frankj

evmori wins the door prize. in our troop, it was short for 'lets stand, my fanny's tired', used to invoke a break during training or other activity that involved sitting and listening.

While we are on the topic of abbreviations, does anyone know what LSMFT stands for? or stood for?

I thought it had something to do with baskets.

Does anyone know how many 12 year olds earn Eagle in any given year? This has probably been discussed previously, elsewhere, but I am curious: why not slow things down a bit and put a minimum age requirement on Eagle? I haven't been active long enough to know what happens to boys once they reach Eagle and/or turn say age 16. Is there a rapid fade from Scouts at that point? Any thoughts out there?

A general comment on advancement, from Policies and Procedures Manual "A Badgeis recognition of what a Scout is able to do, not merely a reward for what he has done." I try to stress this in our troop, and avoid the perfunctory completion of requirements in a punch-list manner.

It sounds like Cozza wants to dumb down the Scouts in this country. If we were culturally driven, there would be merit badges for body piercing and hangin' at the Mall. The attraction of the organization is rooted in its traditions. This is the same as some religions as alluded to by a previous posting here. If the Scout organization shifts its beliefs in order to stay in step with the current culture (as defined by whom?) then what do they have to offer that sets it apart?

I like the idea of a merit badge, but call it Media Savvy rather than Exploiting Innocence. Wait till the animal rights crowd finds out that Mutual of Omaho is the insurer for our troop. Does anybody remember that old tv show Wild Kingdom, where Marlin Perkins narrated the action while his helper Jim wrestled alligators and lassoed wildebeests? They could have fun portraying us as hopelessly out of touch when even our insurer has a history of being mean to animals. BTW: whatever happened to Jim ?

DEET and Plastic: I use a product that contains DEET, mostly to repel mosquitos. I think the percentage of active ingredient is 95 percent, this stuff really works. As for putting it on skin you have to do it in order to repel mosquitos. But I did notice while working in the woods, and making field notes with one of those plastic mechanical pencils, that the plastic was starting to soften from the DEET on my fingers! I switched to a wooden pencil and then noticed that the yellow paint coating started to soften. My guess is this full strength stuff won't be available too much longer. And

The school board in Eugene OR denied the Boy Scouts access to schools so this has been a topic of discussion on conservative radio in Portland, OR. Today we got news of the amendment that seeks to reverse these actions by local school boards at the risk of them losing federal money. I like the victory for the Scouts, but I don't like the way it came about. This is coercion, plain and simple and it is wrong for government to use our tax money, or the withholding of same to force a certain type of behaviour. The Eugene school board would not have pulled this stunt if enough people, Scouters

TinyPJ: I have used Silva Ranger compasses for 25 years. Never had any problems with them. They cost about 40 - 45 dollars. What type of compasses were the ones that failed to point consistently?

I confess. My fingers paused over the keyboard before adding the word "danger" to my previous post. I put it in there anyway, to see if anyone would take the bait, so thank you for responding. I agree with you of course. No one would put these boys in danger knowingly. Going on a hike in a new area has to spur the imagination of 10 -16 year old. Think about when you were that age. They probably conjure up all kinds of things that could go wrong on the hike, from lightning strikes, to avalanches, to cougar attacks, with themselves applying their Scout skills, and coming out the hero. Th

I am late to the party but let me second Mike Long's motion on electronic equipment. A part of backpacking for me has always been the notion that "your're on your own." This adds a dash of adventure and danger to the enterprise. I can't express it any better than this but I think the troop (collectively) needs to know they are, indeed, on their own. I think the cell phone lends a false sense of security. Don't get me started on GPS. Give me a topo map and a compass anyday.

