Eamonn

"Now if a Sea Scout Ship were using its boats to help smugglers bring drugs into the country as a fund raiser, that might get the charter suspended - at least until the council got its cut." Darn it! Foiled again. (Was thinking of running illegal golden Wood Badge Beads) Ea.

My new pants arrived today. They seem OK. I ordered the knee pads. Who knows if the worst comes to the worst they'll come in handy for me saying a few quick prayers! A pal of mine just returned from a training with the PA State Police. He tells me that they did one drill with live ammo, shooting about seven inches above his head. I hope if I ever have to do that, that the pants are stain resistant. Up until now, I've kinda not paid a lot attention to the classes I've had on ICS (Incident Command System). Think I'm going to take heed next time. This is in many ways going to be like my playing rugby. In the middle of the front line of the scrum there very often is a little fellow (Me!) Who is the hooker. His job is to hook the ball and feed it to the back of the scrum. When I was 14 I weighted in at 140 pounds (Ten stone) Now,40 years later I've put on a bit of weight and go 150 pounds. Just like when I was playing rugby, I'm going to be surrounded by big beefy guys. They will be all in black. But I sure will look the part in my new khaki pants. Maybe they'll smile when they hear that I was once a ... No! We aren't going there! Ea.

I tend to look at the methods as a goal. Maybe in a lot of ways like the Law and Oath? Just as or just when we think we have it down pat, something comes along and either raises the bar or knocks us off the pedestal that we have perched on. Ea.

I'm very much with SR540Beaver. A lot depends on what the reason was why he was asked to leave. We all know that kids do at times do daffy things and make bad choices. We know that some adults are more forgiving than others. Much as I'd like to think I can forgive most things, there are some which I do feel do need to be shared with a new SM. Or in my case the SM. There was a Sea Scout in the Ship who was sexually touching another scout. He was also a member of a Boy Scout Troop. The Ship Committee met and decided to ask the Lad to leave. The Council and District were more than happy to pass the buck saying that this was a unit problem. (They of course were right, still it just didn't sit very well.) The mother of the boy who was assaulted really more than anything else wanted the other Lad to get the help that he needed. I met with the Lad's Dad and he promised that he would, but was trying hard to blame anything that he could. The Lad has a lot of problems an alphabet full. He said that it might be because of a change in the Lads meds? That maybe it was due to him being over tired and the list went on. I knew the SM really well, he had been my ACM when I was CM. I felt it was my duty to inform him of what had happened. The Troop is chartered by the church I attend, so I also felt a duty to inform the PP. In an effort to not tell the whole world, the PP called a meeting of the Troop Committee Chair, the SM, the COR and I was invited to attend. The thinking was that having served on the District Key 3 I might be able to advise from that view. The Lad was removed from the Troop. At the meeting the Committee Chair said that she had heard that this Lad had done similar things to other boys in the Troop and while she hadn't said anything, she had informed her son that he wasn't to tent with this Lad. This was a few years back. The Lad still has a lot of problems. (His mother and HWMBO are very close friends.) Everyone apart from his parents, when they meet this Lad seems to think from the way he acts and talks that he is homosexual. The situation wasn't nice for anyone. But my feeling is that I did the right thing. I would hate to see a innocent little Boy Scout harmed or molested just because I kept my mouth shut. This was/is the only time that a Lad has been removed from any unit that I have been in. Some Scouts have quit. Some because they feel that they have been treated unfairly or under some sort of a cloud. Some have rejoined other units. I really am happy that they are back, when asked by their new leaders about them I dwell on their good points. When I meet with these guys. I know that the first minute or so is very uncomfortable for them. I try to do my best to let them know that I'm happy for them and that there are no hard feelings. Ea.

For a work related activity I was told to buy a pair of khaki pants. I noticed that the chap who told me to buy them had on a pair which seemed to have a lot of pockets. Talking with another newbie, I said that I thought that I'd go to Wal-Mart and buy a pair of khaki cargo pants. He said he was going to buy a pair from an Army and Navy surplus store. I've never been very comfortable in any Army and Navy surplus store. Seems to me that the people who shop there fall into two groups. One group who know what they are talking about and another group who just want to look the part. I don't fall into to either. I'm happy with a clean pair of Levi's and almost any shirt with a collar. I'm not that keen on t-shirts. I've never worn any sort of camo in my life. I don't hunt and hope that I'll be seen when I'm taking the dogs for a walk, so that no one will shoot me! I never thought that buying a pair of pants would be such a hassle! A pair from Wal-Mart would run me about $30.00. But I thought that I might end up looking like a guy in a pair of Wal-Mart pants, so I looked around and found a pair of 5.11 Tactical Pants. They are Lightweight 65% polyester and 35% poly cotton ripstop with more pockets than I think I'll ever use. ( I went with the Taclite Pro Pants) They cost me about $20.00 more than what I would have spent at Wal-Mart. My question is has anyone bought these pants? Are they worth the extra $20.00? What do do keep in all of the pockets? Ea.

