Eamonn

"In addition to going to troop meetings, I think if you really want to find out how a troop operates -- and why it operates that way -- ask if you can visit the monthly PLC." Not on my watch! Last thing I'd want at a PLC is any unnecessary adults. The PLC belongs to the youth leaders. It is in my eyes a time for them to do their thing and nothing else. Ea.

I don't know a thing about Canadian Thistles. I do know that the Thistle is the official flower of Scotland. When teaching English Scouts about the Union Jack /Flag which is called Union because it is in fact the flag of three countries: England: With Saint George ad the Red Rose. Ireland: Saint Patrick and the Shamrock Scotland: Saint Andrew and the Thistle. Legend has it that the Romans tried to attack a bunch of Scotsmen at night. So as not to make any noise they took off their shoes. Things worked out great until one roman trod on a thistle and cried out, alerting the sleeping Scots. You don't post how big an area this is? My experiences with Cub Scout service projects is that most adults see what needs to be done but forget that kids are kids and become bored very quickly. The adults end up doing most of the work and add to this trying to keep an eye on a Den full of Cub Scouts near a busy highway? The best service projects have taken into account the attention span of the people doing the work. I'd say that anything over an hour is too much for these little guys. If you can get a book about Scotland and the thistle and share it with the Scouts it might add a little more interest to this project? Ea.

Back in the day! We had a joint meeting of the Pack Management Committee and the Den Leaders. We started with the monthly themes from Scouting Magazine, changing the ones we either didn't like or if we had Pack activity like Fishing going on that replaced the monthly theme. The plan had the preset dates and holidays built in. Things like District events, Scout Sunday and so on. Some dates had to be penciled in due to not knowing if dates for the hall were free or not. The themes worked out great for us and helped make the Pack Meetings more interesting and flow better. As a rule I as Cubmaster had a list of things that I thought the Pack might want to participate in and might like to do, with costings for these.Things like going to a baseball game. By the end of the meeting we had come up with a plan for the year and a budget for the year. A good many of our Scouts attended the R/C School, the church was our CO. The parents of these kids seemed to move from one fund raising event to the next and didn't want to have to sell or ask for money so we came up with a cost per Cub per year. Parents were informed what that number was and could pay it either by fund raising or just by writing a check any money above that was used to pay for Cub Scout resident camp and moved with the Scout when they crossed over to a Troop. The themes worked out great for us and helped make the Pack Meetings more interesting and flow better. Ea(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

"That's not even considering the late nigh cry of "EWWWWWW!" if somebody steps in a dog "cookie" while alking to the bathroom! " Not trying to hijack the thread. But this reminds me of my Assistant Scout Leader/Quartermaster, back home in London. Pete was a super nice guy who was very down to earth. His wife thought she had class. They lived in a very nice house in London in an area that became very trendy. Pete's wife Ann, seemed to come up with a new project for Pete every year. One year it was a formal dinning room, one year it was building a bar-b-Que in the garden and one year it was redoing the bathroom. The bathroom was completely redone and a bidet was added. While The bidets are common in France they are uncommon in England. The new bathroom had been done for about a year when I asked Pete, who was a short fairly chubby chap. "Hey Pete, have you ever used that bidet?" He said, "Yes one night I was going for a pee and I stepped in some poop that the cat had done on the floor, so I washed my foot in it!". Ann very quickly changed the subject. Ea.

