Eamonn

I have to wonder if the "J Phone" that Scouts are going to be given at the Jambo is a real phone or not? If indeed it is a real phone, does the fact that National is saying that phones are OK, change anything? Ea.

The other thread seems to have become a discussion about the Cub Scouting program. When I read the report from the World Scout Organization or whoever it was that wrote it?? I didn't take it as any sort of a comment on the Cub Scout program. My take on it was more along the lines of: Imagine Scouting without the Cub Scouting program. More in line with the way that Lord Baden Powell had planned it. Of course it's hard now not to think of Scouting without the little guys. Still I'm not sure if the numbers would be very different without the Cub Scouting program and Boy Scouting was a stand alone program? Ea. Ea.

I have a problem taking things that don't belong to me from others. Of course I'm OK with things that are illegal, I can take them without a second thought. Lord knows that as a forum we have traveled down the cell phone path a lot! I hope we don't end up there again. This confiscation thing /idea is one that I have found to be very unsettling. I can and do see that there are times when asking a Scout to hand over something is necessary. The list of reasons for this is more than lightly very long. However in this case a Scout has something which a parent has given to the child. While there are maybe ways to have the kid give up the phone or whatever without causing a conflict. In most cases a conflict is going to happen. Try looking at it thru the kids eyes. He or she has something that a parent and in this case a leader has given to them and along comes another adult who takes it away. I kinda think if I was the kid, I'd be upset. Maybe really upset depending on the way it was taken? In the post there is no mention of what was said to the Scout. All too often what happens next? Depends on how things are presented. In this case the phone was taken against the wishes of the child and the parent. There are some youth leaders who to me seem to be on some sort of a power trip and lording over Scouts seems to give them some sort of a fix. I of course don't know if this is true in this case. Clearly there was a conflict and the Scout was unhappy. While there are better ways of managing the situation than resorting to name calling, in this case the Scout either didn't know how too or was too upset. It's way to easy to be a Monday morning quarterback and look back at ways that might have avoided this situation. I can and do see the reasons why the Scout was upset. Ea.

Hi, I know nothing about how Girl Scouts are set up or ran. Seems to me that you have two problems. The Mother and the Scout. I'd deal with the Mother first. Set up a meeting with the Mother and present the things that she did. Explaining what was unacceptable behavior from an adult leader. I kinda think that I might push for her to see what she did wrong and apologize to the leader she confronted. I don't know enough about the Scout to say if what she has done warrants expelling her from the Troop or not? Bullying is grounds for expulsion in Boy Scouts. This is something which isn't done lightly and should be done by the Troop Committee. From what you have posted the bullying and verbal abuse has happened in the past and been allowed to continue. It seems to me that this Scout was disrespectful to an adult and did call an adult names. The bullying is an add on and has nothing to do with the situation at hand. I also wonder why if the Scouts mother was attending the event? Why the adult found it necessary to take the phone from the Scout? When she found out that it was the Scout's mother who had said it was OK? Surely the thing to have done would have been to have a quite word with the mother? Maybe having the mother remove the phone? Also when it was noticed that this Scout had the wrong shoes on, having the same adult address the issue, might not have been the wisest thing to do. In fact it might be said that this leader was trying to find fault. Clearly having 11 years olds disrespecting adult leaders is unacceptable. Cursing? While some words don't allow any wiggle room, some words and terms while being not very nice? Might by many not be seen as cursing. What did the adult do when it happened? I know if a kid was rude to me and I was upset? I sure as heck would deal with the situation then and there and would have involved the parent at that time, either by having the parent come to me or by bringing the child and myself to where the parent was. By not dealing with it when it happened the situation has been allowed to fester and grow. I think that the Scouts owes the leader an apology and needs to understand what is unacceptable behavior and why it is unacceptable. I'm unsure if the leader owes the Scout an apology or not? Once it became known that the Scout's mother had told her too keep the phone a lot would depend on how the leader went about taking the phone from the Scout? It might be said that the kid was only doing what she had been told by her parent. What started as a mole hill has been allowed to become a mountain. Ea.

