Eamonn

NJCubScouter, I was just thinking what Twocubdad posted, but he posted before I did. (In fact I did a double-take when I seen your name!) Hope all is well. Ea.

Kinda got lost with all the comings and goings. Seems to me that the Troop is not planning ahead? Maybe the weekend that you are talking about would be better spent having the PLC meet with the SM and work on a plan for the next year. Bring all the dates of all the other activities along, bring the District, Council and the SM's work/family calender along. Put down on paper what is happening when for the next year. Have a theme for each month that will train the Scouts in things like cooking and menu planning. Right now it seems like the Troop is failing to plan and as you know this ends up as a plan to fail. Eamonn.

I have a bit of a problem with threads where ASM's state that they are having problems with the SM. OK, I will admit that I have never served as an ASM. However over the years have had some really wonderful people who have worked along side of me and with me. All these guys have been my friends, in fact most have become my very nearest and dearest friends. Scouts and Scouting for us was more a way of life, than just an activity that we were involved in. We shared our lives, we shared our goals, our experiences and our love for Scouting and the kids we were working with and serving. I guess I must have just been lucky? I agree with the wise man from K-C, even if at times I have a hard time understanding the military jargon!! You need to take a long hard look at yourself. Look deep inside of yourself and think about what is really going on? While this might sound easy? Take my word for it. - It's not! A few years back I moved on from serving as District Commissioner to serving as District Chairman. The Council Commissioner selected a new District Commissioner. This new guy was everywhere, he fast became very popular. He was (Still is!) A very likable fellow, very charming, a great salesman, a real bundle of fun. However it soon became clear that he was very much like a butterfly. He was everywhere because he didn't stay in one place long enough to find out what problems were happening, let alone fix them. He was spending all of his time being the Mr. Nice Popular Fellow. As the problems grew and got more and more out of hand. I knew that he just wasn't the right person for the job. But I had a big problem. I had been used to being the popular guy. I was used to people coming to me and asking me for help and advise and deep down I resented all the attention that he was receiving. When I looked at myself, I wasn't sure if I was really seeing what was happening? I wasn't sure if I was being fair to him? Or if I was allowing my resentments to push me into looking for faults. I did know that the faults were there. I'd have been a real twit not to see them and notice them. In the end I decided that it was in the best interest of everyone that I take him under my wing and work with trying to get him to do the job that he was supposed to be doing. It wasn't easy and there were times when I would loved to have done some very un-scout-like things to him. There were times when I felt like the guy cleaning up after the elephants had left town. We had some very not so nice conversations and I know at times his feeling were hurt. He was still serving when my 3 year term was up. Sadly he has now moved on and is active in another organization. But I do feel that I gave it(Him) my best shot! With some deep thought and maybe a little prayer? I feel sure that you will do what is right and give whatever you make your mind up to do? Your best shot. Good Luck. Eamonn.

"...they wanted to sleep in a tent, hike, row a boat, go for a swim, make a dutch oven cobbler, shoot a couple targets at the range, and the like." You can of course sleep in a tent and maybe cook a cobbler without leaving the Troop camp site. The other activities do mean that you do have to make some sort of an effort. As for the point. It's just too easy to blame the training or the quality of the training and the trainers, without taking into account the skill level of the participants. Given the choice of going to camp with four or five people who knew what they were doing or taking an army of people who more than lightly will be gone within less than five years, I'd go with the four or five. Eamonn.