I am very much a dog person. All three of my dogs are well trained. Two went away to a training camp to be trained as gun dogs, which some might think is silly as I don't shoot or hunt. These two obey both verbal and hand commands and sometimes I think they know what to do long before I tell them. We lost our dear Rory he developed a cancer and even after taking him to a hospital in Ohio the only kind thing to do in the end was to say goodbye. Ollie our English Setter is a rescue dog. He is gun shy. But the main reason I sent him to camp was because he was very birdy, chasing birds and small animals. Once he got running he would ignore me. The new Goldie Dudley is a wonderful dog who has a vocabulary of about 200 words. Friday is a little dog that was living over the fields and would have nothing to do with me and Rory for about five weeks. Then one day when the painters were painting the outside of the house she came to supervise that was on a Thursday. The next day she moved in. She has never been on a leash other than to go to the vet and loves to catch field mice. She comes when called, sits. lays, stays when she feels like it and most nights can be found on my lap, with Ollie on the floor to my right and Dud on the floor to my left. We walk about five miles almost everyday. We cut back when we had the big snows the winter before last. Still I would never take them camping with me. I don't like dogs in my cars. I think dogs can be a very big distraction especially when there are boys are around. I don't like people other than family members feeding my dogs. (Field mice are OK!) The dogs are used to having very large fields to do their business in, I'd hate to go into my tent at night with dog poop on my boots. They know now that if we ever get separated to go and wait for me on the front porch. That wouldn't be the case a long way from home. While I feel sure that they would never hurt or harm anyone, I don't know what would happen if a group of kids were to tease them. Ea.

No noname. And Eamonn are not the same person. In case anyone was thinking. Ea.

In many ways I envy you. Scouts and Scouting were for the longest time something that everyone in our home seemed to live for. My son, now 22 aged out. He talked about becoming more involved, but with all that is going on, him being a volunteer Fireman, volunteer medic and working shifts, he hasn't been able to find the time. Over the past few years I have cut back more and more each year. It started when HWMBO found out that she had cancer and later when it spread to the lymph nodes and the Doc. said that most people have about seven years. I kinda cut myself off. Even though HWMBO keeps urging me to get out of the house and do more. This big black cloud is always there. Even just not being home for a few hours has me feeling like I should be at home. Add to this that things change and if your not there and able to be part of the changes, the feeling of things not being the same is at times daunting. I feel the same way about my home town London. I dearly love London. I like to think that I know every road, street, short cut, you name it! But London has changed. The church I used to attend and was married in was an Irish stronghold. The church is still there but the Irish have gone and been replaced by a Portuguese congregation. It's strange going to mass there now that the mass is being said in Portuguese. While I don't feel unwelcome. I know that I don't know or understand a lot of whats going on. This is like what has happened to me and Scouting. I don't know if it's just me? But many of the new leaders just don't seem to have the same drive and the same passion that I thought was there in the past. I'm saddened to see the decline in membership. I look back for the days when the District Committee was able to get things done and while maybe not perfect there was at least some service coming from the Commissioners. I'm really saddened when I see that all of this and fail to understand how this can be acceptable. While I was posting this our District Chair. Called me on the phone. As ever we had a long chat. He has lost heart. Saying that there isn't ten active units in the District. Not so long back there was over 40. His term is just about over. I think he was feeling me out to see if I'd take his place. He didn't ask me. Just skirted around the subject. So I didn't volunteer. I don't think, when they do ask! That I'm willing to take on what seems to be an uphill thankless task. My days on the trail are about over. It's time for new faces on the top of the mountain. Ea.

In the UK most Troop meetings start with the duty Patrol preparing the flag (Union Jack) for Flag Break. The flag is fold and raised with the line tucked so when the line is pulled the flag breaks open. My question is there ever a time when the American Flag is not raised but "Broken"? Ea.

Great Job. A wonderful service project. We have been on our way home from an event with Scouts wearing clothes that identify them as Scouts (Not always full or correct uniforms.) And have received free food. The Scouts didn't dress that way to receive a free ice cream. They didn't stop wherever it was in order to get something for nothing. We stopped because they like to eat. Doesn't matter what they are wearing they just never stop eating. Ea.

