Fuzzy Bear

My Father allowed me to work in our family business. We installed and repaired heating/AC, plumbing, electricity, etc. He was an Engineer and expected me to follow his lead. I had some of the abilities but my interest was weak. Early on, I followed our preacher around and decided to go into the ministry. I signed up for a degree in psychology in college as a primer for seminary. One teacher, Dr. Ralph Belamy, now deceased, involved me in a practicum experience in the local state school for people with severe disabilities. After the practicum was completed, I continued to show up at the same times for another year. Dr. Don Whaley, now deceased, involved me in working with profoundly retarded and autistic children using Behavioral techniques. After completing my undergrad degree, I started in the Counseling Ed program. Dr. Pat McCloud taught me about how our life's work affects our mental health and the quality of our life. Afterwards, I was offered a job as a shop teacher using skills learned as a home repairs person and one who worked with people with disabilities. While teaching and attending school, I completed other certifications. I then obtained a job as a Special Education Counselor, More certifications and another degree in the area of assessment lead me to a program and a degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. Dr. Hershco taught me that my interest surpassed my abilities and that would allow me to be successful in this field. My Father and I resolved our differences. He had several physical problems and I was able to share with him some of the things that I had learned. It helped restore him to his lifes work for a period of time prior to his death. Today I work in the field as a Rehabilitation Counselor serving people with both physical and mental disabilities that are severe in nature. One other note, Rehabilitation Services is a federally funded program. It allows individuals with severe disabilities the opportunity to receive effective counseling and compatible training to eventually return to or engage in suitable work. It is a program that both political parties can be proud of and claim as a worthwhile policy, one with outstanding results throughout the United States. FB

I lead a Scout service a few years ago and allowed myself the right to speak from my personal beliefs. My friend of many years happened to believe differently. He told me so after the service. My first thought was that he could lead the service the next time and share his beliefs. My next thought was that I must be true to my beliefs no matter what, even if it means losing my friend. After a little more thought, I decided I would like to retain my friendship and that I would simply abstain from such a forum in the future. I told my friend that I did not know how to speak about my beliefs without keeping all of the tenets. In the meantime one of our LDS leaders lead a couple of the services. I saw what he was doing. He was not telling us what he personally believed but he was sharing moral lessons with us. It was simple. It paralleled his beliefs and I am sure those of the rest of us. I now know that if my religion expected me to be in a service with only my views, I could have gotten in a car and driven to one. A note about the LDS leader, he had very strict views and I know to give a moral lesson did not fulfill the tenets of his faith. I also know that he was expected to be in his own service and that he used to leave instead of stay. I respected him for his gift and should have told him so. Instead, all I could think of was that I could not spout my own beliefs. By the way, I retained my friend, my God, and my beliefs. My pride took a beating but then I deserved it. FB

I am so glad that each of us has finally come to our ever loving senses after 15 long and tedious pages. (*some thought we had lost our minds) We have partially put aside our many, many differences and name calling, religion bashing and poster squelching and will now be a little better people and/or Scouters than we have been in the past. (I love happy endings) I want to thank each of you personally for coming to this service (*begin to shake hands all around) and hope that when we finally meet that it will be a peaceful event and not what an outsider would think would happen if they were to read what we have wrought. (*all join in close circle of friendship, OA style) Down tempo to chorus in background to On my Honor.. Now may the Great Scoutmaster of all Scouters.....

JKHNY, What I would like to hear from you is about the camp that was sold. I know that it was important to you and to many others and that there were numerous memories lost. I would really like to hear about a few of them. your saddness is shared, FB(This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

