Eamonn

Lisabob I know that you have posted that the Scouts in the Venture Patrol, in the Troop that your son is in have had problems with adults who refuse to allow them to do the things they want, without a herd of adults tagging along. I do see why these Lads would be upset and would maybe want to throw in the towel. The kids in the Ship are a really nice group. Most are over 16. I do see and do understand how busy they are. In fact at times I wonder when they ever get time to sleep! What I don't understand is why, they feel that they have to say that they are going to do something and then don't. I don't know if they feel that by saying that they can't do something they are letting the side down? Eamonn.

Wow! Never thought that this thread would be so active! I did catch the Pete Seeger birthday concert on PBS last Sunday. It was on after a show about John Denver. Mr. Denver and myself have blasted out a few songs on my little drives. Hal, Please don't tell anyone, but when Placido Domingo & John Denver sing Perhaps Love, I have been known too get "Misty". OJ's last car had more speakers, woofers and tweeters than any other car on the planet. The entire back seat and trunk (Boot) Was given over to boxes of different sizes. I was scared to touch anything and did my best never to drive it. One day when he was as ever broke he somehow convinced me to take it for an oil change. As I arrived at Jiffy-Lube the car was shaking, belting out catch me ridin dirty by Chamillionaire. You can't imagine the strange looks that this white haired little fellow got from the guys who work in Jiffy -Lube! Ea. ("..and I thought the subject line meant Eamonn was going to give it up..." No! Seems like your stuck with me! I am this Saturday seeing a hypnotist about trying to quit smoking.)

One of the bigger problems we have with the Ship is Scouts backing out of things at the last minute. They don't seem to care or worry that at times they are hurt financially, losing deposits or even the full cost of whatever the cost was. It doesn't seem to matter that whatever they have backed out of, was their idea in the first place! I know and am aware of how very busy some of these kids are, but at times it seems they are happy to go with whatever the last offer they received was. I'm not talking about someone becoming ill or having what I'd call a reason. Most times they back out for silly reasons. - "My sister's best friend aunt is having a party!" Occassionaly this not attending something they have said that would attend is coupled with "Going missing". It's like they fall of the surface of the earth. Emails and phone calls are not returned. But a few days after the event? As if by magic they are back. Lord knows when I was their age I was every bit as bad as they are! But I don't ever remember doing this sort of thing. When I mention what is happening to the parents. They seem to just smile, cast their eyes to the Heavens and without saying a word, let me know that they have given up and this is what it is. Eamonn.

I can and do see how a good deal of the things that the Regions are involved with can or could be managed from just about anywhere. I'm a little puzzled what will happen when things in Councils are not going well? Regional Staff have in the past stood in for SE when there wasn't a SE. What happens after 12/31/09 ? I'm also not sure what impact this will have on the Area Committees? Eamonn.

"I remember what the doormouse said" At my age I'm having a hard time remembering what anyone said! Along them same lines. Who was it that said "If you can remember the sixties, you didn't live through them."? That doormouse ought to have had a little chat with a few of Henry VIII little ladies. Ea.

SR540Beaver No Beav. That would be a home for stubborn Mules. Ea.

" the CC and the SM have to have each others' back. Their vision and goals for the unit should support the "big picture" I don't have a problem with this. (Wait for it.....) But! We also need to remember the COR. All this talk about Voting?? Has me a little worried. I have over the years been part of and Chaired a good many Scouting Committees, rarely if ever has there been a vote. The agenda is set up in such a way that a committee member or a group of committee members are tasked to do something or a specific job. The Chairperson is tasked with checking that this is being done. At the meeting these people give their reports. I'm not in favor of the people who deliver the program sitting on the committee. Especially if they have a son in the Troop. The role of a ASM is just that -Assist the Scoutmaster. If there are problems with the committee? Then it is up to the Committee Chair, working closely with the COR to fix these problems. This would include selecting the right people to serve on the committee. Eamonn