I'm not an expert in anything. Over the years I have found that Scouts really enjoy: The Dark -Playing around with flashlights and just being up and about when they should normally be asleep. Water: All the best ran camps in the summer should have a Troop wide Water Fight, with balloons and empty washing-up liquid bottles. Fire: I have been in Scouting for almost 50 years. So far I've never seen a Scout eat a toasted marshmallow. But kids just enjoy fires. They enjoy a well ran camp fire program and just hanging out by the fire at night when all that's left are the embers. Mud and Dirt: We have had the best-est of times on mud slides, mixing mud to cook birds and fish in. The more goopy and slimy the better. Ea.

I agree that Where We Camp plays a big role in what we are going to get. I'm not familiar with different parts of the country. Where I live, I'm at the bottom of the Laurel Highlands. Not that far from where the new Jambo site is. Drive up the mountain and you will pass public camp grounds, full of R/V's parked right next to each other. I've never understood why anyone would want to leave home for that? Still having talked with people who do, there does seem to be some sort of a community within the park. Never the less, I can't ever see me taking Scouts to a camp like that. On the same hand I can't see an entire Troop of Boy Scouts being very welcome tramping through the woods. I know it happens and can see why in magazines like Backpacker they talk about the damage Scouts do. There is a time and a place for just about anything and everything. While I'm very much for the youth we deal with finding out and learning about nature and the great outdoors. The truth is that Scouts camping as a Troop scare off most of the wild life. Kids are kids, they like to run around, make lots of noise and where allowed light fires. Taking a large group of kids deep into the woods is a disservice to the kids and the wildlife that lives in the woods. It is far better that we introduce Scouts to the equipment that they will be using and allow them to get used to it before we set them loose. This can to some extent be done at Troop meetings and in the back yard of the SM (Been there, done that.)But I found that by teaching them and then allowing them to put their new found skills to work, things just work out better. Ea.

I have done a lot of hiking and light weight camping. The Scouts in Troops that I have led have done a fair amount. I have used different ways to get the boys used to hiking and light weight camping. At times not camping at all! But staying over night at Youth Hostels. We have at times had Patrols who have gone off on their own to hike and camp. Mostly for one or two nights, but back in the day for as long as a week. Sometimes it wasn't a real Patrol just a group of older Lads who just wanted to do something or at times just get away to not do very much. When training Scouts to get accustomed to lightweight camping, we started with having them get to know the equipment and had them set off on about hikes of six miles or so. Sometimes we did this as a weekend activity, sometimes we did it as part of our summer camp. For summer camp, we camped as a Troop. 12 -14 Patrols with about 6 to a Patrol. The PLC choose where the base camp would be. When they wanted to go kayaking in Ireland we camped in a farmers field in Galway near the lakes. When they wanted to hike a glacier we stayed in the hostel in Kandersteg. Here in the States we have set up a base camp (Yes car camping.) Then set the boys off from that base having them as a rule take one route out and a different route to return. Part of the reasoning for this is that lightweight equipment isn't cheap and having enough for a Troop of over 40 Scouts is just too expensive. The other reason is that to my mind any group larger than six hiking is just too many. In fact I think four is about the right number. Patrols camping as Patrols at a base camp take pride in their camp site.They police the area ensuring that it is clean, they try and out do the other Patrols by building better gateways and camp gadgets and of course by having better grub! All of this helps build the Patrol and helps make the Lads in the Patrol have pride in their Patrol. Car camping does have a use and does have a use in Scouting and I think it's a little unkind or any of us to be looking down our noses at what others are doing. About 100 years back Scouts in the UK loaded all their gear on a Scout powered trek cart which they pushed to where they set up camp. Ea.

Happens a lot when trying to get a new unit off the ground. The BSA doesn't have a problem with it. The CO must be OK with it or the charter wouldn't be in place. There are sometimes problems when all the power comes from one family. It can also be a problem when one goes they both tend to hit the bricks and unit has two big positions that need filled. A lot depends on how active and how involved the rest of the committee are. Ea.