Strange how at times this forum seems to discuss things that I have just been talking about. I had our District Chairman and DE over for dinner a week or so back. They in their infinite wisdom have asked that this years Corn Roast (A District Round-table on steroids and sweet corn.) Be given over to membership. While of course the main focus is on recruitment and school night. We started talking about retention and the need for organization within the unit and planning within the unit. As we discussed this and the meaning of life! We kinda, sorta decided that a big problem in the District is that many, if not most of the units (Packs and Troops) do not have real committees. The committee has been replaced with some sort of leader/parent/ committee member mix. Which does seem to have found a way of muddling its way through, but falls flat when things start to go wrong. When we looked at why? This is happening, we came up with: The size of the unit - Small units tend to not have the man-power or think they don't have the man-power. People feel that they attend too many meetings. Communication isn't a problem if everyone is in the same place at the same time. Still the 3 of us think that the idea of having one group deliver the program and one group support these delivery people is the best way to go. Of course having an SM and a Committee Chair that are on the same page is a big help. I'm not so sure about using the Methods of Scouting as a scorecard. I see the methods as a list of goals. An on-going work that is always in progress. Sometimes just when you think you have it all down pat and everything is going great, something will happen to upset the apple-cart and you have to start all over again. Sometimes the cause of things are beyond our control. A new HS Coach, or a group of kids that are all budding thespians? I've seen it happen. The goal of a Committee Chair as I see it is as much about stewardship as anything else. As we all know Scouts come and go, some seem to be around forever, while others just seem to pass through. More and more it seems that the same can be said about leaders, some move due to work or family circumstances, some only are around until their kid makes Eagle or loses interest. The Committee Chair working with the COR and the CO should be focused on ensuring that the Troop will be around long after he or she has gone and is able to support the youth leaders and the CO with the job they are tasked with. Eamonn.

Back when I was a Scout. Which was a long time back and in a different place across that pond that divides England and the USA. Cubmasters and Assistant Cubmasters, seemed happy to work with these little fellows and happy to remain in Cub Scouting. Troops had teams of adults who for the most part seemed to have been around for a very long time and were expected to remain around for a very long time. Sure there were some young whippersnappers like myself who maybe snuck in and then snuck out after only a short term of leadership. Ten years in my case. All the adult leaders that served in the District that I was in had been Scouts, most had been Scouts in the very same District. The "Top Guys" (Commissioners, were the top guys in the UK.) in the District knew each other well. In my case they had seen me and watched me grow up. Many of the old timers had worked together for many years. I don't ever remember a Troop, no matter what size, having more than ten or so adults who might be called leaders. I don't ever remember anyone ever saying anything that sounded like "Training will help" Or "Go and attend training." While of course each person had his own set of skills, things that he was good at and at times these skills seemed too resonate through the Troop that they were involved with. I enjoyed camping and pioneering and because of that we as a Troop camped a lot and seemed to be forever building bigger and more ambitious pioneering projects. I can't remember what the Training requirements were in the UK in the early 1970's? I do know that Wood Badge wasn't required. I only attended because I was told it would look good as at that time I'd been selected to be an ASM for the upcoming 1975 World Jamboree. My SM had been WB Trained, but he was the only adult in the Troop who was. A good many of the other Troops in the District had long time leaders who just had never taken the time or just didn't have the time. While no one ever said it out loud Wood Badge was not seen as being that very important, maybe something that might be a nice thing to do if you had the time and the money. When I went to WB , I went with Old Fred Jenkins. Fred was then about the same age as I am now. He was a King's Scout and had forgotten more about Scouts and Scouting than I'll ever know. He was a multi talented individual, with a wonderful sense of fun and adventure. He only went because I was going. We had a great time. We played Boy Scout for a week, build a wonderful monkey bridge on the Gilwell Training grounds, got yelled at for digging them up. I think or like to think that we maybe did help some of the guys in our Patrol who might have lacked the skills we had. Fast Forward. A couple of years back, when OJ, my son was a Boy Scout. His Troop went off to summer camp with about 30 Scouts and 21 adults. (All men.) Maybe 3 of these guys had any real skills. The rest were there for some reason that I'm not sure of? The camp is a 25 minute drive from home, so transportation really isn't an issue. I'm guessing that the main reason they were there was to keep an eye on their kid. I was up at camp several times the week that OJ was there. Some of the hangers on only left the Troop camp site to use the bathroom and go for meals. They seemed to pass their time watching the fire, reading and chasing after their son. A year or so past. The SM of the Troop has for personal reasons stood down and been replaced by a guy who couldn't tie a bowline if his life depended on it. He has however managed to get the Troop a new very large trailer which on the side has the Troop number and "Where Eagles Fly" sign written! We can go on and on about the quality of training and training's. We can say that the old course was better or worse than the new course. Somehow I think we have a deeper problem. A catch 22 type problem. The guys who are now leaders were not brought up having the skills to start with they in turn of course can't pass the skills that they don't have to the Scouts who will be the next group of leaders. I'm a nice fellow, I get on well with others and work well with other adults, but going to camp with 21 adults!! This would be my worst nightmare. I have always seen my reason for being away from my nice warm comfortable bed and my loving family as to be there for the Scouts. Sure I have the best-est time, I enjoy every last minute of it and am grateful for the opportunity. I don't see baby sitting a bunch of adults as being much fun. I'm all for helping and doing all I can to help the guy who really wants to join in and learn the stuff that he might not know. I do think that after a few years he will pick up a lot of what is needed. I don't think that any training course, old course, new course is going to provide him with the practical or life skills that are needed to become a great Scoutmaster. This takes time and for people who never got exposed to the skills or learned the skills as Scouts? It takes even longer. Eamonn.