Weighing in at 232 pounds of fighting furr is the one, the only Fuzzzzy da Bear!!!! Yeaaaaaaa! I have come not to knock ya down but to pounce around and growl and to scare ya so here goes. Knowing about the corporate side of Scouting is like Poison Ivy, don't touch it. Leave it to BW. It is ugly stuff. It is also best left to the suits that can get it down with a long handled spoon. Even if you happen upon the rules, you are looking at a game that is already being played by those skilled in the high art of beeswax. You are a rank newcomer and the game is locked. I want to address an issue that I really know something about and believe it or not is important and is not written down in a book with rules to be read back to you. You think that you can waltz into a board meeting and strong arm a bunch of guys out of a decision because you have found a loop hole or that maybe they haven't followed procedure and you can get their decision overturned. There is a 99% chance of that never even coming close to happening. So back up, what is the issue? It is the camp property being sold. Let me say it again. They have sold "the" Camp Property! One more time but more slowly, "Those Bums" have sold our Sacred Cow. One more time for emphasis, Those Idiots have stolen the one thing we loved and made a pilgrimage to every year! Do you see how meaning changes when the same thing is said over and over again? It is fascinating. Let's say for sake of their side of the argument that selling the Sacred Cow was imperative and it was the only thing that saved the day for the whole council. The whole council could have gone under if they had not sold it. That is now a good argument. Well, let's water it down a little for the sake of your side of the argument. They arbitrarily sold a very important relic that many adored but someone greedy for money has thoughtlessly and needlessly acted totally out of personal gain. Now, that casts it in a little different light. One more time, for clarity sake, something of great value was sold after much deliberation and personal grief but it had to be done. I now regret doing it but as a group and with the best interests of the council at stake it had to be done. You see, we can say it many different ways but what it comes down to is that you have lost something of value. You were not personally consulted and your feelings were cast aside for something you do not consider to be worthwhile or maybe you were never told what it was that was traded. Nonetheless, you were left out of the loop and now all you have are your feelings of loss, betrayal, and Grief How you act now is based on what you have learned as a Scout. Change has come to you in the form of the death of something loved. You cannot change it and even if you could something will forever be missing. How you come to live with death is where religion takes us and it is where the Higher Power performs the miracle of absolution and/or forgiveness within you. It is not the first time or the last time that you will encounter this in your life. Do you roll over and let it happen? Most of the time your choices are limited and the options are generally down to how you make it through the day. You can also set new goals and find a new place to pour your emotions. It can be done most of us have had to do it. FB

sarcasm- a bitter taunt or irony silly-trifling, plain, lowly; like a low water bridge, as in please duck when you pass under; emphasis placed on the duck, please. There is a wide gulf between the two and I am a master of the ladder. FB

Ryon, Do not believe your good work is undone. People have memories and most of the time they are not short lived. When a program begins to smell bad, most everyone knows it not just you. As you pointed out, some Scouts have left more than likely because they saw the difference between a good program and a poor program. Boys are people and the "law of laziness" is a leading principle that most of us follow religiously. The truth is that Scouts want someone to lead them. Scouts love to be challenged. Scouts want to do things that coincide with their interests and abilities. The thing that most do not know is that is all inherent in the Boy Scout program but it takes getting up to do it. How do you engage it? I recommend several things. The first one is with words. Carefully chosen words should be directed at the heart of the beast. I don't mean that you want to kill the beast but wound it, make it mad, get it up off its' rump and into the fray. Words are strong medicine when used well. The next is thing is to lead by example. What do you want done? Then, You Do It and you keep doing it. Do you want Scouts to be properly uniformed? You be properly uniformed first and stay on that target no matter what. Actions are also strong medicine. Do you want Scouts to achieve, progress, and strive? Then you be the first and show them how. If one person asks you how you did it, then you take that one person and carefully direct that person in the right direction and make sure he accomplishes his goal. Remember, you are just showing him how not directing his total life. What is your current job? Do your job and make it lean in the direction of a good outdoor program. Boys generally love the out of doors. Help them in some way to plan towards going outside where there is action, adventure, and fun. Do your job to help others to plan to be prepared for those adventures. They must practice some of those skills before they get there and the place to practice is at those meetings. How do you get the Scouts to return to Patrols? Well, the basis of being part of a patrol is competition and the resulting pride of having engaged in it. The Scouts cannot properly engage in those outdoor adventures without being part of a team, a unit, a group that is preparing themselves for fun. If a Troop that has no patrols and goes to a Camporee, a competition, an event, there can be few games. It just doesn't work. You would only have individuals. They could stay at home and Nintendo for that experience. There has to be a group and they have to practice the skills first against the other units to gain speed and/or accuracy. What if the adults want to sit around and they continue to throw water on your good efforts? Scouting is a journey. It is not always pleasant or productive. It has many things that you personally can enjoy without the Troop. You can go to High Adventure Bases, you can work in the Order of the Arrow, and if you are an Eagle, you can assist in NESA functions. The Order of the Arrow functions can be a full time job. When I was a Scout, I wanted to learn to Indian Dance. I attended an OA meeting and stood up and said that I wanted to learn to Indian Dance and that if anybody wanted to be a part of that experience to let me know. Several had the same ambition. I learned to dance. I built several costumes. There is a whole story here but I think you have the picture. You have served your time as SPL. Your unit may or may not survive. It is not your responsibility alone for its' continuance. You sound like a good Scout, please continue... FB