At times it wasn't easy being a child of Irish parents, with an Irish name living in England. Much as I believed and still believe in a united Ireland, I hung my head in shame when the IRA struck terror in both England and Ireland. I was enraged with the killings on Bloody Sunday happened. It wasn't easy having a foot in both worlds. Yesterday HRH Queen Elizabeth landed in Ireland with her husband. Not everybody was happy to see her there. But I was. Maybe now I will no longer feel the need to apologize for Being English to my Irish relations and friends or being Irish to my English friends. Today the royal pair visited the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, the Master Brewer poured them the perfect pint. A skill I mastered while working as a barman and going to school. They didn't drink it. - But they were working at the time and too much Guinness makes me want to pee. So I'm willing to let them off with that one. Still it might have been nice if maybe they had made time for a peaceful pint. Ea.

I'll bet that there is something in the G2SS about using a rack? Ea.

My religion is very much my own. There are things that I don't understand and that's OK. I am a lazy little fellow. I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and I never really felt the need to look or go elsewhere. About once a week I'm happy to join the other people around me saying the Creed. I really don't feel any need to defend what I believe. In my book anyone who changes water into wine on his first time out, is OK by me. Ea.

I don't play video games. I can't sit still that long. I have however paid my dues as a Father when it comes to these things. Like it or not these games have managed to capture the imagination of the young people they are aimed at. The guy with the controls in his hand is transported into the world where the game is set. Most of these games do little or anything to teach very much. Yes I know that the Air force has video game type controls for the drones. But forget that for a minute. Kids want to have fun. I think we all know that. Kids have wonderful imaginations. Back in my day there were lots of books, boys magazines and comics that captured my imagination. Even as a young adult going pony tracking I seen myself as some sort of a cowboy from the wild west (Sadly the pony had other ideas!) What we do doesn't always have to seem relevant. While maybe building a monkey bridge where there is no need for a bridge, just seems silly? But I'll take a Patrol building a monkey bridge over any sit down and take notes leadership course out there. Sometimes as I read the threads I wonder if we the adults are trying to make Scouting an academic subject? I wonder if we forget that the boys have wonderful imaginations? The guys who make the video games seem to know this and have made a lot of money tapping into it. Ea.

I have never been a fan of having a herd of parents hanging around with the Troop. I'm not sure why, but in the area where I live when a little Lad crosses over into the Troop Dad seems to have to tag along. The little fellow is allowed to go anyplace unless the old fellow is going also. This adds a lot of pressure to the family. I have ran a good number of outdoor trainings with a goodly number of these Dads in attendance. Some seem to sit there not really wanting to come away with very much. Kinda like I'm teaching German when they are going to France. Some of this might because the Troops have already gotten to these guys and given them the "We don't do it that way." Speech. Some seem happy to think that being a Scout Leader is just about sitting around the camp fire while the "Real" Leaders deal with the Troop. The "Real" Leaders seem happy in the knowledge that at least for a while they have found a new driver to get the Scouts to and from. Having Dad gone and using his vacation time for his son seems like a good idea for the first year or so, but when the grass isn't mowed and chores around the house aren't being done. Mum starts to get a little upset. To be fair I'm not sure if the training's are at fault? It's far to easy for a guy who doesn't know anything to hide behind the Super Dad who knows more about the outdoors than I do and just coast by. I would like the BSA to take a look at what is happening in the UK with different age groupings. But I don't see any change coming anytime soon. Another problem I have noticed is that adults in Packs seem to have more disagreements and fights than the Boy Scout Troops have. This of course might be because there are as a rule a lot more of them (Adults.) And because the leadership at the top is always in motion. Parents who are involved in Pack fighting look for someone or someplace to go. They think that the Council or the District is going to come in on a big white horse and save the day. The truth is that the Council and the District are going to do as much as they can not to get involved. This is made worse with the breakdown of the Commissioner staff in our area. Parents come away thinking that we, the Council and the District don't care and if we can't be bothered why should they bother? I like most the BSA publications that deal with how things are set up and I think given half a chance and a little support the way the BSA has it can and does work. Still in the area where I live a lot of the names on a charter are just names on a charter. The Troop Committee is maybe a couple of guys who are mates of the SM. The COR is someone who was last seen at a PTA meeting when the kids were in first grade and the CO only signs off on the charter once a year and will go through his pocket looking for some change to pay the fee. People who get involved in Troops and Packs expect something which just isn't there from the BSA and when the District passes the buck to the CO there still isn't anyone home. We do very little to support new leaders or leaders who are at odds. It takes a long time to come to grips with how things work and understand what is happening in the real world. I also firmly believe that by just being a parent and having a boy child does not automatically qualify you as being a good youth leader. HWMBO freely admits that if she was left with a Den of Cub Scouts, there is a chance that a couple of them might never see their home again. Maybe it's a sign of our times that we don't ever want to let our kids out of our sight and feel we need to be right there when ever. HWMBO was like this when it came to soccer. She felt some kind of a need to be at each and every soccer match that OJ was playing. She would have her work schedule changed in order to ensure that she was there. She knows nothing about soccer and at times would embarrass the heck out of me, when he was young by yelling "Good kick" when he'd kicked the ball the wrong way. I thought that the cardboard bridge in the New Leaders Essentials was silly but on the whole that presentation did give new leaders some idea of how things are done. I was sad to see that presentation go. Ea.

