Fuzzy Bear

A funny thing occurred to me about a topic a few days ago and what I see here with the uniforms/stuff. Someone made mention about a Scout Camp in Texas as being a bad choice. Someone told their D.E. about the bad press and then a great rush was on to make it the best of Camps all over again. So, if we are all concerned about the uniforms and there is bad press here again and again, just maybe if everyone rushes out and tells their D.E.'s about the slander that is going on here, that something will happen. Like: The National Uniform Committee will finally admit to being wrong about their poor decisions and job. There will be a recall of all of the faulty merchandise and prices will dramatically fall. New rugged wear will be designed as the uniform by some person that knows what they are doing. Or someone will rush in to the Forum and make a strong defense of all of their junk. We will be so enamored by their position in Scouting that everyone will shut up and pay the high prices and thank them for sitting us straight once and for all time. Or there will be the inevitable silence that happens when everyone knows that a big problem was created but nothing will ever be done about it. National will stand firmly behind what they perceive as a wind-fall of profits. They might also insert in their literature more about what is required to be bought for any number of reasons. We will march obediently down to the stores and purchase another load of it. Who knows what will happen? FB

A few questions to check your progress: Is this a campout that has been planned by the PLC and approved by the Unit Committee? What are you/PLC trying to accomplish? Does the action fit under one of the methods of Scouting? *Note-Methods lead to the goals of Scouting, there are three of them. If it does not fit under one of the methods, then most likely you will miss the goals also. Even if you don't ask the above questions try these: Once you do it, evaluate the outcome to see if you achieved the immediate goal and does it fit under one of the methods? Does your boy leaders/adult leaders/Committee know what the methods and the goals of Scouting are? If they don't, then training is important. FB

My vote is for a uniform that fits the outdoor challenge and not the other way around. FB

I do not believe that complexity matters when speaking about life. The world is filled with life. We hurt it or help as we live. Choices are limited. Selecting our movements carefully within those choices brings motive to our actions and reduces the conflicts. It is peace that I propose but fish are still on the menu. FB

The O.A. Ordeal was never intended to be hazing and for those that might be confused and believe that it falls into the same category as hazing, then they might want to reconsider their definition of hazing. Read the material that is given to each participant. Think about your own experience and then try to explain the joke or injustice. The O.A. "tapout" was never intended as hazing but some did get hurt from the excessive force and it was banned. The intent (generally) was not to hurt anyone or to play a joke. It was meant to be taken seriously and I am not sure that anyone got the joke if it wasn't. It may be that some feel that the O.A. is a joke and that playing Indian is a charade meant only for young people with an imagination. It may be that the poetry of Brotherhood and Cheerful Service is too complex and the terminology is too arcane for such a sophisticated society. If it is a joke, then it is an elaborate joke with very little humor and I don't get it. A snipe hunt is not in the same category with the O.A. Ordeal or the Call Out. Snipe Hunts do not teach a lesson. It does not bring an individual into a Brotherhood and it does not promote Cheerful Service. Its intent is the opposite of those messages and is meant to be harsh. If a person thinks that it is a lesson in toughing up a young man by tricking him to stand outside while holding a bag, then they have missed the point of Scouting. I doubt that there are any here to witness to the benefits of Snipe Hunting. Let's hear your story and the lessons that you learned while holding the bag and having people make fun of you, if that is your cup of tea. I would also challenge any to share the injustices they endured from being associated with the O.A. and the fun made of them at their Ordeal and/or their Call Out. FB

PE, Thank you for sharing your excitement over your appointment with us. You will do well, especially with your positive attitude and high expectations. Camp School will be a benefit. Keep good notes about your experience and return with stories and insights for the Fall. We are looking forward to hearing from you. FB