I really enjoy good bread. Not that white stuff that comes in plastic bags, which is closer to being blotting paper than any real bread I've ever known. My favorite baker has increased the price of a 2 LB loaf to a little over $5.00 My home oven does an OK job with baking, but I never seem to get the crust the way I'd like. It is a convection oven, I've tried it with the fan on and off. I've tried adding a water mist half way through cooking, but the crust just isn't right. A local French Restaurant makes wonderful bread. They use a wood fired clay oven (Not brick like you might see in Italy.) I'm thinking of making my own oven. Has anyone tried this? If so I'd welcome any tips. Eamonn.

Thinking about Summer camp menus. Does your Council make the menu available before the camp? If so who gets to see it? Is the menu: "Heart Healthy" Kid friendly? What provisions are made for people with special needs? (Religious diets, Vegetarians, allergies.) What improvements could be made? Thanks. Ea.

I really feel sorry for this Lad. Dad seems to be way off base. Maybe a meeting with both parents, where someone explains whats what and how things are supposed to work might help? I'd be tempted to have the Lad attend a SMC and let him know what has gone on in the past is just not acceptable. The term "Tough Love" keeps running through my little gray cells Ea.

wingnut, I'm sorry for your loss. I'm now at an age where a good many of the people who served me well are passing. A few years back in Scouting Magazine there was an article about inner city troops. If I remember right? One Troop mentioned was from Ohio, I think in the Cleveland area. In an interview with the SM he mentioned that he had been very fortunate in having a wonderful SM from Troop 133, Mount Pleasant PA. Pete Rice. I first met Pete back in 1977 he was at summer camp with the Troop. He was a small little fellow, who even then looked kinda old. His face was weather beaten and lined, his hair looked like he'd got out of bed and had forgot to comb it. Within only a couple of minutes talking with Pete, you knew that he knew what he was talking about and that he loved Troop 133. Pete never married he looked at the Scouts in 133 as his kids. These kids were no angels and got into more than their fair share of mischief and hot water. When I was District Chair. I wanted to recognize Pete for the great work that he'd done for Troop 133, the District and Scouting. He already had the awards that are out there, so I thought presenting him with a James E. West was a good idea. I sent out letters to all the people I knew from 133 many of them Eagle Scouts and booked a hall for a dinner and presentation. The normal donation for a James E. West is $1,000. Soon after I'd sent out the letters, I'd make my trip to the mail box at the end of my drive-way to pick up the mail and I was shocked not only at the amount of money that was coming in, but also with the wonderful letters that came with the checks. The dinner was one of the most moving scouting events that I have ever attended. The letters were read by me and at times I struggled to keep the tears from flowing. "Old" Scouts got up and spoke about the impact Pete had, had on them and retold stories about the trouble they'd got into as Scouts in 133. We collected over $5,000. Pete passed a few years back. His long time friend and ASM took over 133. Ben, the old ASM is now also up there in years and is now serving as COR. He visited me at home a few months back and isn't doing that well. His memory is going and he has other health issues. But 133 is still in good hands. Of all the Troops in the District, I'd hate more than anything for 133 to fold or fall on bad times. Maybe it because I remember Pete's old beaten up truck with his Troop 133 license plate? I don't think Pete ever wanted the awards or the recognition. He was happy just being in 133. He loved what he was doing and who he was doing it for and they knew it. His love reached out and has made a difference in the lives of many and many of these people are paying it forward. They say that the dogs we have loved are waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge, I'm not sure where the Scouter's we have loved and admired are? I'm sure they are too busy to be hanging around just passing the time by waiting. I kinda expect to see Pete up there in an old pair of scout shorts, his face still lined and his hair still a mess. Ea.

