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Fat Old Guy

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Everything posted by Fat Old Guy

  1. The last Green Bar Bill handbook was one of the finest handbooks ever. Why, oh why did BSA feel the need to do a complete re-write?
  2. Too sharp? Ain't no such thing as too sharp unless you don't intend to cut anything with it.
  3. "When asked if there was ever a memo from National Supply saying that Packs could wear the tan shirt they have no knowledge of it." I am reminded of an exchange with a clerk at a store. The store had been changed around since I had been in it last which was well over a year before. I commented on the changes and the clerk said, "No, it's always been like this." I asked how long he'd been working there and he responded, "about a month." Did you ask the person if they were there in 1996 when the memo was supposedly written? Did you ask them to look for the memo? I am also remi
  4. The memo couldn't have been written in 1973 because the tan shirt wasn't in use at that time. The person that wrote that memo was the director of the Cub Scout program. Now we need to ask how could it be correct then and not now? It seems to be commonly accepted that "once a uniform, always a uniform" (even though none of us have seen that memo). Following that logic, if was legal for Cub Scouts to wear the tan shirt for even one day, then they must be allowed to wear the tan shirt for all time.
  5. Back in olden days there weren't adults running around finding things for kids to do. Kid's built rafts; went fishing, swimming, biking; they build secret clubhouses in the woods; etc. Back in the day we'd play pick-up games of baseball, basketball, football. Sometimes, we'd schedule games with boys from other neighborhoods. We'd refight world war II or re-settle the west. Back in days gone by, we'd spend summer evenings playing tag, tickle-monster, or release. Two things were very remarkable about these times and the activities. One was that kids of all ages would play tog
  6. The SM and the CC need to sit down with this dad and explain the program and how "you have to do the work" and "everyone pulls his weight." Also explain to dad that he's free to not help out but if he if he says that he's going to do something, he has to do it. They might straighten out or they might run. Either way is good. We aren't here to save the world.
  7. "I will not go so far as to call Mr. Walton a lier. I will say that he is wrong. He has in the past been asked to show evidence of this memo and has been unable to do so." That's because he's been involved in a "war," "pacification" or whatever the mess in Iraq is call.
  8. meamemg, Who was Bob White? No one realy knows. Bob White was a Scouter with many years experience but he was much more than that. Unless Bob White had a library of BSA publications second to few. However, if someone referenced a document that was contrary to Bob's knowledge, he reufsed to accept it's existence. Bob thought that all Scouting wisdom is contained within the current set of BSA publication. Anyone who used old handbooks to compare today's program to that of yesteryear was a Bad Scouter in his opinion. People that came on this board and expressed opinions co
  9. I use DEET. Actually, I apply it to bread and eat the bread which makes the DEET come out in my sweat. JOKING! I do use DEET. 100% DEET. I've tried Skin-So-Soft and other products and have found that they don't work too well, if at all.
  10. " The mention of some memo that could have been wrong to start with doesn't make him right." How could a memo from the program head for Cub Scouts be wrong? "Even if this was ever true, which I'm sure it never was. It it not the case today." So you're calling Mr. Walton a liar? How do you know that it's not the case? Have you found a memo rescinding the old memo? You say that we need to go by BSA publications (are you channelling the spirit of the late Bob White) but BSA publications have big holes in them. For example, the insignia guide says nothing about the legalit
  11. The beret price on Scoutstuff.net is a bit high, IMHO. I paid a bit more than $20 for my extra-large beret on ebay. When I was trying to get my extra large beret, I saw many large sized berets going for about $10. They are out there, just be patient. You might want to set up some search parameters on ebay and then have ebay send you new emails when new items become available. Unfortunately, people don't describe things very well. I've seen berets listed at "baray," "bearay," "barrets," and "old red wool hat."
  12. Eamonn, the BSA web sites and books don't address things like wearing the beret or old uniforms. Mike Walton, if asked, can provide you with chapter and verse to support his position. His sources include not just the rules and regulations that we mere mortals can't easily see but also memos from various and sundry folks at National to Scout Execs. Mike has been playing this game since childhood and has been everything from a Scout to a Professional Scouter to Scoutmaster and Commissioner. Now you might be taking exception because Mr. Walton hasn't updated his website to refle
  13. "Also note that the case is "vs. Doe"; the families filed anonymously because they wanted to avoid intimidation and harassment from people who wanted the school to keep pushing religion." Not very strong in their faith, are they. I believe that their Bible tells them to stand proud and be counted (okay, I'm mixing metaphors).
