Fuzzy Bear

Mark, These reasons are all legitimate and are based on solid experience. FB

Ten Reasons why you have not seen or heard from your friendly UC. 1. Your Unit is doing so good that the DC feels that sending in a UC would just make it worse. 2. Your Unit is doing so badly that the DC thinks that it has already folded. 3. Your UC is married to one of the Unit leaders so she never said anything to anyone. 4. Your DC is also the Council Com. and has one hat too many. 5. Your DC is a friend of all of the right people and was appointed over a cup of coffee and that is where he remained. 6. Your UC is also the CM a DL a TL a CC and is head of Day Camp. 7. The ADC that is in charge of recruiting your UC hasn't been trained since he was recruited 10 years ago, although he has two knots and several awards for doing a great job. 8. The DC has decided that he can do the job of twenty, so recruitment has not been a priority. 9. The three UC's in your District are using the Round Robin approach for Unit Service and your Unit's number will be up next year. and NUMBER 10! 10. You have been the UC all along and nobody bothered to tell you.

My most recent District leadership role is for a Cub Scout event that will last one weekend. We have a staff of ten Scouters. We have minimal oversight from one professional, our District Committee Program Chair and our District Communications person. We began nine months ago and we have monthly meetings. The staff has had 100% turnover from moves and other problems but we are fairly stable going into our last three weeks of preparation. During this last month, we lost only three long term staff members and we were able to replace two of them. We have 800 Cubs and their families presently registered. We have met our budget goal of about $10,000. We are now taking care of the last few program items. I am new to this District and did not know anyone nine months ago. For the last five months, my personal job has become a paperwork nightmare with work carried home each night and on weekends. My wife found a house and now we are moving, fixing it up and trying to fix up and sell this one. I believe the event will be successful due to the fact that it has been well planned and that there has been a group of people involved. Credit cannot be given to any one person. I can say without any reservation that this has been a process of group involvement and no one person excelled, especially me. I want to share with you that working with a group distributes the workload and it is more fun. FB FB

Baden Powell was asked one time about what we should be prepared for and his response was, "Oh, just any ol thing". So, he quite cleverly left us his initials on the Scout Badge in the words, Be Prepared. Whenever we see his initials and think about what we are supposed to be Prepared for we are to raise our mouths in a smile, like the scroll that it is written upon. FB

Like the French, most issues/threads have more than one dimension and yes, I did leave out science but not on purpose. I suppose we should throw in the Germans as well. Now that I think about it, all of Europe. As for the (offending) leader, I doubted we would have the right answer. Distance makes one imagine answers rather than observing first and then drawing conclusions. We need enough information to increase our ability to give an opinion and even then, it probably will be one dimensional. This problem and the difficulty of describing or defining a situation causes allot of miscommunication or it causes us describe our thoughts on an imagined answer. As for offending the French, Women or anyone else for any other reason, I sincerely apologize. I will try to do better in the future. FB

Selling the dog is different than feeding the dog, as you guessed. When feeding 100 or 200, you can use a large kettle to boil large amounts quickly. There will be little wait time with a long line and having a couple of tables with condiments for people to pass by on either side at the ready. When selling, there will be wait time so you will need to boil a smaller amount and have them ready for a few customers that are in line waiting. Keeping them warm is the key, as has already been stated. Keeping the uncooked dogs cold is the next key. Also, since it is a fund raiser, your Scout Office should be informed and you need to check with the city health department for their restrictions. This one is more difficult than just sticking a wire through a dog and slapping it on the fire.

bbng, I will take a swing at your low inside curve ball. Supporting the Council means several things. One is to encourage the District to attend Council activities and to make sure that the District doesn't interfere with Council activities. Encourage the District to sell popcorn and to support FOS. Encourage School night recruitment. Encourage Council Summer Camp attendance. Recruit new members to the District Committee and recommend key volunteers to the Council Committees. This is a two edged bat that we are swinging because any one of these can also help the District, help the D.E. and help the units. For those that don't do these things, it hurts the same groups/people that it helps; therefore one should lose their job if they are not doing these things. I realize you want to make this a strike so let me have it. FB

The French are multidimensional and have inspired more than revolution, the guillotine and magic lines. When we think of romance, writing, cooking, defense of the underdog, and free speech, it is the French that comes to mind.