Cub_Mom Don't think for a minute that you will be the only person with this concern. Things like this seem to have a way of working themselves out. I would be inclined to put this on the back burner until you get to the course. I feel almost sure that someone from the Patrol you are in will be able to help. Failing that, there is a staff who are there to help and normally have lots of resources. You might of course want to check out any sales that are going on in camping stores in your area. Cheap tents like you might find in K-Mart or the like are a waste of money. But I have had a lot of luck buying good quality tents with as much as 75% off. Good Luck and enjoy the course. Ea.

Have to say that I like the idea of the "Bobcat Den." I've never been a great fan of Venturing as it is set up and thought that "District Crews" might be a better idea. I'm not sure how once you have got these little fellows and their parents working together you then manage to have them join a local Pack? You have the great advantage of knowing what you are doing, but very often Tiger Den Leaders have little or no idea. We have tried having Commissioners work with failing units as some sort of Temp Leader. Even when it looks like the unit has been saved, once the Temp stands down things rarely work out. That or we end up losing a good member of the commissioner staff! I can also see that some of the CM's who do well recruiting Tigers in the fall and have everything in place might be a little upset and think that the District is overstepping the mark. But again if it works? Good Luck. Ea.

In my neck of the woods. The pros get together for their Annual Planning meeting sometime in November. After the SE returns from the National SE's Meeting. Most Council and OA events happen about the same time and same place each and every year. We are part of a WB Cluster so that sometimes is added. The Districts start working on the calender in April or May. Again as a rule offering the same old same old number of events on the same weekends. The calender is done by June or July and handed out in August. Of course sometimes changes do have to be made, but this is rare. I tried as District Chair to cut back on the number of District events. My thinking was that these events got in the way of Troops following their own themes and programs. I didn't win that one! The argument against it was that so many Troops depended on these events that cutting back would harm the outdoor program. You win some and you lose some! Ea.

Given the choice between a Lad who has really earned First Class Scout and a parent who has never camped? I wonder who I'd place my trust in? I've lost count of the number of times that I've posted: Train Them, Trust Them, Let Them Lead. It now seems clear that we just don't trust them, we are afraid that they aren't trained and all this leadership stuff that we spend so much time on is just window dressing. I know and am aware that for a lot of Troops this isn't going to have any impact on what so ever. But as a volunteer this is a smack in the chops. I feel that I'm being told that I'm not able or capable of training, teaching the Scouts. Sure I've had Patrols who have gone away to camp and things are not done as they might have been done if I'd been around. -Even at 101 yards away. Yes we have had to deal with Patrol Boxes that needed attention when they got home,sure bars of soap have returned home still in the wrapper and some meals were not cooked or made easier. But none of this takes away from the feeling a Patrol has of being able to say "Hey we did it! We made it happen". None of this takes away from the feeling a Patrol Leader has of knowing that he has been trusted and really given a real opportunity to show his worth and lead. I wonder where this came from? No one asked me or anyone I know. Was anyone asked? Ea.

A couple of the problems we ran into with District Spring Recruiting, which were aimed mainly at the little guys moving from Kindergarten were. 1/ Most of the Packs and Dens in our area only meet in the summer for special events like Day Camp and Fishing Derbies. 2/ There normally isn't time for Packs to sort out who the leaders will be for the newly recruited boys. Parents will attend a fun event, but by the time the Packs and Dens get back to their normal schedule the event is long forgotten and without good and real follow up the Lad and parent is not only gone, but a lot of times is never coming back. Most of the Den Leaders I know can't wait for summer and having a break from the weekly meetings. It's just too hard having their own kids home all day then having a group more show up on their door step. Still if it works? More power to you. Ea.

Have to say that when I was Training Chair. Canceling a Training just wasn't acceptable. The goal of Training is to train adults, not have training sessions. I hope that no one would cancell a Troop meeting just because of lack of attendance. I'm sorry if doing the job means becoming a telemarketer, then that's what it takes. Hate to sound harsh. Ea.