"If bear canisters don't work and bear bags are obsolete, what to do?" How about having the bears wear collars that are linked to some sort of GPS system, that calls campers cell phones when the bear comes within a quarter mile of where the camper is? This would also ensure that here in the forum we don't have threads that are 102 pages long about cell phones. People opting to ignore the warning about the bear could then use their phone to video the bear eating their food and then send the video to Face-book or one of type of sites. The video could be set to music. I'm thinking maybe Susan Boyle singing 'I Dreamed A Dream' As the bear licks his /her lips. After this has been viewed a couple of million times, people will understand that Bears do like to eat and people food is a real treat, unless of course it's curried tofu and will then take more care. Ea.

Gander Mountain did have some last winter. I thought they were kinda pricey! If I remember right they were over $50.00 I looked on their web site and seen something, which isn't what they had last winter. Maybe Mrs. Red Feather could knit something? (My Mother was always knitting, she would knit me gloves and then have a tape that ran through the sleeve of my jacket, to prevent me from losing them. As a kid I hated that darn tape!) Ea.

Think I'm on the same page as red feather. Lord knows that we in this forum have hashed and re-hashed the uniform as a method a lot of times. My thinking is that we the adults need to work toward creating an environment where the Scouts themselves feel that their uniform is important to them. I really don't think inviting the Unit Commissioner to turn up armed with his inspection sheet is going to fix or solve anything and might end up with some hurt feelings? In the past I had a lot of luck with having an inter-patrol competition. The PLC came up with how points were earned and a uniform inspection done by the P/L's was part of it. Sometimes they inspected the entire uniform, sometimes they choose to just maybe do one part of it. Sometimes they inspected their own Patrol and sometimes another Patrol, the PLC set this up at the PLC meeting. The competition ran monthly and the winning Patrol got to wear a gold necker th next month. Eamonn

Much as I hate to sound rude. If I were the SM, I wouldn't want or allow any Committee Member to attend a PLC. My role as SM is provide the program. The role of the Committee is that of support. As an SM, I'd be happy to attend Committee Meetings and give a full report of what the Troop is doing, how it is doing and where it is going. I'd be willing to share the vision and mission I have for the Troop and myself. I might be willing to share some of the goals I have set for myself. But! I see the PLC as my time with the P/L's. My time to help train and prepare them. For me Scouting is all about relationships and the relationship between the SM and the PLC is not one I'd be willing to open up and share with members of the Committee. Just like every other volunteer, my "Term of office" runs from year to year. If the Committee finds that they are un-happy with the selection that they made (Me.) When the time comes to recharter they can of course remove my name from the charter and select someone else. The Troop Committee Agenda should cover everything that a Troop Committee needs to know about the Troop. Eamonn.