"My main question is whether it was legal for him to open this account at all?" Since 9/11 the rules and laws that deal with banking have changed a lot. If you need legal advise? I would suggest that this isn't the place to try and get it, talk with a lawyer. While I'm not a lawyer, I think that a lot might depend on which name was on the account. Maybe he just didn't want to leave the money in his house? Maybe he wanted to ensure that this money didn't get mixed up with his own? Would you feel different if maybe he'd given you a personal check? There is a lot of maybes. I agree with SeattlePioneer about having Den Leaders being in charge of Fund Raising events. The job of program leaders is program. You post: "Every year we ask the Tiger leader to run the fundraiser" Seems to me you got what you asked for. Over the years I have seen a lot of Packs run into problems because of the way money and funds are managed. While I'm not a fan of lots of rules and regulations. When it comes to dealing with other peoples money there needs to be very clear guidelines. The Pack needs to have a Pack Treasurer who looks after all the funds and reports at meetings of The Pack Management Committee. Everyone needs to understand that there is no such thing as Den Funds and everything needs to go through the Pack Treasurer. Back when I was involved at the Pack level, we found that having a Pack Bank Account where checks needed two signatures along with having four names who were able to sign worked well for us. Whenever possible the Pack Treasurer tried to only write checks at the monthly meeting. Still there were times when people couldn't wait. Or didn't know the amount needed. Sign up night was one of these times. We didn't know how many boys would sign up, how many would want Boy's Life. We charged the full years membership fee, but the Council pro-rated the fee. (After the sign up the Pack paid the membership fee out of pack funds from the Pack Bank account.) You as Pack Chairman might want to meet with your COR and find out how the CO wants the Pack Funds managed and then with the Committee set up guidelines that are shared with the Den Leaders and the parents. The more open and transparent things are the less problems there seems to be. Ea.

I'm not trying to defend what Summer Camp has become. I have never sat on our Council Camping Committee. Most camps try to make use of whatever natural resources that are available. While camps are for the most part set away from it all and have places that are very scenic, for the most part they have small clearings where Scout Troops can set up camp and over time swimming pools, ranges and buildings have been built. Camps are expensive to maintain and run. I sometimes think that it's a shame to have all that equipment and so many resources only being used for so few weeks a year. The cost for a Scout to go to camp? I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that the norm is anywhere from $200 -$375 for a week. While a long way from the cost of going to a theme park for a week, more than keeping a kid at home and having him mow the grass. Again I'm guessing but the average age for a camper attending a Council ran Scout Camp? Maybe 12 or 13? I really don't know, but my thinking is that the younger Scouts tip the scales. In the area where I live while most Troops don't sell a lot of popcorn they do raise money most of which is used for sending Scouts to camp. So parents don't have to dig that deep into their pockets. Unless the parents have been involved with Scouts and Scouting they really don't know what to expect or what their kid is letting himself in for. Of course they understand the basics: Living in a tent and that sort of thing. Nearly all the Troops in the Council camp at the Council run camp each and every year. It is almost expected. I even heard that a friend of mine who received the Silver Beaver ought not have got it because his Troop wasn't using the camp and was using the bigger camp that our neighboring Council runs. Scoutmasters are very strongly encouraged to book next years date and site before they depart this year. Most do, booking the same site for the same week each and every year. The Scouts have no say in it. Near the end of each week SM's are asked to evaluate the camp and their week at camp. Talking with the Council Camping Chair. Number one on the list is always the food. Number two is the program areas and how the staff are behaving and doing or not doing their jobs. Of course by this time what's done is done and the big hope is that maybe next year the soft spots will have been fixed. The Camp does try to hire the best possible people. However the camp budget is always hovering and there is a need to keep an eye on expenses. Adults who even if they are available are not going to work for what a 15 year Scout might. Older Scouts have expenses and most Scout camps just can't match what a Lad might earn even working at a fast food restaurant. In the area where I live even with the high unemployment these restaurants can't find workers with a starting pay of $8.75 an hour. Unemployed adults who might be free can't work because working will harm what benefits they are receiving. I have in the past been asked to go up to camp during Staff Week to help train the camp staff who are counseling MB's. The truth is that a week is just not long enough. These guys are doing so much trying to get everything ready that they are lucky to have a couple of days to get their area ready and prepare for the incoming campers. I voiced this and again it came down to money. We talked about having training's for camp staff, but ran into all sorts of problems, mainly finding free dates and times for both the people who might do the training's and the staff especially guys who are away at college. So far we have been unable to find something that will or might work. A lot of the paperwork is done before the Scouts get to camp. SM's know what is going on, when it will be going on. While some of the older Scouts might want to attend camp just to get a needed required MB done and out of the way and some Troops send all their first year campers to a first year camper program which is renamed every few years. They also encourage the little guys to earn the not so hard MB's that are offered. These little guys arrive home dirty holding a basket and something that maybe at one time might have looked like a foot-stool. Soon after camp the Troops hold a COH. The SM gives the Merit Badge Count. If most of the Scouts have five badges and your kid has more than five. That's wonderful. If he only has two or three? That's not so wonderful and he needs to do better next year. The SM agrees and come next year will do what is needed to push this Lad and keep his parents happy. While I have sat at Executive Board Meetings where the number of badges earned at camp has been mentioned. The fact is that no one really cares what the count is. They do care how many kids we get to attend camp. The Board loves to hear that the camp is offering something that is new. I sat at one meeting where the Board thought that taking older Scouts from the camp to learn how to play golf was the best idea ever. (Board members understand golf!) The camp is trying to make what it offers attractive and meaningful. Sometimes they try a little too hard. - For a while our camp was covering the Citizenship MB's. I would think that camp is not the time or the place. So who is at fault? Why has Summer Camp become what it has? The Council needs to fill the camp so as to make it economically viable. To do this it needs to have people buy into the idea that going is worth the money, time and effort. While we like to blame the parents for wanting this that and the other. My feeling is that we the Scouter's have and help to create what we now have Summer Merit Badge Camps. We make such a big deal about the Merit Badge Count that parents who didn't know anything to start with buy into this idea.This all ends up as being a circle, the camp and camp staff feel that we need to please the customers so the mill starts and then just can never stop. A local Troop was going to drive from SW-PA to upstate NY because a camp there offered a bigger selection of badges. That might well be true? But I'll bet that a first year camper coming home from that camp still comes home dirty with a basket and a mess of twine that will never be used as a foot stool. Ea.