Have just visited the 2013 Jambo site and read the postings in the other thread. I like most of what is planned for 2013. At this time I don't think that I'll be attending, even though the site is only just down the road. A long time back I came to the conclusion that I'm not cool. I can poke fun at myself by trying to act cool but it's an act that I use for campfires and for just playing around. I am what I am and the youth members I meet and deal with don't expect me to play at being anything other than what I am. As I clicked around the Jambo web site, I couldn't help but think "Hey these guys are trying to be cool." The deeper I got the more cool it seemed they tried to be. One big problem with "Cool" is that what's cool today has a very good chance of being old hat tomorrow. I'm now at an age where I no longer care about looking, acting or trying in any way to be cool. Talking with some of the older Sea Scouts I came away very confused, for them it's kinda cool to look down on the people who are trying to be cool. The word "Stupid" Was used a lot. Not being a Grand Master of Cool, I'm not sure if what the BSA is doing is cool or not? I'm not sure if a "J-Phone' is going to be looked at as being a piece of junk? Or some sort of a toy which could be replaced by an App that the Scouts could down load to their own super smart, super cool phone or pad? While I do think that the input from the youth members is truly a wonderful idea. I just wonder if the BSA is trying a little too hard to be cool? And if what they are doing is seen as being cool? Cool seems to change a lot depending at which age group you are aiming at. What looks cool to a 13 year old is seen as being silly to a 15 year old. I can't imagine any of the Sea Scouts I know ever in a million years admitting they listen to Justin Bieber, that would be seen as not being cool, yet Justin seems to be doing OK. So dude are we trying a little to hard? Ea.

Not sure where or if this fits into the discussion? Worked with a woman who had remarried. Her son from her first marriage went through Cub Scouting and Boy Scouts, becoming an Eagle Scout. When number two son from the second marriage came home wanting to join Cub Scouts, she offered to buy him a goldfish if he didn't join. When we talked about this she said that there was no way she was going to go through all of that again. The little guy took the goldfish, which went to goldfish Heaven a week or so later. He never did join Scouts. Ea.

Thanks Barry. As you might know I work with some very not so nice people. I found the best way for me to survive and get to where we are supposed to be (Which isn't always where I choose.) It to be: Fair, Firm and Consistent. Much like I hope or try to be with the young people we serve. While there are times when I whole heartedly wish I was younger, I think in many ways that along with all this white hair, I have also been blessed with knowing who I am. While maybe some of my priorities in the value might have changed with my aging? I have for the most part got my ducks in a row. I don't see being a guide as a weakness. There are times when it takes a lot more effort to question than it does to preach. It sure as heck can be a lot harder to forgive than just to condemn. By remaining fair, firm and consistent people tend to respond better, even when they hear what they might not want to. As Leaders we at times need people to make that right choice even if they might not like it. Ea.