About a year or so back in our neck of the woods there was a bit of a fuss when word went out that a Venturer had been awarded the Quartermaster Award. As a newbie to Sea Scouts, I didn't really join in or have a strong opinion one way or the other. One Sea Scouter, who I really like and admire, who has been around Maryland Sea Scouting for a very long time, pointed out that one of the Apprentice Requirements reads: "Describe the Sea Scout uniform and obtain one. Tell how and when the uniform is worn and how to care for it. Reference: See "Sea Scout Uniforms and Insignia". This kinda made sense to me. But just to muddy the waters it was also pointed out that as Sea Scouts are under Venturing, a Ship could go with the Venturing uniform requirements. Some of he Sea Scouts I know do work on Venturing requirements. Not so much because they are in any way "Over Achievers". In fact the guys and girls I'm thinking of could well fall under the heading of "Lazy Little Toads"! They opt to do the Venturing stuff, because from about November until May, other than work on boats there just isn't that much outdoor stuff going on with the Ship. I really don't see any problem with any youth member working on any youth award. If they are happy and any award is earned correctly, I say more power to them. Eamonn.

I really have no idea what it costs to make a uniform. One reason I kept on hearing in the past, for the uniform costing as much as it did, was because it was union made in the USA. Again I don't know if this was the truth or just something that just sounded good? I do understand that we are in a Global economy. Maybe the guys in China are upset about buying American rice? Still with unemployment as high as it is here in the USA, I would think that if there was a way of doing things here at home, without having costs go through the roof? We'd be happy to go for it. -Even if the cost was slightly higher. Ea.

I really think we are thinking as Scouter's not as your normal everyday run of the mill parent. Parents don't see their son joining a Boy Scout Troop as being that much different than him joining a sports team. For the parent all this talk about Patrols, Youth led and all that good stuff is something that they know nothing about. In my area, most times if a Troop and a Pack share the same CO (Same number) Parents see the Pack and the Troop as being one and the same. Kinda like moving from Elementary school too Junior High and Junior High too High School. There are times when things get in the way. Maybe a parent has a history with the SM? Sometimes the Webelos Scout Den Leader has a history with the SM and they just don't get on! (Been there! Had an entire Den join a Troop down the road because the WSDL didn't get on with the SM.) Parents will ask about things that they know about and think they understand -Mainly Eagle Scout Rank! They sometimes look or ask about the cost of being a member. That great trip to Philmont or Sea Base can at times scare them away! I'll bet that a parent visiting a Troop where all the Scouts are sitting down involved in that weeks Merit Badge Class, looks wonderful to a parent! The big problem I see about these young Lads crossing over is not where they go, but how long they stay. Many years back Cub Scout Camping hit the UK in a big way. The Pack that was part of our Scout Group, seen this new Cub Camping as being great. On a Thursday night the Troop would go and put all the tents up for the little guys. On Friday the Cub Scouts would arrive, along with an army of parents and leaders who cooked and took care of their every need. The little guys had a wonderful time. Sadly when they joined the Troop, they found that their P/L wasn't going to take care of their every need. Fetching wood and water, cooking and washing up, just wasn't as much fun as being free to play all day. Also the real excitement of being able to go to camp was gone! Parents who had attended these Cub Scout camps had a hard time adjusting to the way the Troop went about getting things done. While many seemed to think that this "Good for them!". Some just couldn't understand why things were so very different. I have noticed that Cub Scouts (Webelos Scouts) seem to have less of a problem joining a Troop, where a Troop member has got to know them at Cub Scout Resident Camp. The little guys see this older Scout as being some sort of a hero! Much the same can be said about Den Chiefs, but as a rule the Den Chiefs are from the same CO as the pack. Eamonn.