"Why I am still here " I have been trying to get a jump on my tree pruning. Trying to trim and tidy up the trees before the leaves come. Taking limbs off the trees and trimming isn't the hard bit. I've been taking note all winter of which tree and what limbs I was going to attack. Armed with my trusty chainsaw,pruning saw,looper and a couple of dogs. I set about the task. Within a couple of hours the yard looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. Tree limbs scattered all over the place. I was faced with the task of cutting up these limbs into manageable log sized pieces and then burning them. Faced with this Friday the small terrier gave up and went and sat on the porch. Dudley the Goldie is not old enough to know any better. I'd just started my clean up effort when Dudley took off. He is a very friendly dog, I looked up to see him greeting a couple of Sea Scouts who had come to work on the boats. They off course made a fuss of Dud and without asking stated working along side me helping clear up the monumental mess I'd made. They worked their tails off for almost 3 hours. We lit a fire and had a wonderful time hauling the wood, talking and just having fun. We didn't get it all done, the rain came. But before they left they asked if it would be OK if they came back and finished it all? I of course said that it wouldn't be a problem. Next time I rant on about the kids of today, I hope someone will give me a kick in the pants. Ea. (No this wasn't a Scout activity and before anyone brings up the G2SS. - I really don't care!)

While the thatch might be getting a little thin, I'm not 64 yet. I'm in my mid fifties. I don't think of myself as being rich and I'm not sure what being wealthy really is. I have worked hard, taken maybe more than my fair share of risk, almost gone under twice! But have managed to save a fair amount of money and have a fair amount of money invested in various things, mainly real estate because I thought it was easy to understand. I was hit hard when stocks took a tumble a couple of years back, but over the past year I have recovered just about all my losses. I haven't tried to sell any of the houses or land that I own, so I'm not really sure how hard I've been hit there. But where I live we didn't see any of the silly real estate speculations and price rises that happened in other parts of the USA. I'm not looking forward to growing old and I'm unsure how I'd manage being retired. I enjoy getting up in the morning knowing that I have someplace to go and something to do. For almost twenty years I was self-employed. This was made easy because HWMBO had a good job which provided us with great health insurance. I quit working for myself in part because I was the worst boss I ever worked for and I started to see that people weren't spending money in the business I was in like they used to. Most of my income came from selling alcohol. I was flirting with the idea of becoming semi-retired a few years back. My plan at that time was to buy a couple of ice cream stores, which would only be open in the summer and I'd be free to goof off the rest of the year. Then when HWMBO became ill and lost half of our health insurance and I thought there was a risk we might end up either paying for our own health insurance or paying the bills for the treatments that she was having, I looked for and found a job with a good benefit plan. Sometime before this happened I'd worked as a dietitian at a local assisted living home. A very nice facility, great staff who provided great care. But it wasn't cheap. Over $2,000.00 a month for the basic package with everything else being an add on. $24,000 a year, even back then was an eye opener for me! Most of the residents were female. Women live longer than men,so that wasn't surprising.Most had pensions that their husbands had earned from working for years, mostly for the same company. Many had an income from investments that they'd kept for years in blue chip companies. Sadly there were a few residents who had to move out to cheaper or subsidized homes because their money was running out. I don't know how much money I'm going to need to pay for my retirement. I met with the guy from one of the bigger banks in our area. All I wanted to talk about was my retirement. I knew something was wrong when his title was VP of Wealth Management. He was so full of it and full of himself that it was a waste of time. (It was clear after a couple of minutes that we just didn't like each other or maybe I just didn't like him?) I've met with a good many Investment Advisor's over the years. While they have at times helped me invest in areas that have worked out well. When it comes to me paying for my retirement? They all seem to come up with "Save more" and or keep working longer. Boy it would be nice to be able to say that I was going to be around for X number of years and would need X amount of money each year. But I just don't have that information. I have bought Nursing Home that will help offset the cost of whatever home I end up in when the time comes. I don't ever want to be a burden to my son, he has his own life to lead. I have a birthday in November and I'm sure that Social Security will send me their estimate of how much I can expect from that when the time comes. I have no idea how Medicare works! But I felt sorry for the little old Lady in front of me the other day when I was picking up some pills for my back. I was ready with my ten dollar co-pay, while she wrote out a check for $246.00. I hope I'm around long enough to be able to collect the State Pension which I have been promised. Yes I see it as a promise! It was in place when I was offered my job and I expect to get it. I don't have the option of not paying into it. I pay 6.25% of my gross into it and never see it. I do have the option of retiring after 15 years service. There is a not very complicated formula for working out how much I might get. If I were to stick around for 20 years I'd be able to retire with my full health insurance package. I'm not sure I want to stay that long! I do worry that there is a lot of people about my age, who haven't made hardly any provisions for their retirement. I seen friend who when the markets went down raided their 401k's. Some because they really did need the money, some because they were just disgusted seeing their savings disappear. I'm not sure what the Birthday Letter from Social Security will say? I do know that whatever it says, there isn't enough for me to live on in my retirement years. I think I'm at the tail end of the Baby Boomer's? Somewhere I have heard that the Boomer's will make up 20% of the population. I'm not sure if that number is right or not? But having such a large number of people with little or no money is going to be tough on all of us. Ea.