One great hing about living out in the sticks, is that there always seems to a lot of different ways of driving home. In the morning, driving to work is all about getting there. I'm happy to take the four-lane highway. As a rule I'm done at work by about 1230. So I have a lot of time to get home. One route is just wonderful. The road is full of hills and bends. Somehow it's like driving in a commercial for a car. As I drive past the farms, the corn fields, the cattle, even the sanctuary for old donkeys who always seem to want to hang out by the road, I in my own little way am thankful to live where I live. - Remember that for my first 27 years on the planet I lived in down town London. A city I love, but never the less still a city. In the spring I enjoy the trees coming into bloom the light greens and patches of white on the trees. In early summer seeing how the corn is coming along, watching for the grass to be cut and made into hay. Fall here in SW-PA is truly spectacular, as the leaves change and the uncut corn changes from green to yellow. Near the nd of my drive is a berry farm. They have a small caf that serves the best cheese cake topped with fresh raspberries. I am of course a regular. The farm is owned by a local doctor who works with my wife. Next to the berry farm he has in the last few years added a winery. I'm not really into sweet wines but cheesecake and a glass of concord wine is a real winner. I really enjoy the drive. I enjoy my time alone, after a day at work it really is a wonderful way to recharge. This is also my time to turn the sound system in the car up. HWMBO hates loud music and we don't share the same taste in music. Which is strange as apart from modern jazz, I like just about anything. But on my little drives, I really get into songs and Cd's that I can sing along with. None of this music is what might be called "Cool". But I don't care. I have a great time, with the music blaring and me singing! This week I was saddened to hear that Mary Travers had passed on. Peter, Paul and Mary have over the years provided me with hours of singing fun and enjoyment. My renditions of Puff The Magic Dragon, both in my car and at camp fires have served to lighten my mood. A dragon lives forever but not so little boys Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys. One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar. Eamonn

Really happy to hear that you have got it done before your birthday in May! Good Luck with the BOR. Ea.

ScoutMomSD, When I posted "Be aware of how you are feeling". I maybe should have? Could have? Posted; and where you are at. I think that many of us go through stages. When we first get involved as an adult, we are a little frightened. However the enthusiasm's we have and the feeling of wanting to do a good job help us get over or maybe mask this. After a while we fall into some sort of a routine. Back when I was a SM, I kept a log of each and every Troop meeting. Along with a little note about how I felt that meeting had gone. Looking at these logs now, I see a lot of notes that read "Not bad" a few that read "Great" and a couple that read "Get me out of here". When I think back about the times when I wrote "Get me out of here". It seems that the meeting was that very different than most of the other meetings. Hey! After 11 years it's hard to come up with new and original stuff. I now think that my "Get me out of here" notes were really true. I really should have given more thought to getting away from what I was doing. I didn't go because I knew that there wasn't really anyone waiting in the wings to replace me. As far as I know. I have never suffered from bouts of depression or mental illness. But while looking at these notes now, they seem almost funny! At that time, they were anything but funny. Both the English and the American Scout promise and oath have the "Do my best" included in them. My problem was that at least when I wrote "Get me out of here". I thought I'd given my best and was heading the only way left. - Down-hill! Doing your best and giving your best isn't always easy. I know that it took me a long time to become happy with the job I was doing as a SM. I seen as I waddled along mistakes I was making, things that I'd got wrong or not understood. When I was totally honest with myself, I was able to see some of my failings. While of course having this knowledge should have acted as some kind of a wake up call. Some kind of a "Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again"! A lot of the time it didn't! In fact it resulted in me noting "Get me out of here". Maybe? It is better for everyone, especially for you that you do take a break. What happens next? I don't think we ever really know. It might be that your service to the BSA is done? It might be that you come back in a limited capacity? Or it might be that after a little while away you return, recharged and full of wonderful new ideas. It might be way to easy to blame others and point fingers? Maybe when you look at everything that is going on, not just in Scouting, the truth is that you have bitten off more than you can chew? Being a parent, a homemaker, involved in all the things that you are involved in, is a lot! In time everything changes. Sometimes knowing when it's time to make a change, helps avoid a lot of fussing and fighting. Eamonn.