If it was me and I was the SM, I would defer the question to the PLC. I personally wear the full uniform, encourage uniform inspections, and speak about the uniform as a Method/way to reach a goal. The eight Methods of Scouting are of equal value to me and I would not change them. Being rigid about these Methods is not a Method or a goal either. I want the Scouts to learn Leadership and this is a type of question that will bring to mind the elements of our beliefs. It is in the answering of the question that will open eyes as to how we think and what we are doing in Scouting. The answer is important only in regard to addressing the issue within what we know and not the answer itself. It is generally after we evaluate an honest attempt at answering a question that real learning takes place all around. FB

They also claim the Magnoit Line that the Germans simply drove around and flew over without ever even thinking about which will forever be the standard for the low tide in military intelligence, the overall breadth of a bad attitude turned in on itself and/or the height of a short-sighted, ill-conceived, high budget defense program turned sour. I still haven't heard if it is now ok to eat French Fries and toast?

Rooster, We are more like the British Regulars marching across the field and drawing direct aim/fire at each other. Strategy is generally lost on our intimate knowledge of our opponents. Sometimes it would be better to call a truce but we seldom do in spite of the good sense it would make. Generally, it is our pride speaking loudly for us and it is then that it may be said that we have stuck our head some place but I dare say it is not in the sand. FB

The fascination with this specific subject is amazing, as witnessed in so many past threads. I almost did it myself. It is best to require that a 500 pound stick be used when beating a dead horse which would mean that fewer of us would even try. The large amount of emotional energy expended on this topic should make it a fit topic for the Sunday pulpit on a regular basis.

Pack, Nobody really complained. It just came up in several parking lot or tail-gate conversations. It was something like this thread, all to do about nothing. We have the unique ability to make mole-hills out of mountains. FB

One Hint: Insert a wick into the waxed pocket, roll the shirt up, tie it with cotton string and then use it as a fire starter for a Camporee fire. FB

At the end of every meeting, have the PLC complete a short evaluation. At the end of each campout, take a few minutes for an evaluation with the entire unit. At the end of each year, have the entire Troop complete an evaluation. The Troop Committee should be advised of all of the results. If there are things that are problems, then they can be addressed with the Leadership and Scouts at all levels. This approach does not allow for extended problems or for people to hide from the things that can be changed. An open approach allows for changes in behaviors and will lead to a program that everyone can proudly advertise as something of value. FB

We had a Den Leader that looked very fashionable in her uniform but her patches were not according to proper uniform regulations and she couldn't get all of her buttons fastened. On several occasions, it was discussed that training would be a possibility to correct the situation. This might be a consideration in your case as well. FB

To those people on the receiving end of the genocide, depopulation, accredited/sanctioned killing by the government, by the Nazis, or any other country fill in the blank; it makes little difference what it is called, historical perspective, imperialism or personal opinion. They have all been murdered, slaughtered, gutted, left to the wolves, etc. and according to God it is wrong. It makes little difference what we recite, put on our money, preach in the pulpit, spout with solemn benediction; unless we act in accordance with what God has asked, we are out of compliance. During the first century debate of true Christianity, Paul answered the question of what it is to be a Jew and it remains the same today. It is what is written on your heart and that is the only thing that compels one to correct action(s). FB

NI, Counsel with your son to find out what his goals are in Scouting. Speak to him about persistence and loyalty. When bad decisions are made, that is time to "stay the course" or be patient and supportive. Leadership comes from knowing what a person has to offer a group and then being there when it is needed. If things are as you stated, then his services will soon be in demand. It is that kind of example that we want of our Scouts. Hopefully, his only worry should be on how to obtain the necessary MB's for Life Scout. FB