A lot would depend how you interpret current events. A Lad who has never used illegal drugs might upset the Board when he says that he is in favor of legalizing them. How about the Lad who might agree with the Supreme Court ruling that funeral picketing is free speech? On the other hand, what if he claimed he hadn't heard about the ruling? I trust most of the people who are chosen to sit on ESBOR's in the District I serve. But I'll bet bringing up just these two topics would make the adults more than a little uncomfortable and maybe unwilling to see both sides of any argument. There are some things that when it comes to Scouting, I wouldn't touch with a ten foot barge pole! Ea.

Back when I was the District Commissioner, the District Chairman got into it with the SE. They were fighting about the FOS goals that the SE had set, the Chair. Thought they were unfair and the SE wasn't willing to move. It ended with the Chair swearing at the SE, telling him in no uncertain terms where to go. The Chairman then and there just quit. I liked the Chairman, in fact we were really good friends. As well as serving the District, the Chair was active in the OA was and had been active in Training, both his sons are Eagle Scouts. But there he was gone. Talking with him. He was very full of his own feeling of having done the right thing along with his feeling of bravado. But I really think that when he calmed down and a little time had passed he missed a lot of the things that he enjoyed. There are times when no matter at what level we serve Scouts and Scouting does seem to sap the life's blood out of us. The more passionate we are about what we do and the more involved we are, the more it can turn round and bite us on the tail. We do what we do because we feel that it's important. That doing might be rushing out of the house to be at the next meeting on time so we don't leave a group of Scouts standing outside in the cold. It might be trying to get a committee to agree to something that will improve something that the Scouts will benefit from or it might be sharing our money and treasure that will pay for a needed improvement. It's kinda odd that deep down we all know that when we are gone someone else will do the job. Scouts and Scouting was here long before we were around and there is every likelihood it will be around long after we have gone. When our District Chairman left, we had a reshuffle and I took his job and we found someone else to take on the job of District Commish. Each of us has promised that we will do our best. This best can change over time and from time to time. At one time I was out doing something involved with Scouting almost every night of the week. I enjoyed doing it. I enjoyed the people I was doing it with. I was having a wonderful time. But things changed. I cut back a lot. In fact I cut back so much that not only did I get used to not doing it, but also when I looked around a good many of the people I had worked with just weren't there any more. I still believe in the ideals of what I think Scouting is all about. But I've changed. I found other interests, other causes. In many ways I think it was time to make room for new faces and fresh ideas. Sure I still toddle off a couple of times each month to attend a meeting which for the most part never gets much done. I still enjoy going for a drink with a couple of other old codgers and re-telling war stories. I know I'm never going to get into it with any SE. No SE means that much to me. It just isn't that important. Ea.

It really is a sad,sad, mad ,mad world. But with so many Troops in the area where I live just relying on District and Council events to fill the outdoor part of the program they offer, this change isn't going to make much of a difference. Maybe the BSA can come up with a video game that allows Scouts to experience a virtual Patrol Camp? But I'm thinking the G2SS would in bold print say that only an adult could plug it in. Ea.

Who are the elites? Very often there seems to be a need to give a name, title, tag to a group that we might not be in agreement with. My feeling is that the elites are maybe up there with: "Them rich people" "Them know it alls" "Attorneys" "National" "Right wing twits" "Left wing twits" "The idiots in Washington" "Over paid ...." fill in the blank. Anyone who went to Berkly, Oxford or Cambridge. Moderators! And of course anyone born in England! Ea