I don't have any real problem with where stuff comes from or where it is made. I do feel that what ever it is we are buying should be the quality that is required or specified. The responsibility for this and checking this is the responsibility of who ever is buying it and selling it at every step along the line. It's great that we can buy a cheap whatever but if it fails to do what it was intended to do, then it's no longer a saving. If it doesn't meet what the specs are, then again it isn't what we paid for. I do think we have a responsibility to ensure that the things we buy are made or manufactured in safe and humane working conditions. Talking with my younger sister who is is a Partner and Head of law firm's Greater China Employment and Human Resources practice. She was tasked with ensuring that the Chinese could work within a mission statement of a large American oil company. The American company were willing to invest several billion dollars (US) in China. When she looked into the employment practices of many of the secondary suppliers, she found that they were unable to operate with the guidelines of the mission statement. The end result was that the Americans pulled out. I would hate to think that our Boy Scouts were wearing patches that were made by young children in China working is really terrible conditions and would gladly pay the extra cost to ensure that this wasn't happening. I'm not saying that this is the case. I just hope that someone, somewhere has checked it out. Eamonn.

As so often happens (At least for me!. I find myself between a rock and a hard place. I hope that we, HWMBO and myself have raised our son to respect everyone. I also hope that I'm not guilty of being anything that might be taken as an "Ist". Not sexist, racist. OK! I might be happy to take or go along with nicest? Over the past few years, I have slowly been learning a new way of talking. Man of the young men I see that are serving sentences in jail, when they talk about their homes talk about "My babies Momma." Some talk about "My babies Mommas" Of course the fact that these guys are in jail does mean that while they are there they are not actively involved in the raising of their kids. The reasons why they are in jail? The social and economic reasons and maybe failing's that may or might be argued is maybe something for another thread? Many of these men don't seem to have any real feelings of responsibility for the children that they have brought into the world. Many of these guys never had a father at home and see having children being raised by the women that they slept with or the mothers of women that they slept with as just being the norm. Paying money out for child support is seen by them, much the same way as I might see me paying my income tax. I do think that a good male role model is a good thing. I also think that more than anything else children need to feel and see that they are really loved and cared about. I don't believe that HWMBO is any more or less loving or caring than I am. For me this isn't a male or female role thing. Each of us have different skills, things that one of us does better than the other or can manage maybe better than the other. Right now in the Council I serve, which is small with only about 100 Troops, we do not have any female SM's. I'm not sure why this is and I know of no real reason for it. Then again the Council has never had a female Council President, again I can't find a reason for this. While I do strongly subscribe to the idea that the adults in Scouting should set the best example possible for the youth they serve. I have to say that I kinda think a Lad toddling off too a Troop meeting once a week with the odd camp out thrown in for good measure is not going to really see his male SM as a big male role model. Anymore than he would see a female SM as a big female role model. I was very worried when I first became a Sea Scout Leader of a coed Ship. Having teenage girls in a Scouting unit scared the bejebbers out of me. I had no experiences what so ever of working with girls. It took no time for me to work out that it didn't make any difference. Both the male and female Scouts took me for what I was/am. I don't think it would have made an iota of difference had I been a female. Eamonn.

As I read the article, I found myself cheering for Yellow-Yellow! My hope is that no one harms her and no one gets harmed by her. I wish her a good long life. With maybe a few tasty treats now and then! Eamonn.

All this is great stuff. But... I can't help that maybe just maybe we are guilty of over thinking all of this. Kids will join a Troop with their pals They don't know or care about any of this Patrol Method or boy led stuff. Parents will allow their son to join a Troop that is convenient for them. If the Troop meets on the night that Mom plays Bingo or Dad goes bowling? Chances are that the Troop is not going to see their kid. Also Troops change and at times change a lot. My son joined a Troop which had a SM that he really liked, but the guy had to quit due to a new job. In next to no time the Troop became nothing more than a MB factory. I've seen wonderful Troops go bad and bad Troops become wonderful. Eamonn.