" and his mother has him working with a couple specialists in the areas for the ..."??? Eagle Scout??? Ea.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/10/9442.html TITLE 10 > Subtitle D > PART III > CHAPTER 909 > 9442 9442. Status as volunteer civilian auxiliary of the Air Force (a) Volunteer Civilian Auxiliary. The Civil Air Patrol is a volunteer civilian auxiliary of the Air Force when the services of the Civil Air Patrol are used by any department or agency in any branch of the Federal Government. (b) Use by Air Force. (1) The Secretary of the Air Force may use the services of the Civil Air Patrol to fulfill the noncombat programs and missions of the Department of the Air Force. (2) The Civil Air Patrol shall be deemed to be an instrumentality of the United States with respect to any act or omission of the Civil Air Patrol, including any member of the Civil Air Patrol, in carrying out a mission assigned by the Secretary of the Air Force. It does seem that Merlyn_LeRoy is right. While both the CAP and Venturing do have a lot in common, the way the CAP is funded would not allow it CAP groups to be part of a traditional BSA program. It is strange that this hasn't been noticed before now. Ea.

A few years back I was asked by our local CAP group if I'd visit with them and talk about the advantages of them becoming a Venturing unit. I don't know very much about the CAP. From what these local guys said, which might or might not be right. There was a change in the way the CAP was set up. It had to do with they they received their funding. The group I talked with really had no interest in Venturing, but wanted to able to do fund raising events. Something they said they weren't allowed to do as a CAP group. Other than adding a "Paper Unit" to the number of units in the District, I seen little or no advantage to them becoming a BSA unit. The CAP did meet at the local American Legion building. The American Legion was /is the CO for a Pack and a Troop. When I spoke with the American Legion, it seemed that they hadn't given any thought to chartering a Crew. I think all CAP groups somehow, someway come under the USAF. If this is the case? The memo that came out a few years back would forbid the BSA from chartering a CAP unit. Eamonn. Having just read the link that was posted. It seems that the CAP and the USAF never got the memo!(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

Hi and Welcome. I'm sitting here trying to think if I would have done what you did? It has just dawned on me, that this is a waste of time as you have already done it. My feeling is that if you fail the Pack is going to fold. I really would like to meet this DE. He sounds like he could sell ice to the Eskimos! A word of caution about DE's (Which might or might not apply!) The DE has a different agenda than us volunteers. There is a chance that now he has "Saved The Pack" He is going to head for the hills. You knowing and accepting that you are in at the deep end is a good thing. Use it to your advantage. Rush out and buy a copy of The Cub Scout Leader Book. Read it from cover to cover at least once. Phone the Council Service Center ask them to send you a full list of all the District Committee Members and a full list of all the Unit Commissioners. When you get the lists phone the District Membership Chair, District Training Chair, District Commissioner and the District Activities Chair. Talk to these people. Lay it on thick that you are new, that you need their help and how you feel that you are in over your head. When you talk with the District Commissioner find out if there is a Commissioner assigned to the Pack? If there isn't ask him who will be assigned. Do not allow him to in any way wriggle out of having someone assigned ASAP. If he says that he hasn't got anyone, push him into doing the job. Do not let him off the hook. When you find out who is serving as Commissioner for the pack, ask them to set up a meeting with the Chartering Organization, the Chartering Organization Rep and yourself. If there is a Committee Chair? Bring him or her along as well. You need to find out and hopefully build on the support that the CO is going to provide. While many units get by with little or no support from their CO. Having their support makes life a little easier. Many people who take on the role of Cubmaster, think that this is all about dealing with cute little fellows. While of course everything we do is all about and all for cute little fellows. The Cubmaster is more of a management position. A Pack Committee is to provide the support that the Pack needs to offer the program (Program being the stuff the Scouts do.) The Den Leaders deliver the program. The CM tries to ensure that the Den Leaders are all on the same page, working as separate Dens but pulling together as a Pack. With the help of the Pack Committee Chair the CM informs the Committee what the needs of the Pack are. The Pack Meeting once a month is the easy bit! As soon as possible take a look at the Monthly themes that the BSA has come up with for Packs. Meet with the Den Leaders and see which of these you are going to use and come up with replacements that everyone is happy with. Having the Unit Commissioner at this first planning meeting might be a good idea. Think big. Make full use of the programs that the District and the Council offer. Make the highpoint of the Pack year Cub Scout resident camp. The kids will really enjoy it and once you have found ways of selling the parents on the idea, you have nothing to do but sit back and read a good book. Your Den Leaders are the most important people in the Pack (After the Scouts of course!) Be nice to them, treat them like adults! Be sure to thank them, pat them on the back and always recognize them for the hard work they are doing. Cub Scouting is not cheap! I believe that parents will pay for a quality program. Never be afraid to do something just because you think it costs too much. Have the Pack attend all the District events. Not only will the Scouts have a great time, but you and the Den Leaders will get to meet and mix with the other adults in Cub Scouting. Networking in Scouting does help a lot. You have taken on a lot. Please don't make the mistake of putting your family on the back burner. You are going to need their help and support. Failing to remember this will cause you to "Burn- Out" really fast. Good Luck Eamonn.