allenj, As you might know I'm employed by the PA DOC. I am a member of the PSCOA. I have no idea how things are done in your neck of the woods. For my part. I think I do OK. I have the benefit package that I was promised when I took the job and this was the main reason I decided to take the job. The last Governor before he left office made a lot of changes to the pension plan for all State Workers who are hired after 1/1/2011. I do not have the right to strike. The contract we have in place now expires in July and both the Union and the Commonwealth will make their presentations before a neutral arbitrator. All past contracts have been handled this way. Yes I get a uniform allowance ($450.00 a year.) It might seem like a lot in light of all uniforms being provided, but it barely covers the cost of a couple of pair of boots a year and the cost of laundering the uniforms. Also as a member of the HNT I'm expected to purchase and pay for my own uniforms. There are of course horror stories about people who the union has gone out of their way to help, when it might seem clear that these people were clearly in the wrong. But I whole heartedly believe that the union has done and does a lot to ensure that the work conditions are safe. Not only for its members but also for the public especially for the public living near our institutions. People who decide that they do not wish to belong to a union have the right not to, but do have to pay into Fair Share. The newly elected Governor has said that he is not going to raise taxes. That must mean that there is going to be cuts. We will know more in five days when he makes his budget speech. Most often these pledges to not raise taxes are bull. Sure the taxes at the state level remain the same, but the counties, towns and school districts have to raise taxes. The end result being that the tax payer still ends up more out of pocket. I'm glad that I don't have the task of trying to present a balanced budget, cutting services can't be easy. Each and every group seems to be able to make the case that it is special. There are areas where there is a lot of waste and services that might be better served by the private sector. I'd be happy to see Pennsylvania get out of the liquor business and sell off the State Stores. I'd be OK with cutting the size of our legislator and the perks paid to those in office. I'm not happy when cuts lead to endangering the public and my view is that the unions play a part in not allowing this to happen. Ea.

I went to Mass a couple of weeks back. In the church news-letter the PP was asking for help with paying the heating bills for the church and the school. I read the news letter. Did feel that maybe I should do something, but by Monday that thought was long gone. On Tuesday there was a knock on the door and it was the PP. He stated his case, smiled a lot and was happy when he left with my check. Calls for volunteers just don't work and have very rarely worked. Your first job is to decide What you want. Next look at the people who are at hand and maybe involved already. Either write down who might be willing to take on what and who you think might do a good job. Or just make a mental list. Also make a list of all the "Jobs" that need filled. Then make appointments to go visit each and everyone of these people face to face. -No emails, no phone calls! Be very honest, but try and be as up-beat as you can. Never ever ask for "Help"- Be specific. If you need someone to organize the Fishing ask them to do just that. If you need someone to take over as Cubmaster then that's what you ask for. Never ever take no for an answer. If the person you ask to be CM turns it down, then maybe offer them the fishing job or maybe a seat on the Pack Management Committee. After each event hold some kind of a Reflection Meeting, invite everyone who helped. Go over what worked and what didn't. At this meeting sell them on the next event and have them volunteer for another specific task. If nothing else you will find out who is willing to do the job that they take on. Also it is important that you never leave people out there. Support them along the way. Contact the guy who volunteered to do the Fishing, ask him how things are going, help him with any problems he might run into. If it is a new CM you might want to take them by the hand and have them go with you to the Cub Scout R/T. Introduce them to the other CM's in the District and the Commissioner and Training Staff. When it comes to bringing new people on board you really are a salesman. Think about what you want to sell. Scouting is full of good stuff. Most parents already know this. If they thought otherwise their kids wouldn't be in it! Adults think that they need a way out. That is why you only ask them to take on one specific job at a time. You can hook them in later! They want to think that what they are taking on is going to be rewarding and fun. You need to sell both ideas. Don't worry about things like uniforms or polices all that type of thing can come at a later date. Never ever treat adults like children. Be supportive but don't micromanage. Look for the right time an the right place to talk with people you have selected to take on the task you have in mind for them. Most times after Scouting events when there are kids around is not the right time. But maybe standing next to the Fishing Guy when all the little guys are busy having a good time is the right time to ask if he will organize the next big event or maybe even help with one of the Dens. None of this is easy. It takes time, but if you keep working it, it really does work. Ea.

Nice words. I'd love to see a speech like this to a group who weren't already deeply involved in Scouting. I'd love to hear what Bush had to say about: "In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should have his head examined," Maybe the bread rolls might have gone airborne? Ea.

" If the summer camp had scouts in "Adirondacks," would it count for the Camping MB?" Reading the words of the requirements, I'd say no. But the final word is whatever the MBC has to say. I might add that if I ruled the world! I really don't think 20 nights is enough. I'd like to see it read 20 nights after reaching First Class Scout. But that's just me. Ea.