Let us keep the proper perspective: Mother's Day and Father's Day are currently run for the benefit of the greeting care industry and the florists (in the case of Mother's Day). Yes, it is great to honor Mom's they do IN FACT, work harder than Dads. Let the schools do what they will. This story about the one private school in Manhattan is not worth even worthy of this cyberspace. The gays or lesbians who have managed to adopt a child and are now kvetching about Mother's day are ar non issue and should be marginalized. Concentrate on honoring YOUR WIFE and MOTHER. Best Wishes.

Yikes.

Stan Riddle: Well said.

PETA is by no means limited to fish. Watch for them in or near public schools with their program designed to teach children not to drink milk or use other dairy products. The irony is that groups like this could not exist without some prerequisites found in a capitalist, free (relatively) society: Wealth and affluence gives us the free time to pursue non-income producing activities. Some choose Scouting. Some opt for PETA. What defies logic and understanding is that the PETA crowd and their fellow travellers (Earthfirst, Earth Liberation Front etc.) would have us return to hardscrabble e

For starters, you should put it into dispute with your credit card vendor. Follow the procedures set out by the credit card outfit. You will need to put it in writing to them. Good luck.

Agree with most of what P_Swigs had to say. From Tigers to Webelos, we awarded the patch when earned. I believe this tended to keep the fast achievers moving ahead and encourage the slower ones to keep plugging away. I think the graduation ceremony should be in the spring, definitely. We awarded them their next neckerchief and book so they could get started on the next rank in the summer. It is important to do something in the summer to maintain momentum. Your pack committee should not delay the award over the summer in order to impress incoming Tigers.

Overall first place got a trophy. Each den winner got a smaller trophy. Since one of the den winners ended up overall winner, one boy got two trophies. After check in and weighing, we have the boys set the cars on a table where they are on display for judges who award each car a certificate: best paint job, most aerodynamic, best decals, etc. Someone prints these up using a computer, beforehand. Also each participant gets a segment (patch) that goes on the right pocket of the shirt. We took pains to explain the rules on how the race would be run at the beginning of the meeting

2 man tents are better for backpacking and you can squeeze them in places where the larger dome tents won't fit. One other aspect: you might find the guys fall to sleep faster if only 2 per tent. In the larger occupancy tents seems like there is always someone who wants to keep the party going. My first Scout tent experience was in an army surplus pup tent (shelter half) in the late fall, NJ Pine Barrens. Tents have improved a lot since then.

You need the services of an attorney or someone from the local area who is familiar with land transactions, zoning, etc. The post of ddrefke was on the money. An estate planner or attorney might network you into someone with a piece of land they are willing to donate. Seems like the most likely donor would be an ex-Scouter, but you may not find one with surplus land. You may find one or more older Scouters with appreciated assets such as stocks. They could donate the stocks to your organization and get a tax benefit for having made a charitable contribution. You could then l

Contact an office of the National Resource Conservation Service. This is an agency of the United States Dept of Agriculture and it was formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service. They will probably have information and landowner contact for different types of projects in the area. Look in the phone book where federal government offices are listed. Most of NCRS offices serve a single county or 2-3 small counties. If there are large, industrial landowners in your area, they might have on-going reclamation projects. Your troop or district might want to establish a relationship with one o

This has been an interesting thread to read. Mr. LeRoy is either an interested Scouter trying to give a heads up, or an ACLU activist. Eisley and company are to be commended for restraint and civility. In the long run, churches and what would be considered non-public entities might become the only viable chartering organizations. The reason I say this is because it is so easy to bring lawsuit in this country, Scouts may find themselves fighting and re-fighting the same battles -- in nearby Portland, Oregon there was a legal battle over whether Scouts could use public school facilities to r

I am glad you posted that excerpt. Noonan is a powerful writer. More of her material is available at a site called townhall.com

would like to echo mcquillan's words "formal and quiet." Try to take the various Den leaders aside before the meeting and emphasize to them that this ceremony demands respect from the various Tigers, Wolves, Bears, and 1st year Webelos. Might consider some sort of quick physical activity (one lap around the parking lot ?) to burn off excess energy before the ceremony.