alexiv

Today, April 23rd is the traditional feast day of St. George, patron saint of Scouting. St. George was a Christian Martyr in the 2nd Century who was persecuted by the Emperor Diocletian. St. Georges bravery in the face of persecution and holy life are models for scouts. Catholic scouts and scouters should pray to St. George for the advancement of the scouting movement. All other scouts should see him as a historical figure that held true to the values that scouting now represents.

From the point of view of a student, I see the zero-tolerance as ridiculous. Various times in grade school I would forget to take my knife out of my pocket before leaving for school. Ive outgrown most of that forgetfullness by now. I worry somewhat about these no tolerance weapons policies though, its a little ridiculous. I keep the arrow given to me when I kept the Vigil for OA on the back dash of my car. I like to have it in a place where I can see it every day and have it as a reminder. Every time an administrator stops to talk to me the back of my mind says, oh here we go, Ill probab

Similar to the patrol standard idea, my patrol is knows as the "Lost Hubcaps" Our standard is...a hubcap, on a pole. We found the hubcap on a patrol hike, we have an intense sense of ownership for it and it always stands out at camporee. Just another idea. Alex

At least once a year at a CoH I read a selection from the '57 scoutbook. Its called "Living the Scout Ideals" Gets our scouts thinking about the points of the law. This discussion as far a "courteous" goes got me thinking about a time when i read that particular passage, courteous, and got laughed at. The passage reads: "Am I truly courteuos? Have I learned to do the many small courteousies that a gentleman does as a matter of habit-- Rising when a lady enters a room, giving my seat to an older person, making genrous use of the little words 'please' and 'thank you'?" One of our m

Im glad to see that mine is not the only troop that had had a "wagon incident." Now, Ive never seen one on a backpacking trip, and I think thats the real problem here, but we take our troop wagon to summercamp and most other cabin camps. Two years ago at summercamp some first year boys decided to ride down a heavily wooded hill in our beloved troop wagon. Luckily no one was hurt (except the wagon) and after they all served theyre time dishwashing we now are able to laugh about it. Our second "wagon incident" I have to admit was my idea. The 3 oldest youth in the troop, the leade

One comment about the jewelry issue from a scout who has experienced it in a unique way. There are certain pieces of jewelry that are respectable, and many that are not. I wear a chain into my right pocket. About a foot long, but thinner than you would see on a normal teenager. Very often when I am in uniform and at a scout event where the leaders do not know me well, I reach into my pocket and at the jingle of the chain they will all turn and look like, should you be wearing that? Thats not part of uniform. The complexion of the situation changes greatly when I get to the end of the

If you dont mind spending the money, the best wool blankets that would hold up at camp are the old Hudson Bay blankets, (5 point blankets). You can probly find more information about these in the discussion from a couple months ago about capotes, as they are the traditional material for making a capote. You can find them usually at traders such as www.crazycrow.com

I wish it were that clear cut. The troop has 4 patrols. A leadership patrol of anyone over life. Then all the 1st/Star scouts who are over 13. Then a 2nd year patrol, and the just bridged Weblos. none of these patrols are big enough to compete with a full ticket on their own (except mayeb the 2nd year...but oh well) And so the arguement I get from the leadership is, well, we have to combine them in order to compete anyway, so why not mix up the ages? So this throws yet another twist into the argument.

How do your troops work patrols for competitions i.e. klondike, camporee, etc.? Our rules state natural patrols, but I have one adult leader int he troop that always wants to mix boys so that the younger scouts can taste some competition. (Im the SPL by the way) I hold a great deal of pride in my camporee patrol and how well we do, I really enjoy competing against my friends in the OA lodge. I paid my dues as a younger scout somewhat struggling with my young and underpowered patrol, thats called scouting, and its called patrol bonding, overcoming obstacles together. basicly my que

From a scout that sews most of his own patches (mom usually does the round ones because they tend to roll away on me) but heres a tip for sewing onto the pocket. Cut up a plastic milk jug or similar substance roughly into the size of the pocket and slip it into the pocket when you sew. Make sure it is something that your needle cannot pierce, this is why milk jug is good. This way the only thing that your needle can contact is the patch and the front side of the pocket. Its kind of a crude method, but it was invention from nessesity after i sewed my pockets shut a couple times. (which i

BTW, I know this is getting pretty far off topic, so i would invide the list moderator to move it to a different thread if he feels it appropriate. Sorry for going off on a tangent, but its a good discussion isnt it?

Maybe it is an arrogant comment, but i think that today's leaders can be, or can become, better than in the past. Isnt that what its all about? We all grew up in the era of political correctness, and there is a place for that sometimes. There is also a place for tradition and good clean fun. My generation of leadership faces the challenge of melding those concepts together. I know it works pretty well in my troop, and i know the boys that I have trained handle it pretty well, I imagine that this is probably not an isolated incedent.

Hazing? Honestly? I agree more with Rooster. As long as "everything in moderation" is observed, i dont think that it is harmful. As a 16 year old SPL, i have seen just about everything, good and bad, in the youth of scouting. I have been sent for somokeshifters ect., and i have sent others for them. Being able to laugh at yourself and take a joke is a sign of character. In the same vein, you cant make him the butt of the whole weekend, as long as everyone is treated with dignity and respect in the end, its all good. Scouting is a place for BOYS, we always talk about boy run, this is w

PETA? Is that: People Eating Tasty Animals??? Err...somehow i think thats backwards. :-)

This is a link to a capote pattern written by Dan Beard. It is a little sketchy, but if the father of scouting can do it, why not us? http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/okpik/gear&clothing/capote.htm