Adam, I think not only has the DE got to do his job, but the volunteers do need to do their job. Members of the District Committee (I'm thinking mainly of the Activities and Camping Committee.) Must know that something just isn't right. While maybe in the past a DE might well have taken care of things? And might well have done a good job? It would however seem from what you have posted that this is no longer the case. People who are selected to chair activities need to be making reports to the District Committee and the District Activities Chairman, he or she needs to be talking with or communicating with the District Chairman, who should be holding regular District Key 3 meetings. I'm very good at covering my own tail! I bet if I were the DE, I'd be looking for ways of having other people make the decisions when it comes to changing dates. I'd be explaining to others where the equipment they needed was and how to go about getting it. In the District I serve. (Right now as Membership Chairman) we have a new DE. A super nice young fellow. If he has a fault it is that he fails to communicate. I now when I call him on the phone leave detailed messages of when I will be home to expect his call. I ask for receipts on all my emails and tell him that I expect an answer within 24 hours. I also send him a DVD of Cool Hand Luke. He is getting a lot better. I also copy the District Chairman on everything. Eamonn

I should state that I do not in any way buy into the "Poor DE!" Tales! This is complete and utter poppycock! Each and everyone of us who works for a living knows what we are getting into when we take on a job. I'm sorry but if a DE doesn't like the hours that he has to work? The time to move on would be about yesterday! Yes I do believe that DE's do have a tough job trying to keep the guy who signs his pay check and the volunteers that he has to work with and for happy. But that's life. I work with people who all have their own cross to bear. Some have spouses who are battling addiction, some are raising kids ho have all sorts of challenges and handicaps. Still they are expected to show up to work and do their job day in and day out. Faced with what these guys face a new bride? Come on!! If things in a District are that bad? The volunteers in the District need to contact the Council President (A volunteer.) Lay out the facts and ask for a report back telling what is going on. The Council President is a member of the Council Key 3. He will talk with the Council Commissioner, who is the guy who selects the District Commissioner. He also has the ear of the SE, who might be willing to turn a deaf ear to a District volunteer but will make time to hear what the Council President has to say. The SE can also look for ways to support and help this staff (The SE.) COR's can attend the District Meeting and voice their displeasure with what is going on in the District. Again Councils do not like to have unhappy Chartered Organizations and are more lightly to take heed of what they are saying than maybe a few volunteers who at times are cast aside as just being "Busy-bodies". The hard truth is that if you all keep on doing what you are doing, is that you are going to keep on getting what you got. Eamonn.

I have to admit that I find it very odd that a DE can change the date of an event. Dates do change and at times do need to be changed. But a DE doing the changes? Coming up with a date for an event is no easy task. Back when I was District Chairman planning events and planning the calender was a real chore. (Well kinda of!) To be honest most events on the District Calender remained the same and were held around the same time. The way we did things: Sometime in October the DE and I would meet and look at the calender and have a little chat about what things we might want to add or take out. We might pencil in a new event or talk about things that we might want to take out. In November the Professional Staff would have their planning meeting. Not sure why? But this was a 3 day meeting!! It was here that the DE got all the news from the powers that be about things that were happening at the National, Regional and the Council level. Dates for things like Wood Badge would be added to the list of Council events. As a rule National and the Region didn't have dates just ideas. This came to the District Committee in about January. At the District Committee Meeting we penned in the dates for all of our District events and activities. Some poor person in the Council Service Center was tasked with looking this over and ensuring that we didn't have any real big conflicts or clashes. Sometime in about March the District Committee received a draft copy of the calendar and it was then that any last minute changes were made. Somehow? Someway? This all made its way to the printer and was handed out to all the volunteers in June. The calendar ran along the lines of the school year starting in September. There really never is a real need to have a DE at a District event. As a rule they don't do much and tend to get in the way. Volunteers are the people who do the real work. If I were the organizer of an event that needed equipment I'd make sure that it was where it was supposed to be when it was supposed to be there. As District Chairman, I would have contacted the organizer and asked him or her "How are things going? And what do you need?" If they had said that the DE was bringing something? I would have offered to go get it. DE's are not program people. They work for the Council. Volunteers work for the youth. Eamonn.

For most courses the lists provided by the CD and his or her staff cover what you need. The first weekend does entail way too much time in the sitting position. It's kinda hard to engage brain when you have a sore behind. A cushion helps. Many people going to the course worry about The Ticket. This is covered really well and their is lots of people that are willing to help. Your Patrol will be asked to do a presentation as a Patrol. The Troop Guides will have done one as an example for you to see when you arrive at the course. You might however want to bring some copies of Scouting and Boy's Life Magazines which might help you and the Patrol come up with an inspired idea. As skeptic posted the course is very intense so getting a good nights sleep is important. Anything that helps you more comfortable at night is a good idea. If you have a special skill that might help your Patrol you might want to bring whatever stuff goes along with that. However you need to not go overboard with it. Playing your ukulele at 0200 is not going to win you very many friends. Eamonn.