I'm not sure why, but somehow my co-workers have made me the go to guy when they need a clarification in our contract or when they don't understand some of the side agreements we have. Most times, not all they already know what is being said and their hope is that I will somehow interpret the language with the same meaning they would like. I often tease them about having to learn English. The oath and law set the bar so high that no one can ever really live up to them. Much as we might strive to always do our best, there will be times when we just don't. Much as to help other people at all times is a worth while goal, the truth is that it just isn't going to happen. There is a line in a song which goes "To reach the unreachable.." I don't see my job as a adult leader in Scouting as being any sort of a policeman. I think of myself as being more of a guide. My hope is that maybe I will or might be able, to help the young people who come into contact with me become good citizens who are able to make ethical choices. Lord knows that none of us are perfect, we all fail in some areas. The young people who get to know me get to know my strong points along with my weaknesses. In many ways these strong and weak points are influenced by my values. The oath and law do a fairly good job of covering all the value bases. Each of us while hopefully trying to live up to these fine points and values find some that we either consciously or unconsciously rank as being more important to us as an individual than others. Add to this we might because of the education that we have received and the way we were brought up have interpreted what the words mean in a way that is different. We have just seen a thread go on for nine or more pages about the meaning of God. Maybe the way I see Mentally awake is miles from the way someone else might see it. When it comes to dealing with youth, sometimes what others see as being a hanging offense, I see as being a prank. While still a wrong and something that ought not to have been done, just not worthy of some dire consequence. This doesn't make the person or people who think that it is a hanging offense wrong. It just means that we see things differently. This seeing things differently is a good thing for the youth we serve. They get to see that there are choices. They get to decide where they stand. There are times when because what has been done is of such a serious nature that choice is taken away from us and the consequences for the deed are laid down by others. It then becomes a matter of guilt or innocence which is a different subject. "How do you respond to a violation of the Scout Oath/Law by a Scout, that takes place outside of Scouting? And DO you respond? And do you believe that as a leader you have an obligation to talk to a parent about such violations that you become aware of to be sure they are aware?" I don't think we ought to shy away from things that we see as being wrong. I believe that if we can find a way to talk to the Scout, without being judgmental. We open the door for him to take a look at his choices and his ethics. Isn't this what we are supposed to be doing anyway? Ea.