WB is a course staffed by Scouters that teach the skills that an adult needs to lead or support a unit effectively and efficiently in their Scouting job. The first part is learning through doing in an outdoor program and then later applying those skills in a person's Scouting job. As both parts are used correctly, one may demonstrate proficiency of the material. There is very little mystery about it. I totally agree with Eamonn and many others about the Bear Patrol. A Humble History as written by the Bear Patrol: We believe that Baden Powell was a member because you can still see it in his initials and on the Scout Badge today. Daniel Beard may have been a member. You can see it in his last name. Green Bar Bill was most likely a member. You can see that he misspelled it in his handle, probably on purpose (*old spelling). William D. Boyce was probably a member. He was lost in a London fog when a Scout helped him find his way to B.P. We don't know the young man's name but it has long been rumored that Mr. Murray noticed the Scout was a member of the Bear Patrol. We believe he followed suit. Look into the night sky and you will see the constellation of the small Bear with the guiding star that points the way for all travelers to follow. Yes, it is a tradition that you should follow also. A little Bear language lesson: Baron- A Bear Patrol leader with an authoritative style. Baronet- A method of catching fish, used in the Bear Patrol. Barberry- a special recipe for Bear Patrol cobbler Barracuda- Bear Patrol word for the phrase, yes we can! Baritone- song whistled or hummed by the Bear Patrol. Barley- Bear Patrol gets close to being second but not. Bar- old spelling for Bear, see Green Bar Bill and Daniel Boone who kilt one. Beer- very old spelling for Bear and not used in Scouting but Daniel Boone kilt one of those too. FB a continuing member of the Sugar Bear Patrol "The Bears are not out of the Wood Badge yet."

One trunk of a three trunk tree in our front yard had died of natural causes. Probably it was some type of rot but I was unsure. I decided that I should cut it down to keep it from being a hazard to our children. Before I chopped it into logs for the fire, I apologized. I am unsure of its feelings or if it were completely dead or not, since it was attached at the base. I couldn't communicate with it using the usual methods. I don't know if the remaining two trunks were affected or how they viewed the experience. They might be angry or relieved, I didn't know. I didn't know if it has relatives that should be notified or if the fire is the best burial route. I couldn't visualize in my mind if the remaining two trunks would be grieved or if there should be a service of some kind. If it were another being in a past life, I didn't know if I should be the one to send it on to the next. I decided that the remains should be used in a wash instead of the fire and that over a period of time that the earth would build up around its' remains and it would slowly return to its' maker. That was some of my thoughts as I sat fishing last Sunday morning. By the way, I didnt catch anything but a string of suckers. FB FB

The challenge is to involve them in their stated responsibilities. The other equally challenging act is to get the unit go to their CO as if they belonged to them. Also the unit should be challenged to: Do Good Turns for them, Have a Charter Presentation Ceremony with them, Request and get leaders from them, and Use the COR as a resource when planning and implementing their program. These acts are more than enough. FB

Physical humor escalates. Someone pushes your nose in an ice cream, you hide his clothes, he hits you up the side of the head with a toilet paper roll, you trip him on the trail, soon a fight breaks out, why? Because of fun. "We were just having fun." is almost always the reply. Nobody gets hurt is the first idea but in reality one person's feelings get hurt. In other words, there was little physical hurt but something emotionally did happen. Watch the 3 Stooges. With them, they slap each other or hit each other with a 2 X 4 up the side of the head and then they are on to the next scene. Why don't they fight? Because they act like they forget the incident and because it is an act meant to bring a laugh to those that watch. In other words, personal feelings are intentionally left out. Most people do not forget when an injustice has been done to them. Most do not reply with the same amount of "fun" as had been done to them and when a person's feelings are hurt. There is a tendency to not get even but to hurt them more than they hurt you. The reason? A person attempts to "teach a lesson" not just push their face in it. The lesson is for it to not happen again. The second reply and the reasoning never works because the first act is generally only part of the problem and cannot be corrected with a reasoned act that is like the first one but more. It is generally understood as a challenge to 'top this'. The other person will top your reasoned lesson. The lesson of justice will not be understood because only the challenge will be learned which must again be topped. Thus, a fight will break out. Think about it and observe. I think you will agree. FB

I want to second Eamonn's use of the BSA's method of Selecting Unit Leaders. SP also shared part of the answer, which is to communicate the problem to the DE and DC. You can find a copy of the procedure in the CSL Training Manual. I also want to clarify your position, as I see it. People are calling you to do something. You accept these things because you feel good about being asked, so you do it all. You come here and ask us what to do because you are overwhelmed. Here is a suggestion: Do your duty to the one position and the one year you accepted for that job. Hold to your responsibilities and do not accept the jobs of others or their responsibilities during that year. The reason for this is because it takes a group of people to run a Pack. The "group" is the key to saving the Pack not doing the jobs of others. Doing it all by yourself is not healthy, fun, or correct. Holding to this principle allows others to share the work. You doing their job is irresponsible on your part and not saving the Pack, which is a different perspective. Now, if the group decides that they want to save the Pack and they request your assistance in that task, then you can accept the duty to work with the group to find others to run the Pack. Once that is done, either positively or negatively, you are through with that job or that Pack. FB