I'm not proud to admit it, but I think in the Scout District where I live there isn't a Troop that would meet your son's expectations. Even when I think about the Council, which is small having only about 100 Troops, I only come up with one or two who might meet the grade. The Council does offer HA experiences. High Adventure comes under the Council Camping Committee, they have a four year rotation one year it's Philmont, then Sea Base, then Northern Tier and the National Jamboree. While the age for most BSA High Adventure Bases was 14, I seem to remember reading that it is now down to 13. Again in the District and Council where I live Venturing has never really managed to get a hold, but it might be different in your area. At 14 your son might be able to join a Crew or a Ship that might meet his needs? I have always thought that mastering the skills needed to become a First Class Scout is the key that opens the door for being able to do more exciting and more adventuring Scouting. Maybe looking for a Troop that stresses traditional Scouting skills and where he will master the ground work and rules might be an idea? It's also worth remembering that Troops do change, sometimes for the better. We do have a new Troop which started with a Webelos Den a year or so back. The Den Leader was the wife of the guy who is now SM. The Troop is very new, not very big but hasn't as yet developed any bad habits and seems to have a good grasp of how to work with these little guys. Last time I looked there were only eight boys in the Troop. I feel sure if the Troop does survive it is not going to fall into the same old same old. Again maybe there is a group like that in your area? Or maybe the time has come for you to have a word with your Membership chair, and DE about starting one? Ea.