"Is Cub Scouting harming Boy Scouting?" Who said that? OK, it was me. Some time back I was reading something on one of the world scouting web sites. I can't remember which one. My take on what I thought it was trying to say was that in many places Cub Scouting has become such a large part of what is today seen as Scouting that Cub Scouting is over shadowing Scouts or Boy Scouts as we have here in the USA. When Lord Baden Powell started Boy Scouts he wasn't aiming it at younger boys and from what I have read he wasn't that keen on Cub Scouting even when it got hold in the UK. I never really gave or have given much thought to the idea of Leader burn out. I was thinking about it more from the way I think Boys of Scout age might see it. Of course it's been a very long time since I was a boy! I was a Cub in England back in the 1960's and have at different times been involved with Cub Scouting. I'm not in any way anti Cub Scouting. I really do think it provides younger boys with a wonderful outlet for all the energy they have and they do learn a lot. Having said that I'm not so sure that the aim of preparing these young Lads to become Boy Scouts is really true? Looking back, I remember that when I was a Cub. It was a weekly activity with very little time spent outdoors. Sometime around the early to mid 1970'S in England things changed, not only did Wolf Cubs become Cub Scouts and a lot of the Jungle Book ideas get put on the back burner, but Cub Scouts started to go camping. Cub Scout camping entailed a lot of hard work for the adults. Who did everything from putting up and taking down the tents to doing all the food prep. Leaving the little guys lots of time for fun and games. I was just starting out as a Scout Leader around this time and the little guys found it really hard to adapt from the idea that camping wasn't just sleeping in a tent, but being part of a Patrol that was trying hard to be as self sufficient as possible. The number of boys who didn't stay in Boy Scouts went up. Sometime about ten or fifteen years back here in the States, it seems that some Councils seen that Cub Scouts could bring in much needed revenue to Council ran camp sites. We seen a lot of new Cub World type sites spring up and Cub Scout resident camp became something that many of us now see as normal. The Council I'm part of has a resident Cub Scout Camp, about half a mile from the Boy Scout Camp. Cub Scouts can attend resident camp as Wolves on up. I think that in some ways this takes away a lot of the excitement of going to Scout Camp and I can see why a lot of Scouts who by the age of 13 or 14 feel that they have been there, done that and already have a ton of t-shirts. They have their own BB and archery range. Most Councils couldn't survive today without Cub Scouts they bring in a lot of money and a lot of adult support. Still I wonder if expecting a Lad to remain through Cub Scouting all the way until he is 18 or 21 is really realistic? A good many of the Troops in the area where I live are not large. A Troop with over 30 youth members is thought of as being big. Of this 30 there is a handful of older Scouts who once they can drive and get a car, are irregular in their attendance and if they haven't already got their Eagle are just hanging around till they do. If they have got their Eagle they like to pop in to the Troop every now and then and maybe attend OA activities. Every year the Troops get a lot of cross overs. Of these about half are gone before summer camp and very few of whats left make it to the three year mark. Still the program offered is focused on these younger boys with the 14 and 15 year olds being offered the same old same old. Nearly all the SM's in our area have been around for a very long time, when the little guys cross over a good many of their dads tag along. Scouting becomes a Father and son activity. The sad thing is that when dad is unable to attend something the son isn't there either. The life span of most of these new leaders isn't that long. While of course I'll never know. I do wonder what might happen if Scouts were to be just a stand alone activity for kids starting at 11? I wonder if the image of what we are might change if we didn't have the cute little Lads around? Ea.

There is a lot of things that I don't understand. In one of the high end department stores I looked at mens wallets. I don't understand how a wallet can cost over $75.00? A female friend of mine has got into collecting womens purses. I know nothing about purses. I am glad that HWMBO isn't into these things as my friend spends $600 or more on a purse. I don't see that many woman carrying a purse any more. I think that maybe they just leave it in the car? Back when I was a Lad, it seemed that every woman carried one. They seemed to clutch on to them for dear life. Of course maybe back then woman wore dresses and didn't have any pockets? I don't know. Back when I was very young men wore hats. My dad was about the last of the hat wearers. But he very rarely left the house without his hat. I love the old movies from the 1940's. Looking at them it seems that just about every adult male wore a hat. I can't imagine Humphrey Bogart without a hat and Jimmy Cagney seemed able to look good in his hat. I don't see that many men wearing hats today. Those that do wear ball caps, which are almost a disposable item. After about a year or so their old ball cap is gone and replaced with another. Strikes me as strange that purses have become a collectible item and mens hats are almost gone replaced with a ball cap that can be bought for under $20.00 The last hat I bought for my Dad over 30 years ago I think cost me about $70.00 when I change it from English pounds. How is it that somehow purses have managed to reinvent themselves while mens hats haven't? Robert Mazzuca the Chief Scout Executive. Seems to have came into office wanting to make changes to the BSA. I'm not sure if he was trying to reinvent it all? Or just make changes? Right now, from where I sit other than a lot of new uniforms, more use of the Internet for on line training and some changes to how the Regions are served there doesn't seem to be a lot happening. Maybe "Not a lot happening" Is a good thing? A fair number of volunteers seem to think that we might better serve the kids we are trying to reach by turning the clock back and returning to more traditional ways of going about things? Some people, me included worry that we will become something that only middle class white kids will be able to afford. Kinda like womens purses and just like the purse that gets left in the car the kids who do join will not have the same enthusiasms and kids in the past might have had, it will become all about adding Eagle Scout to some application or another? I'm glad I don't have the Chief Scout Executive job. All of us know that membership isn't what it once was. Everyone seems to have different opinions as to why this is. Some blame parents, video games, school sports the list seems endless. Do we need to change? If so what changes are needed? Is Cub Scouting harming Boy Scouting? There are a lot of things that I just don't understand.