Having fun is generally inclusive. Making fun of someone excludes one or more. The Cub Scout No-put down rule is good to always follow. Humor changes, as seen in BL over a period of decades. Read "Think and Grin" from BL from the fifties to the present to see what was funny then and now. Even if a person thought some of those things were funny, they might not hold any humor now, in spite of the changes from becoming an adult. Hold it, don't read T and G for the last fifty years. Just take my word for it. One of my worst (funny) experiences came during a WB course where a past course director visited to check things out. He was one of the group that ran WB for that Council. The competition to be part of the staff was competitive and the competition to be on as many courses as possible was even more so. His 'fun' was filled with venom and was meant to hurt or destroy anyone that he thought did not fit his standard for being part of the "Team". After his funny little attack was completed, I decided that group was not one that I cared to be associated with from any distance. Most in Scouting are remarkable individuals that have a sense of fun. Humor is difficult to define but most of us know and understand it when we see or hear it. FB

Life is full of humor. Writing extra material is excessive. Keeping your composure is the challenge. I don't see CC as hazing as much as being simply unnecessary. FB

You may want to contact organizations that could sponsor large events. They would have volunteers that could run the area and handle large numbers. They might also have other resources that you would not have access. American Red Cross- First Aid races or contests or learning Spelunker Association- climbing, knots and ropes, blind-fold walk Engineer or Science association- an event that would use principles to move objects or use imagination and principles to accomplish a task a Teacher Association- to come up with New Games where the game is made-up and then played. FB

I wanted to share another. One year at Summer Camp, our Troop had camped on a ridge along a small valley. I noted that the hill up to our camp had ruts of many sizes and depths from the top to the bottom. I spoke to one of our leaders about doing something about it. He agreed with me and we decided that we would offer our six hours of service to the camp right there as our project. It was close and we felt it would improve the camp area itself. We spoke to the Ranger and he agreed that it did need work and offered any tools to assist. We began that hot July afternoon. Soon one of the Scouts returned from his MB class and offered to help. He said that it was a good idea and wanted to know what he could do. Then another Scout showed up and offered to help. This kept up even after the adults had retired for coffee. Our entire unit took on the project and every Scout and leader dedicated their six hours of work to the hill. We told allot of jokes while we worked those few days in the heat and the on the hill . Before we knew it, everyone had expended their hours and it was covered in rock and wood check dams. They were in all sizes and shapes. We left the camp that year with a kind of pride and joy about what we had done. It was a year or two later that I returned to the area and was standing on the far side of the valley. I looked over at the hill and was surprised at what I saw. The dirt had built up and there was plant growth. It did not look the same. I walked over to it and noticed that the results of our efforts had really paid off. What were the results? We had not just changed the look of a hill but it had also subtlety over a period of time changed our unit, our leadership, the way we worked, what we did, how we did it, team effort, on and on. What had happened to the hill had also happened to us. FB

Welcome OK, We have posted on your topic of life long Lifers and Eagles and such. You might want to do search and give us your story. OGE most likely will give you the words to the German O. song. The first time I heard it, our CSE stood up and lead it. I still think of him any time it is even mentioned. He died several years ago but him leading that song is still funny. FB

I have told this story before because it spoke so directly and so deeply to me. The Scouts in our Troop had chosen a project and performed poorly that year for the Scout Show. They received a Participant's Award and they tried to tell everyone what a good job they had done. I got up and showed them a rock that I had been given years ago and showed them how it sparkled with gold color. I told them that in past times people that had found this type of rock thought they had found gold but it was really only Fool's Gold. I pointed out that lack of preparation and poor results was allot like that. I didn't say anything else to them because I felt they had let themselves down. The next year, there was great activity and preparation but I did not pay much attention. They received one of the President's awards for their good work. They ran, not walked but ran to me so they could tell me about the Gold they had just received. It had taken a year but those few words had impacted their choices as Scouts and then it had impacted me as a leader on how much value we can achieve with so little but that is real gold. FB

I sat on our Silver Beaver Committee for a few years and I read the accomplishments of so many Scouters. A person being recognized by a committee lends itself to gauging a resume by comparison and in a competitive light. It appeared to me to be mechanical, judgmental and allowed for favoritism. The Committee is still worthwhile and valuable but it is my least favorite job. I would like to hear from people that really knows the candidate and can speak for them. I want to interview their unit committee, their husband or wife, and their Scouts. Judgment needs to go beyond paper. Awards need to go beyond quotas and banquets. Awards need to reflect a person's heart and spirit. I agree with Eamonn because if it could be done, there would be another discussion about the number of knots Scouters wear. FB (This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)(This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