I like Jamborees. I know people who don't. I went to Nordjamb back in 1975 as a Assistant Scout Leader for Greater London Central. Spent a week living with a family in Sweden. We still send each other cards at Christmas along with a note about what's happening. I was the SM in 2001 and 2005. When I talk to Scouts about Jamborees I tell them that Philmont is Boy Scout Heaven and the National Scout Jamboree is Boy Scout Disney Land. Being the SM for a Jamboree Troop is great fun. It's wonderful meeting and getting to know an entire Troop of new Scouts. It's great watching the Patrols and the Troop come together. It's fun watching them become more at ease with the adults and when they find out that for the most part the adults are just as daffy as they can be and really know how to have fun. I have a lot of truly wonderful memories that I carry with me. Most are about Scouts and Leaders that I worked with for years, but the Scouts from all 3 Jamboree Troops were all great kids and I feel it was my privilege to serve them. In 2005 one of my ASM's paid for himself and his two sons to attend. Even though we are not that far from A.P. Hill, it was still a fair amount. He says it was the best money he ever spent! (I think it was spending time with me? But I might be wrong!) Ea.

"Prison guard leaders that beat down their charges with arbitrary rules" And you know this how? Ea.

TAHAWK Having served as a CD for a course, I've now been put out to pasture! To be very honest, I'm not sure that I'm now willing to give up the time that goes into Staffing a course. In the area where I live we have a lot of smaller Councils, who come together as a cluster for Wood Badge. Back when the new course came along it was hoped that with all the Cub Scouters and others we might be able to pull off presenting two courses a year. We tried but it just didn't work out. Courses ended up not having enough participants and being canceled. When we still had the old courses WB was very much an "Old Boys Network." While I was never the SM or CM for the old courses. It seemed to me that for a Boy Scout course the Home Council selected approx half the Staff. The SPL was selected from the Council who was next on the list and this years SPL was next years SM. The Home Council also selected a couple of new faces. After that the SM invited the other Councils to send in their list. Meanwhile more often than not the SM had already contacted a bunch of staff members that he'd worked with before. I staffed courses where there have been ten guys who in the past had served as SM. Most of them multiple times. Some of these guys hadn't had any dealings with real Scouts in many years. For the Cub course our District Commish had served on that course in the past, I was District Training Chair. The CM was in Germany (Us being the NE Region) So the selection was left to a few leaders who had served in the past. My first time, I was one of only three new faces, my second time there were no new faces. I'm happy that these days are behind us. When I was CD, we only had seven people who had served before. This was just when the new course came out. While it maybe suits me not to return to the happy land. I kinda resent the fact that I can't return. I do think that I still have a lot to offer and am a long way from being past it? Whatever that might mean. I have had a couple of invites to come and cook at WB and present maybe a presentation or two. I think this is cheating and doesn't set a good example so I have said thanks but no thanks. Ea.

Back in 2001 I was CD. We had a guy who was a bit of a nit! He wanted the Patrol to mark off the boundaries of their Patrol site by having everyone pee the perimeter. Two of the Patrol were female. He didn't return the second weekend. Back in the days when Patrols did all their own cooking. The menu was set. I was invited to eat with one Patrol on chicken day. The menu was Chicken, Sweet Potatoes and cabbage. The chicken was kinda like road-kill cooked on the outside but raw inside, the sweet potatoes were half cooked. I was OK with that but the Patrol had opted to use the cinnamon that was to be used with the sweet potatoes in the cabbage. Cinnamon flavored cabbage was more than I could manage. I was staffing another course back when the feast was a big deal. Back then the Patrol choose what they wanted to cook for the Feast. This then led into a session about Leading The Group. The SPL (A Staff Member) Called all the P/L's up and held a PLC meeting while the rest of the Troop sat and watched. Each Patrol had their preferences of what they wanted to cook, but of course there were duplications and the SPL set about changing things. So it might turn out that the Patrol who said they wanted to cook mashed potatoes ended up cooking lobster! We had an SPL who went a little to far in fact he went way too far. The participants got very upset and one guy wanted to leave. My best friend was the SM for the course. He witnessed what had gone on. He agreed that the SPL was way over the top. This left him in a big quandary. He had to support the syllabus of the course, which clearly the SPL hadn't, but he had to support the SPL. So many of the participants were upset and somewhat puzzled that the SM in the end got up and said that this was an example of how NOT to go about it! I had a problem with the Game Of Life. The first time I staffed the new course. For some reason to make up the teams two staff members were asked to join in. I can't remember why? Or where they were. But these two guys were instrumental in having he Patrol tell lies and do the nasty. I thought that as Staff Members they needed to set a better example. I made sure that when I was CD that we had the Scout Law and Oath on big posters all over the outdoor Troop Room. Ea.