BadenP, I agree that some of the other forums are ... Shall we say maybe "Over Moderated"? My point here wasn't so much about the forum, but what goes on in our Districts. I get really upset when I hear things like "Oh! That's Troop 666, they always ..." Kinda like the guy selling an antique ax, which has only had three new heads and four new handles. Disagreements and conflicts are a fact of life, but we do a better job of doing what we are trying to do if we can get past them and the best way to get past them is to deal with them the right way. "Clubiness" was brought up in another thread. I do think that we are all a little guilty of this. If I have something that needs done, it's a lot less work for me to ask someone that I know can and will deliver, than risking asking someone that I don't know and maybe might need to train to do the job. Of course having someone else that I can add to my list of people that can get things done, in the long run is a better way to go. Back when I was selecting a Staff for WB. A lot of people wanted to serve on the staff. We have one Troop in the District, that has for some reason always been on the "Outside". It was a catch 22 situation. No one ever asked them to really get involved, so they didn't get involved, the powers that be?? Moaned and complained that these guys never did anything so they never asked and so on and so on. The SM was a super nice guy. He had all the skills and know how that was needed. If he had a fault it was having a very controlling wife. She wore a lot of hats, COR, Committee Chair, ASM, Assistant Cubmaster. This Lady had over the years got a reputation for being very vocal and at times very emotional. While no one ever said it out loud, I think many of us (Me anyway!!) Tried really hard to avoid her and have as little dealings with her as possible. I got a lot of not so nice comments when I asked this SM to be a Troop Guide. He did a great job. The other Staff members got to know him and seen his strengths and his weaknesses, but they were willing to give him a chance. Something that just wasn't happening at the District and Council level. Sadly him and his wife split (Maybe not so sad for him?) He gave up being SM and went on to serve on the District Advancement Committee. Not a bad result for a guy who was known for hating the District. Eamonn.

"So how do these moments relate to WB? " WB is a leadership course. When I take the time to seek out what my Vision, Mission and all that good stuff really is these moments do help me to be able to see the bigger picture. It's more than lightly, (Not always) having had these moments, easier as a team member to help the team move from the Forming stage to the Performing stage. I don't think it's an accident that some of the best leaders that I've known are also the most interesting people that I have met. Eamonn.

I read what John posted. I'm not so sure that I've had that many of these moments? I have had some life altering events. The birth of my son. My marriage. - The big Stuff!! I tend to think that as I age, I'm more open to these moments. I seem to notice things more than I used to. I enjoy the little things more than I used to and no longer go out of my way to chase the big things. Someone once said to me that education comes from learning something from every-person that you have ever met, everyplace you have ever been, every book you have ever read. In short education comes from life. If we choose to live a life where all we do is watch TV and wait for the day to come when we hit the Power-Ball. Life will pass us by. Working with kids does give us a lot of these moments. Most come and go with each of us just allowing ourselves a little smile. But when you add all of these moments up? We can thank the Lord for the opportunity. We also can learn a lot from the bad stuff that happens. The worst day of my life was when the Doctor informed me that HWMBO had cancer. I was mad. Really mad, I wanted to blame someone,something, anything and everyone. It just wasn't fair! A big part of what was going on was me being sorry for myself. While of course I wouldn't wish cancer on anyone. I do think that her cancer made me better husband, made me aware of how important she is to me and how much I love her. I like to think that I'm a better person for having to deal with it all. I'm also more aware of how very precious life is. Stuff that sounds really corny! Sitting with the dogs in the grass watching butterflies! Having OJ make me a pot of coffee, without me asking. I'm very fortunate, I do believe that I have been very blessed and live a life full of these moments. Eamonn.