SMHB, 1990, Page 139 Religious Obligations "Scouts should be able, while on a campout, to meet the obligations of their faith. Approved religious services may sometimes be held within the camp, and transportation should be arranged for Scouts wishing to attend services in communities nearby. This should be discussed and planned by the patrol leaders' council well ahead of time." Please take the time to allow all Scouts to make a choice before exhorting your personal truth all over them without their permission. This is not a nation of 90% Christians. Even if it were 100%, there would remain much heated debate as to what is truth. Yes Virginia, people do not always agree, even in Oklahoma! FB

As far as Boy Scout popcorn goes, it appears to me as an expensive product that has little value and is principally promoted as a donation. I would rather the BSA drop the facade and ask directly for a donation. That way real value would be sought by the consumer in the form of a tax deduction. The consideration of increasing the donation would be the first thought instead of how much money is spent on so small a return. It is an obvious end-run around the "earn your own way" dictum. It doesn't set a good example because the Scout generally knows that he is soliciting a donation and so does the consumer. It distorts the basis of good salesmanship. FB

Bob White, Your knowledge of the rules is exceptional and helpful in most every situation. You have the ability to write clearly, concisely, and quickly. Your intelligence is evident but not always appreciated. There is little doubt in my mind that you have experience in Scouting and that you are an asset to the units you serve presently and in the past. Although your emotions are generally seen in direct proportion to your lack of the use of spell check, they are seldom observed. I find you as a stimulus to improve my own knowledge of the rules of Scouting and to find answers that I have not pondered. You are a good influence on the likes of people like me. Keep up the good work. Sincerely, Fuzzy Bear

After serving rural units by way of Roundtables for a few years, I believe that a creative Commissioner Service is in order. I wrote the manual on this one for our Commissioner College. It is a challenge and a joy. Some of our most unique people came from these far flung areas. FB

FOS seeks donations and asks that the Scout Troops not to compete for those elusive dollars on a yearly basis. But when the United Way asked that the BSA not compete with them because the BSA was one of the recipient organizations, the BSA moved their campaign to a time slot that would not coincide with the United Way's. That is the real spirit of cooperation! So, we should solicit through the Sponsoring Institution, not the BSA's and to do it at a time that is not in the way of the United Way's campaign nor when the BSA runs theirs. This must be the design by example. FB

There isn't a definition for fighting a tent fire either. Tents generally are made with petroleum products and/or treated with them to repel rain. The burn rate is about the time it takes a coordinated kid to get outside and kick the bucket of sand and/or the West Nile mosquito water over. FB

If it were your land that was "destroyed" when the trees were burned, then it may occur to you that you stand to lose the trees, the wildlife, the vegetation, your livelihood because you depended on the trees or the animals for income or the tourism, your haven from the rest of the world, your home, other's homes, lose of life, lose of money for having others fight the fire. The forest does not grow back in one day or one week or one year. So, what was is no more for many years to come. Thus, the term destroyed is used to cover things taken from you without your permission or desire. Lose of a forest means that nobody will see that type of forestation again in that area in their lifetime or their children's childrens lifetime. Gone... Just because fires have been here for ages doesn't mean that we need to burn and hack everything to the ground. It is not a "natural laxative" for the forests. FB

Good program. What is it? Let the boys define it though evaluation. List their ideas, plan the events, and implement them with strong committee support. Once you have a good product, then a young person will have the confidence to sell it to others. It will then come with a guarantee for future growth. FB

I can foresee a newsletter that is called The Roundtable. It has all of the elements of the regular meeting with extra variations of some of the events. It could be cut up by meeting parts and filed in the Troop library for useful ideas. It could even have an article of things said in the parking lot after the meeting. It would be sent out to everyone in the district. It could also advertise some the upcoming specials for the next Roundtable. If you have one more person that could tape the Roundtable, it could later be edited and sent to people that would rather watch than read. The live Roundtable still needs to be even better than the written one. FB

Jason, (from page 9) I accept your apology and appreciate your humility in light of what you are saying. I have not called you a fanatic although you appear to be very excited by your new found religion. Your belief that the world will not last much longer comes from first century Christian dogma. Most of the New Testament was an attempt to engender actions like yours today. Periodically, (over 2,000 years) there has been groups that knew the time and the place and sold everything that they had and stood on a hill to be swept away by the Rapture but the only thing that happened was a cold wind blew and the next day came. The problem is that the words are there, the words are being bandied about again, but it just isn't happening and you can count on it not happening. In the light of that knowledge, it is still your right to believe what you think is the truth and I support your right to your truth. I will even listen to you spout your truth while we sit around the campfire. As a fellow Scouter who has different beliefs, please give me the same courtesy to my truth that has been given to me from my God even though it will not square with yours. I share this in hope that in this short lifetime that we may find brotherhood instead of strife. FB