A few times a week HWMBO will ask,"What do you want for supper tomorrow?" I as a rule haven't given this any thought. The conversation goes on with me asking "What have you got?" This is a little unfair of me, as while I don't know exactly what foods in the house, I do have a fair idea of what's more than lightly in the freezer and a good idea of maybe what's not. I know that she buys food when it's on sale and uses her handy dandy vacuum thingy to package it and then freeze it. So there's a good chance that if I were to look in the freezer I'd find different cuts of beef, pork, chicken, salmon, shrimp. I'm far less lightly to find veal chops, lobster, liver and lamb chops as these don't go on sale very often. My "What have you got?" Acts like a red flag to a bull and prompts a "You know what's in the freezer?" We have talked about making a list of what we are going to eat and when. But after 28 years we still haven't ever got around too doing it. HWMBO is not a very good cook and she doesn't like to cook. I like to cook and am very good at it. Every so often I'll visit different markets and pick up different herbs, spices, oils, pastas and stuff that will make whatever we pull out of the freezer more interesting and more fun to eat. When we ask a PLC what they want to do? They have a good idea of what's on the "Menu". They know that camping, hiking, swimming, are always in the freezer. If the Troop has canoes or other equipment they know that. When our PLC met to plan the year ahead, we started with themes for each month. Every now and then as SM, I might need to help guide them by asking questions such as "Are you sure you want to go canoeing in March?" Sometimes I had to tell them what they wanted to do just wasn't possible. Last year the Ship wanted to go caving in December, this wasn't possible because the caves close Thanksgiving weekend. Once they got used to the idea that they were really in charge, they came up with more ideas than we could possibly accommodate. When it looked like we were falling into a rut doing th same old same old. I again might ask what could be done to make this more interesting? Of course the longer they had been in the Troop the better idea they had of what could be done. Sometimes they wanted to do the same old same old. My role at a PLC meeting was more about helping the SPL keep things moving along than my input. At times I cheated by planting ideas before the meeting. It's strange what can happen when a couple of P/L's are left in the van on a long drive home! RE: "I am not sure how you guys got an issue of trust out of this." I've lost count of the number of times I have posted: Train them, trust them, let them lead. The main job /role of a SM is to train the youth leaders. Training them or teaching them skills is for the most part not that hard, so long as the person doing the training or the teaching has the skill and can work with kids to pass it on. Many of the skills we teach have an element of risk in them. We try and eliminate that risk by explaining what that risk or danger might be and establishing guide lines. (My bigger is footwear when using an ax!) The hard part for me has been trying to train the youth leaders how to be leaders. Each and every Scout is different. Some are natural leaders who have something that makes others just want to follow them. Others need help, some are not good at being able to see the task ahead and getting the job done. Some feel that being a leader means browbeating and bullying others to get the job done. While I don't have a problem with courses and book learning. I do feel that Scouts learn to lead by leading. I have seen young P/L's really struggle trying to get their Patrol to set up camp. I have sometimes stepped in by asking the SPL to have a word, sometimes when the SPL isn't that great I have pulled the P/L to one side and asked what the problem is? The truth is that I know that there will be times, hopefully lots of times when the P/L's and other youth leaders will be on their own and with no one to fall back on, will be faced with the task of leadership. I have to trust them. I have to trust that they have the skills needed. I have to trust that they are capable of leading the Patrol to get the job done. Being as this is "On the job" training, I realize that things might not always work out. When things don't work out, rather than scold or chastise, I try to use the situation to become part of the training. The youth leaders need to be able to lead because that's what is needed and that's what their job is. I don't ever want them to be scared or fearful that they have to do their job because of me or what I might do. A big part of what we do has to do with character training. For me a lot of this boils down to doing the right thing, because it is the right thing to do and has nothing to do with what the consequences might be for not doing it. Trust is a very important part of leadership and the more we are able to trust our youth leaders the more we are able to challenge them. Scouts quit Scouting because they don't feel challenged. Of course they also need fun and adventure, but when you put fun, adventure and new challenges in the same pot, you get a far better program with a lot less Scouts quiting. Ea.