We might all hope that in an organization such as ours, that the adults would all be able to get along and do what is is right and what is best for the youth we serve. While I have been accused of living in some kind of rosy micro? Something or other?? For the most part I think we do a good job. We have seen even here in the forum, where we really don't know each other that some people can push other peoples buttons. Much as we may want to go on about living up to the Scout Law. I think we are all aware that however much we try, we are always going to come up short. I like to think that I'm a nice guy, I like to think that I'm easy to get along with! Still I know that there are Scouter's in the District that think I'm a real twit and a pain in the you know where. I don't have and don't pretend to have all the answers about this. I do know that allowing personal feelings to get in the way of the task at hand is never a good thing. Some ways we can avoid some of the fussing and fighting are: 1/ Be aware of how you are feeling. We all have bad days. The days when nothing seems to go as we want. When these days come, little things that we might be able to ignore don't get ignored. We each have ownership of our feelings. We might not be able to change the way we feel, but if we know and are aware of them we can at least sometimes avoid making things worse. 2/ When a situation does come up that needs to be dealt with. Don't use history. Deal with the situation! I was talking with HWMBO the other day and she brought up something that I'd said 25 years ago! This did nothing to solve what we were dealing with today. Saying things like "You always.." Or bringing up past sins do little to help with what is happening today. 3/ Being right is good. I have felt like a real twit when I have got up on my high horse and made a fuss about something only to find out later that I was wrong. Checking things out and getting the facts straight is a good thing to do. If you really don't know? Don't try and bluff your way out! Most times the bluff will come back and bite you on the tail. It pays to check out the information and where that information comes from! Be sure that people will go back and want to see and check this stuff out for themselves. If you are going to claim that a national study has said such and such, tell the person or people which study and where to find it. Be very careful about finding something that someone has put on the web. Just because it's on the web, doesn't make it right. While being right is a good thing. Being right and then rubbing someone's nose in it, is not good. 4/ Remember that things change. All to often I have heard that a Troop never does or always does! This just isn't true! Troops change, leaders come and go, Scouts come and go. Just because a Lad stuck an ax in a tree in 1940 doesn't mean that every Scout from that Troop will do the came thing sixty years later. 5/ Avoid Gossip and try and avoid rumors. Talking about people behind their back, is just plain wrong. Avoiding rumors can be tough. It seems that in every District there are a few people who seem to think that they have the inside track. I'm not sure but it seems that they think knowing or thinking that they know before everyone else gives them some sort of power. 6/ Where's the Beef? If there is a problem with someone deal with that person. 7/Time can be a killer! Dealing with a conflict before it has time to fester and grow is always best. 8/Find and look for the right time and place. Calling out anyone in front of youth members is never a good idea. Most (Not all) problems are better when they are dealt with face to face in the right place at the right time. 9/ If there is a problem? Fix the problem. All to often we spend more time trying to point the finger or blame than we do fixing what is wrong. 10/Let it go! If you have asked someone or some committee to deal with something, let them deal with it, accept the outcome and move on. 11/ Don't make threats! Threatening to quit or resign and not leaving makes you look silly. Idle threats only serve to cloud the real issues. Please feel free to add or disagree with the list. Eamonn.

jac0033, When I was SM for past Jamborees, the Council provided me with a supply of "Extra" patches. Which I do with more or less what I wanted. If I sold them to a Scout who ran out, the money went back to the Council. I used these extras for gifting people who worked or helped out with the Troop. The visiting Commissioner was a much nicer fellow, after he'd received a CSP! Ea.