Have played with lots of ideas to start Camp Fires. Most work well in theory but don't live up to expectations. The battery and wire wool is safe but you need a good amount of very good kindling and some sort of a fan to get the fire going. I never tried chlorine and Pine-Sol. But have used pool chlorine and brake fluid. Equal amounts of both in two plastic cups, which are tipped over dry kindling (Dryer lint works great.) I'm not sure if we want to do this around Scouts? I did it for a Wood Badge Camp Fire. Many, many years ago I served as a Service Team Member at a UK Scout National Cam Site. One of my jobs was to build the fire for the weekly camp fire. As a rule I built this early in th day and primed it with newspaper soaked with a little kerosene. The idea being that by building it early the smell wouldn't be that obvious. This one day we were out of kerosene, but there was this other stuff TVO. I had no idea what TVO was? It seems that TVO is Tractor Vaporizing Oil. (I never seen it since and have never heard of it since.) It smelled like it would do the same job as kero. So I used it. The guy in charge the Camp Warden (Ranger.) Liked to start the camp fire by standing over the fire with his arms stretched out and in a very loud voice go on about how as the flames rise higher may our spirits be lifted. Sure enough he stood there with his arms out, first came a lot of very black smoke and then this stuff must have reached flash point, it flashed. He came away minus his eye brows and threatened that he was going to have my guts for garters! From that day on I was the one who opened the camp fire. I can look back on this now and smile, but I did learn a good lesson and think that we were so very lucky that he wasn't badly hurt. Ea.

OldGreyEagle, I wish you the best in finding out whatever it is that your looking for. I don't get up your way very often. One September I will make it for the Celtic/ Gaelic Festival -I promise! So I have no idea how things are done in your neck of the woods. Here is SW-PA, I can't see me ever arguing or having a run in with our Council Registrar. She is a very nice Lady, always very pleasant and seems to do her job well. She is very busy at rechartering time,in September after School Night and after Summer Camp when all the MB cards come in. I'm not sure what she does the rest of the year? There is of course adult training's that need to be put in the computer. But that's kinda all she does. She is a very useful resource when it comes to rechartering, especially when it comes to Packs. I never seem to remember how many adults go where? Which I sometimes need to know when starting a new Pack. But Advancement? Sure she gives Eagle Scout Applications a quick once over to ensure everything is where it is supposed to be: number of badges, dates and that sort of thing. But she really doesn't know anything about advancement. She just processes the information that she is given. Some years back I asked if she could check that the blue cards that are turned in were signed by approved MBC's and was informed that "Wasn't her job" And it was up to the District Advancement Chair to check. So I didn't push it! I don't see what power or what authority a Registrar might have, that needs to be challenged? Still like I said I'm not where you are and good luck. Ea.