Today's youth respond to clothing labels and types of clothing. Ask, look, listen to check this out. The uniform doesn't fit what we do or what we think we ought to be doing. The uniform is not functional for outdoor events and is easily destroyed when used that way. For the price, we could get useable, durable outdoor clothing rather than the dress-up clothing that makes it look like we are going to a church meeting. It is past time for this change but I doubt anyone is listening or open to such a suggestion. When people decide to go backpacking or want to participate in outdoor events, the BSA uniform would never be considered by any stretch of the imagination by anyone for any rational reason. That should be the message but it must be written in a foreign language. FB(This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

Several topics ago, I pointed out that things are not the way they used to be, Scout Camp MB Mill, etc. It was pointed out to me by one astute past participant that the number of Eagles is still in a slim minority. We can beat this one with a big stick from now on but the majority never makes it. If the point is that the Eagle badge should be a significant milestone, it remains so from the advent. If the issue is making MB's more meaningful, then we already have several things at our disposal to do so. FB

My story first: This sounds like a 'slogging through the snow to get to school' yarn but Irving was the MB counselor for First Aid and I was the young upstart. He failed me the first time I went to his house for class and he told me to read the MB book. This failing routine went on for weeks. For the first time in my life, I was challenged to know (memorize) important data that could possibly save a life. He finally passed me but I knew the material. Moral of the story: I am still a good First Aider today even after 40 years. (* I have updated my knowledge since, so don't worry.) Irving knew that I needed to be pushed and that I was willing to endure to succeed. I don't know how he knew it but he did. He knew people. He knew his subject material and the importance of it. All of my aquatics instructors were similar. You either demonstrated proficiency or you did not pass. One's life depended on it. I had other Counselors that knew something about the material but they allowed me to slide without much effort. I met the requirements but I learned the minimum. Some of those MB's were of interest to me and having a person with knowledge teach them would have met the requirements that I wanted. So, the elements of a good MB counselor have to do first with the knowledge of the badge. The next has to do with how it is taught, which is to learn by reading, hearing, and doing. I also believe the Scout should do no more than the requirements to pass the badge. The great thing about having a knowledgeable person teach a MB is that the Scout will learn the reasons behind the requirements and will experience a broader view of the badge. Knowledge and ability to teach is not limited to certain ages but it generally helps. FB

Since we are making rules: All MB counselors must have expertise in the area(s) that they are to teach. This can be demonstrated through prior training or experience. Limit each MB counselor to 4 related badges, required or not. Mom and Pop are out but can be a MB Counselor for 2 badges for other Scouts and selected instances with SM approval. This gives an exception rule that can be used cautiously. This accomplishes several things. It shares Scouting responsibilities with many in the community. It reaches out to the community and brings many into Scouting that would never be there. It allows the Scout to reach out to the community and share the message that boys are still Scouts today. This program could be the best way to bring people back into Scouting. Mom and Dad can be part of the Troop committee that supports the overall program and not just one element. It allows the Scout to act on his own rather than having parents that do it all for him. Having a Scout that does the work himself by working with others can be the best product for parental pride. Hey this is kind of fun. FB

Carter is a fly fisherman and those are not covered under the ban. He is safe for awhile. FB

Consult with your SM.

I agree with Eagle about getting the parents involved from the start. We tell-told (*I am not the SM now) them that we require one parent to participate in some way (*each year). They can take on MC, ASM, or event/project leader. They are the resource support that allows the Troop to run. Without them, the program their boys want can't happen. One step further, the program their boys want will not happen. I was/am willing to allow failure either by the boys or the parents. Everyone knew and understood my choice to allow things to flop for their lack of support or their lack of initiative. (*The exception to this rule has to do with safety.) I have told this one before. At one COH, we were to have a Pot-luck. The PLC had agreed and then been instructed by the SPL on what to do and I concurred with their decision and the instructions. We wound up with a large crowd and a small amount of food. I lead the prayer and then stepped up and heaped my plate full. I later thanked the PLC and the SPL and told everyone the food I ate was very good. Several parents were not happy about the scant amount left for them. That incident was the basis for renewed communication and support at future pot-lucks. One Dad was only able to take on a project. We needed storage for our equipment. He had a wood shop with several employees. He built eight Chuck-boxes for the Troop and delivered them. I had not expected this gift but it was what he could do for the unit for that year. There is story after story of things that parents did for the unit. Some of things were small and some were large but at the end of each year we handed out certificates to each parent and recognized their accomplishments. We were very proud of our parents and the work they put into their son's program.