Pilgram, with my steak, I like a real man's drink, Bugge Juicee. Don't give me anything more or less. I have an image to live up to out here on the range. I like it in a tall glass with plenty of ice cubes. And wipe that smirk off your face, Tenderfoot! FB

Jason, What I said was spoken by God directly from the text. You made the "One True Religion" mistake that we have been speaking about. I shared with you what God has taught me. God has taught you something else. Could it be that one of us worships a false god? Could it be that one of us knows something that the other does not know or is not ready to know? Could it be that debate tends to make us unsure about what we do know about our God? Are there ultimate answers to the God question that only the very elite will know and others will never know? Does knowledge make God love us more so that the really smart guy is God's friend and the dumb guy is just a distant second? There are many religions and many views within each religion. The idea is to respect each person's view because God chooses to teach us individually. Once again, God walks and camps with us. During that time, he teaches us. As I have been taught by God, FB

So you do not go to church? But how does God look at the church building? 1 Chronicles 17:4 God, Go and tell my servant David that God said not to build him a house to dwell in: Why? 5: God, "For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up Israel unto this day; but I have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle (i.e., tent of meeting) to another..." Of course God relented and let David build the Temple and then he let it be destroyed and destroyed Why? Because, God wishes to walk with you and go where you go and do what you do and be there when you wish for him to listen to you and to answer your questions. God teaches us individually. FB

Don and I put together several Scout Camporees over the years. At one of them, we had invited the Webelos Scouts. We made up an event where the Webelos gathered firewood for a prize. They dragged in huge piles of wood from all over. The idea was to use these piles of wood for the main campfire that night. Sure enough, we had a pile of wood eight feet tall and four feet across that was built in the square with lighter wood stacked across and inside every other foot to the top. The idea was to light the large tender pile on the very top and then for the wood to burn quickly through the center and chimney back out the top and burn the outside wood ever so brightly. That night we took one small match and put it to the tender near the top. It worked perfectly. The wood caught fire and burned down through the middle during the first two skits. Then the fire began the back burn up and to the outside making a huge glowing burning heap. Without warning a small wind began to blow and then got stronger. The fire grew in strength. Pretty soon the wind had begun to blow even harder and the fire was too hot to stand near. It began to blow towards the Scouts on the lee side and with the flames and sparks about two hundred Scouts had to move to the other side of the fire. It was so hot we had to move everyone back and we almost couldn't continue. All we did was try to keep from getting burned or scorched. What I didn't know was that all during this disaster was that Don was about two hundred yards from the fire running back and forth with a can of water putting out little fires that the sparks were igniting in the dry grass. Don and I wound up staying out there the rest of the night to insure that it would burn safely out and we cooked our last two meals on this huge pile of ashes. I suppose I should insert a warning but most of you already know not to follow this example without me saying another word. FB

I suppose we could find someone to take offense if you were to tell us the locations.

SAK by my side no matter what I need from opening cans to taking out a cork. From picking my teeth, to cutting a rope, gutting a fish, or sawing a limb there it is in my pouch ready willing and able.

Ok, I will extend this one just once. If a follower of Baal wanted to join the BSA today, then would that person's beliefs qualify him for membership. He believes in a higher power even though it has clearly been shown to be false. Some would say that he qualifies on the "higher power issue". Some would say that the followers of Baal were closer to a form of witchcraft and used human sacrifice to appease their deity, so he would be exempted from the organization. Most of us just would not have a clue. Or if we were to make this into an issue of determining "the Good", it would only take us down a large and winding river that has no end and no final answers. The BSA is more cleaver than all of that because they do not wish to make these determinations for a person. They merely want the individual to ask the (God) question and seek the answer. If God is the person/entity that we believe he is then he will be speaking to that person on a regular basis. Growth will occur and that which is false will be consumed. In other words, God lives, is real and will answer those mind numbing questions for you. The BSA just wants you to engage and truth will happen. If you have decided otherwise, then Scouting is simply not for you. You have already found answers that is of your own making and that is your right as an individual. The rest of us are still searching and need something else, which of course, is God. FB

Just continue to post meaningless tripe like the rest of us and you will eventually become a Senior member.