" has National ever come out and said that cell phones are to be discouraged or prohibited on Scouting events? At both the 2001 and 2005 National Jamborees, national strongly discouraged cell phones. At the last National Jamboree they set up areas where Scouts could recharge their phones. The Times they are a changing! "For those who feel that a Scout should have access to their cell phone during a scouting event, do you feel the same way about your son's phone usage at school? If not, why not? OJ's Troop never had a rule about cell phones. His HS had a rule which back in the dark ages when it was thought that only drug dealers needed cell phones and pagers was strongly enforced. Over time even though the rule was in place it was let go and only used when there was a problem. I bought OJ his first cell phone. It was about the time when HWMBO became ill. I took family leave from work, but of course wasn't able to be home all the time. His teachers were aware of this and were very understanding. Ea. (This message has been edited by Eamonn)

I'm not an American. While I have never made a fuss and am willing to show America and the Americans the same respect I'm sure that they would show if they were in England and God Save The Queen the national anthem was played (No not the version by the Sex Pistols!) As I rule I stand for the pledge and don't say anything. My son is an American, I didn't have a problem teaching him and the other little guys the pledge or when I was CM starting the Pack meeting with the pledge. I was placed in a situation one night at an Executive Board meeting, the Council Commish stood up and without any notice said "Eamonn please lead us in the pledge". I didn't want to cause a fuss so I started and once everyone got going I just shut up. While I love America and Americans (Heck I'm married to one!) I can't in good faith make the pledge. I don't have any problem singing the Star Spangled Banner, God Save The Queen or The Soldiers Song as long as they sing it in English. Ea.

A very long time ago, I was doing a service project for my Queen's Scout Award, working at was back in the day called a Center for Spastic Children. Christmas came and Father Christmas (Santa) came and handed out gifts to all the kids. The next day the parent of a little girl (Lydia. I'll never forget her name, she was 4 years old. arrived bringing back all the gifts that were given. I was deeply upset, I couldn't and still can't understand how someone could do this to a kid so young. Parents are free to make choices. But "When in Rome.." If you are unable to live in Rome, then maybe you made the wrong choice of trying to live there. I'm happy to accommodate the wishes of others, but I'm not going to go to a Jewish wedding and expect them to feed me roast pork, just because I only eat pork. Ea.

To kinda add to what Barry said. As adults we aim for perfection. I've looked at meals that Scouts have cooked and thought, how in the world can anyone eat that? Meanwhile the Scouts in a Patrol are scoffing it down. Later I've asked what happened to dinner? The Scouts know what was wrong and are able to work out where it went wrong and why it went wrong. They ate it because they were hungry and maybe because there wasn't much else to eat. Over the years, I've seen a lot of things that have not gone as well as maybe I might have liked and the Scouts know haven't gone as they planned or imagined. Part of being a SM is to be able to provide a safe place for them to be able to admit what didn't work and explore why it didn't. Of course sometimes there is bravado to cut through, Scouts don't want or like criticism's. Still once they learn that there is no big stick and that no one is pointing the finger. They aren't silly, they know what went wrong where and can make plans to try and ensure it doesn't happen again. Trust is a two way street, I trust the Scouts that I've trained and I need them to be able to trust me. Trust me to help them by allowing them at times to not be perfect and at times fail and then not try and appoint blame, just explore what was learned or gained from the experience. I have always thought it to be a great honor that the Scouts let me in and are willing to place their trust in me. For me not to trust them? Just isn't Scouting. Ea.