  14. Have you tried the flint that blackpowder shooters use? Somewhere, somplace I have the address for a fellow who sells flint and steel kits that are supposed to be finestkind. I'll see if I can find it and send it to you.
  15. "I think, at least in the 2 troops in my area, that if you were to ask this question, the answer would be, "my friends don't know I am in scouting"." We have a few of those guys but for many, it is hard to remain in stealth mode when your picture is on the front page of the local paper. "I have a boy in my den that loves Scouts, but he tends to miss over half of the activities because it older sister is very heavily involved in dance recitals." Have you talked to the parents about arranging transportation for that boy? I have seen families like the one that you mention, one kid
  16. I know that we all hate to lose Scouts for any reason and there are some who say that if you have a good program, you won't lose any Scouts but I don't buy that because even the troops with the best programs lose kids. I think that there are three groups of kids that drop out of Scouting of their own volition. I don't want to discuss the boys that quit because the parents aren't willing to drive them or quit because the parents are afraid that they'll be turned into mindless automatons who are ready to join the Marine Corps. Also excluded are the boys whose parents yank them out of Scou
  17. "Unless you are with a Venture Crew, you can't wear them with the current uniform anyway." Not true. Any Boy Scout uniform hat/cap may be worn with any Boy Scout uniform. I'm not sure if I buy into the unformity of headgear rule. If that were really the case then when the ball cap changed last year, everyone would have needed to replace their cap. I have a campaign hat, two garrison caps (one wool, one cotton), a beret, and now one of the old flat fronted ball caps (ca. 1975). I wear them all at different times. s-nerd, I've seen many large sized berets on ebay. My prob
  18. "frighten, tease, anger, insult, punish, fog(?)." That describes soccer, football, basketball, baseball, Trivial pursuit, and bridge.
  19. We got some nice tents at Costco for about $60 each. They sleep three Scouts in comfort and have nice add-ons like a mud porch and outside pockets for shoe storage. I have a Wal-Mart house brand tent that cost less than $30 that's held up pretty well.
  20. I've looked through my collection of Scoutmaster's Handbooks (also called Handbook for Scoutmasters) and I can't find anything about nicknames. I think that this might be one of those Scouting myths. For one thing, it doesn't make any sense. If a kid is called "Roscoe" because he like to talk like Roscoe P. Coltrane, what's the big deal. That's a far cry from calling an overweight kid "Orca" Actually, I had a friend in college whom we called Orca and he was rather proud of the nickname. On the other hand, there was the guy who was known as "Chunks" for about a week and he rea
  21. We had the opposite problem. We had a "Recruitment Saturday" and 11 out of 13 troops showed up with a display of some sort. Some had photos, some had video tapes. Some had just a gang of Scouts to talk about the program. Unfortunately, only 10 Cub Scouts showed up. That's from a district with about 20 Packs.
  22. "I have often wondered why in the USA we have Afro-Americans" Eamonn, get with the program! They are African-Americans this year. There was a black commedian who commented that he wished that people would decide what he was. He's been Negro, colored, black, Afro-American and now African American.
  23. "The discussion has been fascinating and off track. I still don't know how to handle the artist donating his skill by painting the trailer ($500 value). Does the CO have to declare this as income?" I'm not sure that you have to do anything. I used to be on my church's board of directors. One of our members was a plumber who would bill the church for his work. The church would pay him and then he'd write a check back to the church for that amount. Why? He explained to me that he couldn't get any credit on his tax forms for donating labor but that he could for donating the cash. I
  24. " When I was growing up I was taught to avoid offending people whenever possible, especially if they came from different circumstances and therefore might not understand my words to have their intended meaning." I find it curious that we are always supposed to be the understanding ones. If a foreigner comes to America and does strange things, we are supposed to be understanding and forgiving because their ways are different. If an American goes to a strange land, he is expected to understand the strange customs of the land and abide by them. If ya come here, ya gotta deal with ou
  25. Eamonn, Are you sure you don't mean Jim Plunkett :-). I wonder about many diminutive forms of names. John/Jack, Edward/Ted, Margaret/Peggy. I also wounder how names like Ashley and Leslie are mostly male on one side of the pond and femal on the other side. I also wonder who, who wrote the book of love.
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