. Of course everyone knows that wheb I did Wood Badge it was for real men. We hiked fom Chingford to Gilwell in the snow with no shoes. Of course I'm joking. I have been around Wood Badge for a while. There are a couple of things. First it would seem that all those who have posted so far are only talking about the Boy Scout Wood Badge. There was the Cub Scout Trainer course. Which was really kind of dry. Yes, we that were involved in Cub Scout Leader training got a lot out of the course.IMOHO having the course at a Scout Camp site was a waste of time. While we did sleep in tents all the food was prepared for us. As we were "Cubscouts" we were not allowed to even light a fire. As we all know Camp dining halls really are good for meals, but most do not make places to view any sort of a presentation. I tend to think that there is a lot more references to Baden Powell in this new course then there was in the old Boy Scout course.Also while a staff member does have the Guide Book with all the references listed. Most of the time the participants don't know where the material came from. While there are a few bugs that need to be worked out. I really like the new course. The big gain in my view is that we now have a course that is for everyone. Then again I might be a "Dark Sucker" Eamonn Having Maggie Thathcher was make an appearance was a surprise.

Do a google search and you will find Camp Read. Eamonn Hope this helps. It is named after Curtis S. Read

Laurie is right on the money. I have been to lots of Blue and Gold Banquets. Some were the great ones where each den played an active part in the program. Some may have looked like they were out of Better Homes and Gardens. But that isn't how the game is played. Wow I nearly forgot that Feb. isn't that far away. You wouldn't believe how much chicken I get to eat. Some sundays I get to as many as three B&G's All of them have chicken. I wasn't that keen on the stuff to start with. As for the CM being the chairman. This ought to be a Pack Committee appointment. At most B&G the Cubmaster is far too busy to be the Chairman as well as the Cubmaster. Eamonn

Bob White makes a good point. "Even a clock that has stopped is right twice a day." Some people are not happy unless they have something to complain or grumble about. Heck I have been known to be a bit of a whiner myself. I very often use humor or wit. At times I will give the person a big smile and ask "Are you complaining Again?" This is ok for the petty things. When there is a real issue I fall back on the Wood Badge Training. And the big questions 1/ What do you want? 2/ What are you prepared to do to get it? 3/ Is there another way? When you ask these questions in this order and really listen to the answers you will find that most things can be worked out. I also find that trying to keep everything in the present helps. At times I have a problem with this. Just because someone has done something in the past, when I'm dealing with them I have to deal with what is at hand not my history of what happened in the past. Sometimes people make waves because we have not done a good good job of communicating with them. I had a Scoutmaster in our district who was really anti district. He thought that all we ever did was ask for money. I sat down with him and went over where the money was being spent. While he never signed up to be a FOS presenter. He quit being such a pain in the you know where and even allowed the presentation in the troop. Of course if all else fails there is always the Raspberry!! Eamonn