I'm very impressed that on the day of departure you have time for a shake down. Friday night the time when we normally hit the road always seems to start off great. Expectations are high. I try and am normally one of the first to arrive. As a rule I have a big smile on my face and all seems right with the world. It goes down hill from that point. The Troop gear has been sorted a few days ahead of time and getting this loaded is a chore. Parents and Scouts for the most part arrive on time, but there is always at least one that is always half an hour late. Patrols arrive with the food they have purchased. This comes in either a very big box or 49 plastic bags that are ready to rip at any minute. Finding a safe place to stow this very often means moving the Troop gear. I think that there should be a chapter in the G2SS about the dangers of canned food rolling about inside Scout vans. Having had a nasty encounter with a can of peas under the brake pedal! I think this is needed. Then just as everything seems to be ship shape there is always a mini emergency. Someone remembers that they have left their bag at home or a car develops a problem. By now that big smile I had is long gone and all I want is to get this show on the road ASAP. Everyone is informed what gear we need before the event and any special equipment is highlighted. When it comes to ensuring that Scouts have the right gear? This can sometimes be hard. The Lad who has a Dad that has been a Scout or is involved in Scouting as a rule has a good idea and has most of the essential gear. I've had Scouts who spend every waking hour looking at camping gear equipment catalogs and request nothing but camping gear for every birthday and Christmas. Most often the new Scouts have been Cub Scouts. They either have the Coleman sleeping bag that fills a 45 gal trash bag or a bag with cartoon characters on the outside. Everything comes from the camping department in Wal-Mart. Trying to educate their parents and get their parents to spend the money to buy quality gear is at times hard. Living out here in the sticks! Is useful. Most of the Troops in the area don't travel that far. The Council owns two sites, one ten minutes from where I live and the other less than half an hour from where I live. In a State Park which also has camp sites. In fact for most Scout activities anything that a Troop might want to do can be found in under a 45 minute drive. Even for sailing we can drive to Moraine State Park in just over an hour. (I wish our Sea Scouts didn't love Maryland as much as they seem too!) I think having to do a shake down on a Friday night before we take off would drive me over the edge. Ea.

Twocubdad I tend to agree with you. Still I'm willing to say that things have changed. Back when the world was young and I was a little fellow, we didn't pay much attention to name calling and that sort of thing. I remember adults saying "Sticks and stones..." Today we see this as bullying and cyberbullying (sp?) when it's on line. We have young kids being placed on sex offender lists for Sexting. Often for what they see as some sort of a prank. Employers are checking out Face Book pages to see what their employees are doing. All too often parents are unable to police or even know what their kids are up to. For us as youth leaders, I'm OK with me using my own common sense. There have been times when for the good of a Lad I have not followed the guidelines. Sure I know that I'm leaving myself open to made up accusations, but I take a risk every time I cross the road or drive my car. Just as I look both ways and wear my seatbelt to minimize that risk, I do whenever and wherever possible follow the YP guidelines. The bad thing about some of this stuff is that we have people who seem to want to make every thing into a YP issue and get great joy bashing others over the head with the rule book. Ea.

I really do think that this Council President just misspoke. Not much more. We some years back looked into renaming our Council. Was talked about for a little while, but when it was seen how expensive it would be: New letterheads, new flags for units, new CSP's. The idea kinda got put on hold and hasn't been brought up since. I don't think that most kids care that much about the name of the Council. It only ever really comes into play when they start trading patches. I'll bet that most of the parents who sign a little Lad up for Cub Scouts pay very little attention to the name of the Council. I'm not so sure that the name of a Council plays any real part in how much or how little funds can be raised? I know when it comes to me making a donation, I'm more concerned about what an organization does than what it's called. This really is just a storm in a tea cup. Ea.

The explosion of Social media has brought about problems that were never thought about in the past. Lots of organizations are trying to come up with rules and guidelines. My employer came up with a new policy on Social Media a couple of months back. Most of the policy's that come out are well written and don't allow any wiggle room, this new one wasn't so. Things have changed. I never worried about phoning a Scout in the past. As a rule I called him on his family phone and if a parent answered I'd ask to talk to him or leave a message. Today everyone has their own phone and some families no longer have a land-line phone. Young people, more so than old codgers like myself seem to have lots of email addresses. I know that my son had at least six, all password protected and as a parent I wasn't able to get into them or see them without him allowing me to do so. Not that I really wanted to as I trust him, that and the fact he was older when all this social media stuff really hit the fan. Parents today have a very hard time knowing what their kids are getting into. My sister has a daughter who had a Face Book page when she was only eleven years old without my sister knowing and against my sisters expressed wishes. I'm very much for parents teaching their kids the dangers that are out there. I do however think that the people who intend to do harm to others are not going to stop just because there are guidelines in place. Still as youth leaders we need to ensure that we are not in any way helping these sick people, by posting details that open the door for them. I'd be very much for the BSA having a training that would help old folks like myself better understand all the dangers that our kids now face. Maybe with some luck it might be put together better than this guideline? Ea.