I'm not a Patch Trader or collector. But I have been around for a while and been a lot of places. I have my 1977 World Jambo patch on my red wool jacket. Sadly it's not very straight and the mountains are a bit wonky looking. When I was a little Lad, I did try and collect all of the County and District patches from all the Districts and Counties in the UK. I'm not sure how far I got! All this stuff is now living in a few Tupperware boxes that live in an antique blanket box. The only time they come out is when the pile of new patches start to gather dust on my desk. To be very honest they don't mean very much to me, but too much that prevents me from giving or throwing them away. I had thought of selling them all on e-bay and donating the money to the Council Campership fund. But I don't trust the Council to abide by my wishes. So what do you do with all of your patches? (I do have a camp fire blanket that my mother put together for me many moons ago.) Eamonn

Imagination! Dan Try and imagine yourself as a young Lad. You have the attention span of an ant. You are been given a lot of very specific instructions, which you are supposed to remember. What you are being asked to do requires a lot of hand/eye coordination. - Something that you might or might not yet have mastered. Chances are that you are going to get very frustrated and the tiny attention span that you do have will very rapidly fade. Young Lads are blessed with wonderful imaginations. You need to make this work for you. Start by making rope and knots a theme for a month. Not something that you are going to beat them over the head with at a couple of meetings. Explain to the boys how important knots and rope were. Have them imagine building the Pyramids and how much rope and knots were used. Sell them the idea that without knots and rope the sailing boats would never have been able to sail. If they had never sailed? America would never have been discovered. Sailors still use rope (OK Line!) Cowboys use rope,guys who climb mountains use rope. Rope and knots were one of the first tools that man had. Give each boy his own rope or better yet two ropes. Use good quality rope. Start by having them whip the ends (If you decide to use synthetic rope? Burn and whip.) A simple whipping or better yet a West Country Whipping is a good way to get started. Use colored Sharpies to mark each boy's ropes. (Keep them handy they can help the boys remember which end goes where??) Don't go wild! Keep new knots down to no more than one or two a week. Go over knots from the previous week, but find ways of kicking it up a notch! Use bandages, or use licorice string. (I tried spaghetti, we were indoors and it made a big mess! It might be better out-doors, but it doesn't hold very good -I'm thinking that a flat pasta like Fettucini might hold better.) Try and find ways of using the knot for the purpose that it was intended for. Explain the history of the knot. A timber hitch can be used for pulling a log, but it was also the knot that the English Archers used to tie their long bows with. You might also want to give the boys a small piece of rope to carry in their pockets, telling them that it is their "Pet Rope". Some knots are just fun to mess around with. I still enjoy playing with the Fisherman's Knot, the Fireman's Chair Knot and the Sheepshank. If you have a very large rope (The kind used for a tug of war.) You might want to have the Den try and tie a Clove Hitch around a very large tree. I have found that a good way for Scouts to get it! Is by me standing behind them and having them tell my hands where to go and what to do. It looks like I'm breaking anything that was ever written on YP but I don't care. Be sure that who ever is instructing the Scouts is someone who really likes kids and has lots of patience. I have seen adults who when trying to teach a Lad a knot get very frustrated. Don't ever allow this to happen. You are an Imagineer - Let your imagination go wild. Tie Bowlines and toss loops, teach them how to tie one with one hand and have races. Let them explore the purchase that a Haymaker's Hitch can give. If you can plant the seed now? In twenty years or so when they become Scouter's? They will pass on their love of knots to the next group of Scouts. Eamonn.