I found the 360 Assessment part of the WB course when I first seen it and presented it to be a bit of a waste of time. But, like a lot of other things that maybe I don't get at first, over time the light does seem to eventually go on. Assessments are strange things. They tend as far as I can see to either be very worthwhile or just a waste of time, with little or no middle ground. HWMBO has an annual assessment that seems to be a waste of time. Her boss tells her to complete the form and then her boss signs off on it. Having been self-employed for about 20 years, I wasn't sure about this assessment thing! My boss does take it very seriously and puts a lot of thought and work into it. This might be because he has more time than HWMBO boss who has a busy ER to manage? I had my assessment a few months back. As I expected it was good, in fact it was better than I'd expected. I blame this on me being the worst boss I ever worked for! At the time I was called into the office of my boss, we went over it and I signed off on it, thanking him for being such a nice fellow. Last Tuesday I was called into his office again. He wants me to give the inmates who work in our department a presentation on Ethics. I explained to him that I thought that maybe trying to teach a class on ethics too a group of convicted criminals might be a bit of a waste of time! He kinda agreed but went on to say that he thought it wouldn't do any harm and that I was the right person for the job. (Talk about a snow job!!) A couple of days later he called me back into his office, to inform me that his boss wanted some of the rules that we had maybe been a little lax about, to now be followed and enforced. None of this was in any way life threatening or that serious. He (My boss) explained to me that he was asking me to do this because he thought that I'd be able to cover this in a "Friendly" way! This got my little gray cells thinking. Back "In the day" Whenever that might have been? I don't remember anyone really giving two hoots about things being done in a friendly way. There has in this forum been a lot of talk about how parents act. (Yes I know I started a thread about this!). My parents never went out of their way to be my friends or gain my approval, same goes for a lot of the adults that I had to deal with as a young boy and teenager. While of course no one ever wanted to see me harmed or hurt. They were the adults and I was seen as just being a kid. They didn't have to do anything to earn my respect, they expected it and I just fell in line, doing what was expected. The very idea of me ever telling my parents that a teacher or master had treated me unfairly? Was something that never crossed my mind as I knew that they would take the side of the adults. While this might sound very unfair. There were some advantages to it. I was a kid and expected to live in a kids world. I never had any idea about our family finances, bills or that adult stuff. I to this day have no idea if my parents were happy or not! They were my parents and that was all I needed to know. There are times in Scouting when the adults do need to stand up as adults and wrong as it might seem the answer to the "Why?" Question can only be answered with the "Because I said so!" Answer. I'm OK with myself and my feelings of what is right and what is wrong. (Even when I might be in a gray area!) I don't need a long list of rules, policies or that sorta thing. While I hope I don't ever go out of my way to be unfair. To me if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, there is a very good chance that it is a duck. While I know that I'm a lot more friendly toward children than the adults of my youth. There are times when there is something that might not be popular that needs done, I don't have a problem doing it. I do try to do a quick assessment of how I'm feeling to ensure that I am acting out of what is right and not out of the mood I'm in. So maybe when it comes to doing the "Dirty Work" That 360 Assessment wasn't such a waste of time, after all ? Eamonn.

