Gold Winger

"GW, why would bows without arrows be okay? You can still get a nasty arm burn from the string when dry-fired." Hmmmm . .. hadn't thought of that. I'd always been told to never dry fire a bow.

Knives, axes, guns, arrows (bows without arrows are okay), rope and fire should all be banned as potentially hazardous. Swimming also since you can drown or pick up a disease from the water. Hiking should go away as well because you can get sunburned.

" When I used to work in the school system, I knew of several families who were on welfare and received free lunches for their kids, yet they were able to afford cable T.V. (which I did not have), a T.V. in every kids' bedroom, more than one gaming system (my own kids had none), designer clothes for their kids (my kids get clothes from Wal-Mart and Target), etc." It was once explained to me by a social worker that if we didn't give the kids free lunches, they wouldn't eat because their parents would be spending all of the money on cable TV, beer and smokes. Evidently, it is unthinkable that if you give someone money that you can tell them what they can spend it on. Simple rule: if you're collecting checks you don't get cable TV and getting caught with a pack of smokes should be enough to cause a ending of benefits.

Dont' forget that the slogan of the Schutzstaffel was "Gott mit uns." Evidently God supports all sides in a conflict.

In five years on the district committee, I have seen no CORs at a district meeting unless they were there in stealth mode.

"The committe has decided that donations go to the pack in their entirety." End of discussion.

The money should go to the pack.

Sorry but God's not involved in this process.

"I also remember when I was in the Varsity Scouts were a group of Senior Scouts that did high adventure and more extreme outings. This has apparently changed to the Venture Program I guess." It's all very confusing. Varsity Scouts still exists. There used to be Venture Crews in troops but those became Venture Patrols and neither had anything to do with Venturing, the program. There were/are some bad choices of names which has caused confusion. At least that's my opinion. Exploring always had a high adventure component but the career part became more well known, I was a geek Explorer in high school or maybe it was nerd Explorer. Our advisor didn't know squat about the program, didn't know about awards, we just played with technology.

There was a case in my district in which an alert Scouter wrote to the Eagle Board and claimed that an Eagle candidate was dealing drugs at his school. Of course, the Board refused to act without proof. The Scoutmaster claimed that it was an incredible story. The parents threatened a lawsuit. The boy got his Eagle and a few months later got swept up in a police operation, got convicted and went to jail. Since this is the 21st century, the parents blamed the man who tried to keep their son from getting his Eagle.

"unfortunately that what seems to attract more of todays youth, less structure and more fun." Less structure and more fun means that the parents run everything.

" the BSA has developed the Venture Scouts." Actually, the program is called Venturing and rose from the ashes of Exploring when that went to Learning For Life. Exploring went co-ed back in the 70s.

Strikes me that you're pointing the finger at yourself.

As you're gathering, there are many opinions on what makes a good hiking boot/shoe. Good fit is probably the only thing that we'll agree on. Much depends on you. Your condition, your feet, your ankles, your knees. Me, I like a fairly stiff sole that won't bend the wrong way when I step on a rock. With the exception of REI, don't expect too much help at any of the chain stores.

http://www.youthscouts.org/ Went to their web site, under chartering it says that they are accepting applications for " experienced councils willing to provide training and support at the local and regional level for chartered Youthscouts programs" Experienced councils? Do they expect a BSA council to suddenly defect? A GSUSA council? Or maybe they think that a BSA council could be both a BSA and a YS council. Hmmmmm . . . maybe they could.

Depends on age, your condition and many other things. I'm not a serious hiker but I've done some hiking. I like a boot that stabilizes my ankles so I don't twist it coming down a hill. Also learned the hard way that a vibram or other stiff sole is nice on rocky trails. I have a pair of Merrell (sp?) low top shoes that I wear if I'm not carrying a heavy pack. With a heavy pack and considering the ailments that are attacking me, boots are a must to support the ankles. Boots are also nice because if you step in a creek, your feet stay dry.

Hey! What is this? I got moderated because I said, "freaking" but Gonzo can call someone a bastard and get away with it. I guess we know who is special and who isn't.

Sad to admit it but BeeDubya has a point. Why wait for rechartering time, just pick up and move to the other troop. I think that it costs a buck to transfer registrations. Once the old unit has no members, it will cease to exist. If you want to do something special with the number, you can do that at recharter time.

" A sgean don't (no blade to keep with BSA policy) " There is no BSA policy prohibiting sock knives.

I'd like to know what the boy allegedly did and why the ASM believed that he did it. From the story here, every just said, "Nah, Johnny couldn't have done that."

The horse is already out of the barn, you've given BORs to some of the bad actors so would it be fair to let them go and then not talk to the other boys. I guess that your CO doesn't understand that the troop is part of the CO. The IH should have called the COR who should have called the CC who should have called the SM who would have chatted with the SPL and the would have come and cleaned up the mess. That's chain of command and teaches a better lesson than kicking them out or denying BORs.

I would have thought that a lawyer would have called it "libelous" and "despicable." I guess I was mistaken.

Well, it isn't a race which is the way that many parent treat it and they drive their sons' to hit benchmarks. You can't drive until you are Eagle, is a common one. I know the son of a professional Scouter who was denied his license until he made Eagle. On the other hand, if the Scout is motivated and the parents are just there as support, go for it. It is all about him and is really up to him.

I'm of the opinion that Scouts who earn their Eagles at younger ages don't get as much out of the experience as someone who is older does. Be that as it may, the rules are the rules. If he's met the requirements and the SM doesn't believe that he's not living as a Scout, the SM has an obligation to send the boy up for a BOR. You son should ask the SM, point blank for a SM conference for Eagle. If the SM refuses, ask for the reasons in writing. Take that to the District Advancement Chair.

In our kinder and simpler ways there was a limit on interest and you had to have a history to get a major credit card. As incredible as it may seem, my parents didn't get a Master Charge (as it was known back then) until 1975. They had bought numerous cars, three houses, had a card from each of the major department stores but never needed a Master Charge. The world was a simpler place back then. If you couldn't afford a TV, you didn't get one. We didn't have too many families making $20,000 a year and having $40,000 in consumer debt. Now, instead of advocating wise decision making, the credit card companies are telling America that since you deserve that trip to Disney World, charge it.