First I should state that I'm not a patch collector. Patch trading at the Jamboree is enormous. Scouts who have never traded a patch in their entire life seem to get caught up in it. I have to admit to becoming a little upset with one Troop. I think it was the 2001 Jamboree Troop that I was serving as SM for. Knowing how much money these kids parents had spent to send them to the Jamboree, for them to sit around by the side of the road all day? Seemed just wrong to me. In the end, under pressure from me the PLC asked that we all take a day off from trading. By about day five it was starting to die down as many of the Scouts were out of patches and didn't want to re-trade what they had already traded. In 2005, I had one Scout who paid $35.00 for a couple of patches that he needed to complete a set.(I thought he was out of his mind.) As part of their Jamboree fee Scouts from our Council get ten extra jamboree CSP's. The Lodge also gives all the OA members ten flaps. (It sells the flaps to recover the cost.) As I see it, which could be way off base! At the Jamboree we have the real patch traders. Scouts who have been doing this for a while, know what they want and will only trade for what they want. These tend to be the older Scouts who may have attended NOAC and only want Lodge Flaps. Some Scouts have set goals of collecting CPS from a set area. Then there are the younger Scouts who really are not patch traders but get caught up in it all. (Kinda a shame. As once they get home with all the patches they don't really know what to do with them!)These younger lads will go for the nice looking patches. Or the patches that "Everyone wants". Seems that word gets out about some patches. I remember one Council had Marvel Comic characters on their CSP and one Jamboree there were Hooters patches. Larger Councils and Lodges have sets that make up something! One Lodge had a set that made up a totem pole. One Council had CSP's with different planes. Trying to get the entire set can be hard. I'm not sure how many patches is the right number. My son went in 2001. He didn't get caught up in it all and was OK with the ten and ten that he went with. He went again in 2005, by which time he'd been around a bit. A couple of his pals were really into it all. These guys knew their patches, they knew the value (cost!) of different patches, which Lodge had done what with what patch. I think my son seen this as being way too much like hard work, so he kept away from it all. Not wearing my Scouter cap, but talking as a parent. I think sending a son with too many patches is not a good idea. I didn't spend all that money to get him to the Jamboree to have him sit around all day trading patches. Wearing my Scouter cap. I wish, I really wish that patch trading was able to do what it was intended to do. The idea of two Scouts who don't know each other meeting, talking and doing a fair trade is a noble and wonderful idea. Sadly this isn't the case. I see it as two Scouts meeting each trying to get one over on the other. I'm also very cheap. No one at the Jamboree wants to trade the cute patches that are left over from Camporees or District events. Lodge Flaps and CSP's are what is needed. These things aren't cheap. I can't see myself spending a couple of hundred bucks on something that once it has been traded and arrived back home will never see the light of day again. But I'm not a patch trader. Eamonn.

Back when I first became a Boy Scout in the UK, Boy Scouts were allowed and did wear sheath knives, when in uniform. I remember at the time when we were informed that we were no longer allowed to wear them, that the reason was that Scouts were being stopped by gangs who were taking the knives away from them. We were still at that time allowed to wear sheath knives at camp. Back when I first joined this forum there were several threads about knives. I remember it well because OJ had been at an OA weekend and won a pie eating contest. The prize was a small knife. He put it in his overcoat pocket and forgot it was there. Come Monday he wore his coat to school. He showed it to someone who informed a staff member and he ended up being suspended from school for three days. I used to carry my Swiss Army knife with me all the time. I don't anymore. The main reason being that I'm not allowed to take any sort of a knife to work. But also because just having a knife on me has at times become a real hassle. In fact I have now attached a line to the knife and it is kept with the rest of the gear I take to camp. Eamonn.

trainerlady I'm saddened to hear that you are not enjoying the course. It really is a shame. But with all the information that is available, I really no longer believe that the course is in any way secretive. I also would have thought that by now everyone knew that the course was a Leadership course, not a course about outdoor skills? I wonder if maybe you are comparing the course that the Council put on to the PTC? I haven't been around the course for a few years, I know that some changes were made. But the syllabus I have printed in 2001 lists the timetable for each day with breaks every hour. Sure they are only ten minute breaks. But some presentations end early! Eamonn.

Twocubdad (And Beavah) In the answer I first posted at 10:49:52 AM. I said "As things stand right now. Because he is no longer a MBC? The book answer is of course he isn't able to sign off on any MB's." I think most of us know that a good many District Merit Badge Counselor lists are not as clean as they should be. Most times unless there is some sort of a problem no one ever checks who has signed what. (We did at one time have a Dean of Merit Badges who did check.) One big problem with not having MBC's not re-registering each year is that it can make the District list useless. No one really knows who is and who isn't an MBC. Eamonn.