Most of the time we all can make a choice as to how we see the glass. Is it half full? Or half empty? Some of my adult co-workers seem to have to struggle through each day. They count the years, months, days and hours till they can retire. I at times have to admit to teasing them, saying that they are in fact wishing their lives away! Of course this doesn't help and only adds gas to the fire. I do really feel for people who get stuck doing or in things that they really don't want to do or like to do. Most of us do spend some time doing things that we don't like to do. For me this is when " A Scout is Cheerful" Comes into play. We make the choice of how we go about dealing with this. If what we are doing is really making us very unhappy and we have a way of getting away from it and doing something else. We need to work on that. This way out, may not be available immediately and at times does mean setting goals and working toward them. I believe that we only ever get out of things what we put in. I'm not sure how we go about selling that idea to others? I do know that preaching or going on and on just doesn't work. In fact most times it only serves to make things worse. There is a wonderful story about a BBC reporter interviewing three guys who were building the Liverpool R/C cathedral. The reporter saw three men laying bricks... He approached the first and asked, "What are you doing?" Annoyed, the first man answered, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm laying bricks!" He walked over to the second bricklayer and asked the same question. The second man responded, "Oh, I'm making a living." He asked the third bricklayer the same question, "What are you doing?" The third looked up, smiled and said, "I'm building a cathedral." While each of us has to make up our own minds about how we see what we are doing. I do think that each of us helps set the tone or the mood. It's strange when I go to work in a bad mood full of doom and gloom, others around me seem to get infected by my bad mood. Likewise when I go in smiling and ready to get the most out of whatever the new day will bring. This is also infectious. The adults in Scouting should be working toward having activities and programs that are fun and offer new and exciting challenges for the youth members. The youth do have a big say in what is going on and what will go on. Things seem to have a way of maybe not always going as planned, but it has always struck me as being funny that the more things seem to go wrong the more memorable they become and over time become more and more funny as the story is told and retold. The people who seem to have the most fun retelling it are those who were there. I think this is because they in some ways have ownership of it. Eamonn.

Merlyn_LeRoy, Maybe it's just me that finds it strange? Eamonn

One thing I really like about Americans is that they as a rule don't take things laying down. This seems especially true when it comes to taxes. Americans don't like being taxed. It just isn't their cup of tea. Some people say that George Herbert Walker Bush messed up big time when he didn't keep his word when he said "Read my lips: no new taxes". President Barack Obama promised to fix health care and trim the federal budget deficit, all without raising taxes on anyone but the wealthiest Americans. I think it's a little strange that he was voted in when he stated that he was going to raise taxes. Here in Pennsylvania, we have what should seem like a very popular Governor. At least it would seem that way when you look back at how he beat the Republican, Lynn Swann in the last election. Faced with a budget impasse, Ed Rendell wants to raise the state income tax to balance the budget, but Republican lawmakers are resisting any effort to raise taxes. I'm glad I'm not working on trying to come up with our state budget. I have tried to come up with what I think is what is the best for me and I get lost in it all. Republican lawmakers want to make cuts in order to balance the budget. I'm sure that there are some cuts that can be made and need to be made. But if the cuts might mean that the state isn't able to get the money from the federal stimulus funds. But this money is only going to be around for about 3 years, so I'm not sure what would happen in year 4 when this funding is gone? The cuts the Republicans want does mean that I'd not have to pay about $350 annually in extra State income taxes. But I'm thinking that these cuts would result in me paying more in property, school and county taxes. Kinda seems to me that somewhere along the line someone, somewhere is going to manage to get their hands in my pockets. As things are right now, being that I work for the state, it looks like I'm going to face a few weeks or maybe even months without a paycheck. I thank the Lord that for the most part this isn't going to be a big deal for me. But I'm talking to people who this is really going to hurt. I'm not a politician, I don't work in any area that has anything to do with the budget. But I just fail to understand why when everyone knew and knows when the deadline is, they waited until the deadline was gone to come up with what was needed to get the budget done. Ed Rendell has been busy touring the state trying to sell the idea of higher taxes, not only has he not managed to win people over, but while he has been dashing around he hasn't been in Harrisburg taking care of what has needed to be done. Holding the State workers pay checks is just plain wrong. While the white collar guys who earn the big bucks can more than lightly go without a check for a while, many of the ordinary everyday guys who have families and work with their hands doing stuff like repairing and digging the roads are going to really feel the pain. I think that everyone knows that there has to be some sort of a compromise. Seems to me that we are waiting for the first person to blink. Eamonn