While I'm not an expert on parenting or child development, I think as parents we set expectations for our kids and worry when they lag behind or fail to live up to them. I remember my Mother-In-Law going on about how HWMBO was potty trained by the time she only a year old.Being as she didn't walk till sometime after that? I'm still working on that one. Mother-In-Law dear, was also worried when my son wasn't talking by the time she expected and saying that there was something wrong with that kid. Of course like most kids he started to talk in his own good time and hasn't shut up since. That kid got into a fight in first grade and the way his teacher a nun carried on, I feared he was going to be the next ax murderer. School report cards, weren't used just as a tool to see how he was doing, but shared with other parents in some stupid game of one-up man-ship. Back when I was teaching I remember parents coming to me upset because their kid didn't get an A and even though a C was average it was never seen as being OK to be average. While our son was busy trying his best to be a kid, we his parents stressed through his growing up. Of course we wanted him to be the best and tried hard to make him the best were wasted on him, he was busy. Busy just being him. Dreams that one day he might be president or find a cure for cancer faded by the time he was about ten. While maybe we never said it out loud? The truth was and is that he is average. He somehow worked out what he wanted to do, found a way of doing it and a plan to get to where he wants to be. Maybe it's not the plan or the place that his Mother and I dreamed of, but it's his. He has ownership of it. He and he alone determines what happens. We only had the one child, so parenting for us was a one shot deal. I now can look back and see how silly it was to stress over time lines of things that now just seem silly. The report cards are in a box someplace and serve not as brag sheet, but fond memories of what he was doing at that time and all too often the hot water he managed to land himself in. As for " Son, Ah say Son...Do you mean to tell me... " I as his father can now say I just don't care! We got to where we are and that journey would have been better if we had not worried about trying to please others or tried to live up to their expectations. So far it doesn't look like he is ever going to be president, but I'm more happy that it also looks like he isn't going to be an ax murderer either. Ea.

I'm way past being a kid. But I don't know HWMBO's cell phone number. I don't know my sons cell phone number. I have a phone in the car, but most of the time it's turned off. Just something I can't be bothered with. I can tie my shoes! Ea.

When it comes to all these rules and whatever? I'm perfectly OK to have the buck stop here. I don't ever go out of my way to break the rules but sometimes I have been known to turn a blind eye to them. When our Scouts are out kayaking and want to stop and take a swim I don't follow everything that's in the Safe Swim Defence Plan, just parts of it. Scouts have built towers that might be over the height limit, but not way over. I've been woken up in the middle of the night by a Scout who is sick and trowing up, my first and foremost concern is for the Scout, not the G2SS. Dull programs? From what I've seen most of the programs that are dull are dull because of: Lack of skills Lack of imagination. Lack of planning. Poor communication. Experts who are experts and try to bring 12 and 13 year old boys up to their level of expert. Scout Leaders who want to talk too much and go on and on. Doing the same old same old. Going to the same place time and time again. Adults forgetting that this is supposed to be fun. Adults who want to bash everyone over the head with the rule books or rules that just never were and never will be. This is at times caused by poor training. I care deeply for all the kids in my charge. I want them to have fun and learn stuff. Kids who get hurt or who are harmed are not having fun and learn the wrong stuff. I don't need books of rules to make me do my job, books of rules don't make me care any more or any less. Doing the right thing and knowing how to do it seems to have worked out OK for me. Ea.

As we have all seen, this year Mother Nature has unleashed her fury. My heart goes out to all who have been affected. For many years our Council Summer Camp has had in place a bad weather plan. I really can't say when or if it has been updated or changed in the past few years or not. For the most part the plan has kinda been looked at as something that was needed but we didn't do a very good job of sharing. I'm not sure if Troops were even given a copy of the plan or not? And Scouts camping received no real training. Of course the staff at the pool take every precaution when it looks like a storm is coming. But the campers don't have any drills. The camp covers a fairly large area and the Scouts are all over the site, so one size doesn't fit all. The buildings are for the most part old and built on the ground, offering little or no protection from very strong winds. So does your camp have a real plan? Are Troops covering what to do in case of really bad weather? Ea.