GB, Since you have solved the problem by posting yourself as Designated Lookout, while you are refreshing yourself with 40 cups of Joe, try some light reading. I could suggest a few authors. FB

My Mother was the Assistant Den Leader in October 1959 when I was a Bear Cub. She and the Den Leader bought large bars of Ivory soap for each of us. I couldn't believe my eyes that they were going to give us knives and our own bars of soap! We laid down news papers on the kitchen table and I went at it without a plan or an idea. My first thought was to carve an elephant. I found that the delicate carving of a trunk and/or legs took more skill than I was able to muster at that age. I wound up with several broken blobs but my imagination created a pretty good alternative which I can't recall right now. It wasn't the actual carving that gave me the bright idea that I could carve but I vividly recall my start. Since then, I have gone on to carve a hiking boot out of a piece of cedar that later split but I glued it together and still use it as a Neckerchief slide. I suppose I am proud of my accomplishment but I did discover that carving is a skill, one that takes more than one bar of soap for some of us. FB

Membership is rising in our District. We have Internet, District/Council training available most times of the year for all. Many of our units have reported that they have interesting and relevant meetings and even the boring meetings attract youth. We advertise/recruit through schools and churches. We have many competing activities but most of our families do more than one thing anyway. Our youth report like being outside and some think that the dorky donkey is still funny. Societal problems do lop over and affects attitudes but it hasn't changed growth. Some Scouters get upset and angry if anyone gets a head-start on popcorn sales which gets their goat occasionally. The religion requirement seems to have helped expand the program. Our Summer camp is well known and attracts many Troops even from out of state to eat in our dining hall. We basically only have a difficulty in keeping up with all of the new telephone numbers of the volunteers that are pouring-in. Other than that, I can't report any other problems. FB

I believe there were/are good and bad things about all of the methods. It is the same kind of argument if a Summer Camp has a dining hall versus patrol cooking versus individual cooking. People benefit/miss from each of the ways. For me the question is, did an individual reach the intended goals of Scouting through their personal experience(s)? As a youth, each Summer Camp was a highlight for me. I attended two different camps with the Troop and we planned and carried out two Summer Camps as a Troop. I also traveled one Summer to Philmont with a provisional unit. Each year was exciting, different and each one gave me gifts I didn't expect. Although I try to thank people, I can't remember if I did but I was always grateful. I certainly benefited and it was because of all of the adults that willingly supported us in so many ways. Those memories are vivid and important to me even to this day. FB

I hope we can take a lesson from this little post by drawing strength from where there ain't none.

"some of you guys are the worst Metaphor-ists on the planet. If we could stay away from sinking ships, fast food chains and our very own special mixture of Algebra and Geometry, I think we might more often make sense to each other." jd When I began here at the Forum, I figured it as being a good way to hone my skills in the ancient and fine art of writing. What I have found is that attempts at expressing oneself is as full of twists as a mangled and tangled fishing line and then even that looks easy by comparison. Sometimes the only person that we communicate with is ourselves. It becomes a personal expression or Narcissism of the mind or a long hard look into our own looking glass instead of interactive communication. We shoot for sharing information but sometimes it only becomes a compilation of the same material rehashed and/or we turn it into a Hamlet monologue, "spoken by a fool". Then there is the undertow that can easily drag one far out to sea and elicit enough anger and wrath to the point of drowning from an abundance of fatigue and ignorance. Of course this is usually done without a Lifeguard or even a life-jacket or a boat. We are driven by a competition for rightness or for wisdom or for a depth of knowledge that leads us merrily down Victory Lane in a blaze of self glory but most of the time, nobody is watching or even cares as we drive happily by waving and shouting with index finger stuck high in the air. I suppose if we were really good at expressing ourselves, we wouldn't be here hacking away like a dog digging up little varmints to eat. I can't think of anymore right now because my well-spring has run bone dry. Parched from lack of metaphors, I drag my weary sack of verbalizations to the bitter end of this post and to bed. Good nighten comrades, FB

CA, Don't take it personally. I didn't mean you. I am sure it is the good ones that are holding the ground together. FB