Gold Winger

Where is this documented?

The necker under the collar does look horrible but I think the greater problem is just a matter of the lowered expectations when it comes to dress in our society. I went to a funeral the other day. I wear a suit about twice a year so I dusted off my suit, buffed up my shoes and dressed for the occasion. A college age young man showed up, dressed neatly in a sweater and dress pants and wearing a ball cap. That cap never came off his head. Not during the service nor during the meal following the service. He came with a young lady who was wearing low cut pants that were too tight with a top that left her navel exposed. Whatever happened to the concept of appropriate attire? Yep, it's the parents fault because too many refuse to set standards saying, "I have to pick my battles" Why? If you tell your daughter to dress appropriately are you afraid that she'll get pregnant or start doing drugs? During my last decade of umpiring, I had frequent "conversations" with parents, usually not the coaches, about shirts being tucked in. I'd hear, "he likes it untucked" and "you can't tell him to tuck it in." My responses were "So?" and "yes I can." Of course, I'd also have converstations with parents about why their son's constitutional right to free speech did not apply on my field. Back to the original rant. When I was a youngster, we knew how to tuck our shirts in after playing. For some reason, that skill has evaded many of today's youth. Maybe it would help if kids wore clothes that actually fit which helps shirts to stay in and pants to stay up.

"Of course its about money! Why should the patch manufacturer be allowed to make money using trademarks he does not have permission to use?" Yes, it's about more money for BSA and their special friends. Until recently, units were allowed to have local shops make clothing with BSA logo with no fuss, no muss. Now BSA says that they want to be sure that the quality is up to snuff. Yeah, right! Until recently, you could photocopy BSA literature without a problem. Now, you can no longer go to the local copy shop to reproduce health forms. You can do it at your office but many employers don't like that idea. It's all about mo-money!

I'd wear it, just to set the example.

Of course there is the famous Roy Williams memo prohibiting cammo, hunting clothing and military field gear.

"It is a sad condition of our society that people would witness any crime and not report it," Crime? What's a crime?

It may be an approved option but it looks horrible.

Unless something has changed, two deep leadership really only applies to outings. The idea is that if someone is injured, one adult has to go with him and the other stays with the boys. For a meeting, the important thing is that there is no one-on-one contact with a boy. Howeve, most Den Leaders like to have a second adult there to help them control the boys. Oddly, Den Mothers in my day didn't have any problem. Must be the water. There is no Cub Scout rule that says that the second adult cannot be the spouse but the Charter Org is free to set that rule if they desire, after all it is their pack. I'd guess that the rule exists because of the concern that if you misbehaved, your hubby would back you up.

You asked about attaching a sleeping bag. Usually, internal frame packs have a pocket at the bottom for the sleeping bag. Externals usually strap or tie the sleeping bag to the bottom. Weight does add up quickly. A t-shirt (cotton or plastic) weighs nearly half a pound. So one change of clothing will give you at least two lbs. A few pairs of dry socks a invaluable. Let's go with 3 pounds for clothes. Rain jacket. 1 to 2 lbs. Gloves and knit hat for sleeping. 2 lbs. A decent mid-priced sleeping bag weighs about 3.5 lbs. A pack will weigh at least 4 lbs. We're already over 14 lbs. Toss in his half of the tent at 3 lbs and two quarts of water (4 lbs) and his eating/drinking cup and a spoon and we're pushing 25 lbs.

REI can be great if there are no other options but I'd look for the local one-off store run by a hiking/camping/outdoors enthusiast. My local guy spent at least a half hour fitting me for a pack which included bending the internal frame to fit me. I got a great deal on woolen socks at Costco. Four pair for $10. I have about 20 pair. I wore them at Philmont. Great socks. Type of boot will vary with the type of trail. A smooth, improved trail, a kid can get by with a less expensive boot. But a rocky, hilly trail, you're going to want something with a stiffer sole like the Vibram soles on Vasque boots or the Asolo rubber soles. You can find bargains, if you know what you are looking for. I picked up a pair of Asolo boots that normall go for $150 for $100 at Dick's. Also, get some guidance on how much room you'll need in your pack. The pack that I bought for Philmont is about 5,000 cubic inches. One last thing, if you have a good idea of what you need, look at ScoutDirect.com, that's Alps Mountaineering's web site for Scouting discounts. I bought my sleeping bag from them and was fairly pleased. I bought an Alps pack but got that at the outfitters.

" For First Aid in the days of proper wound sanitation and bloodborne pathogens, I'm afraid the old necker has lost a fair bit of its usefulness, too." Don't know about that. My first aid manual says that when you don't have anything better, use your shirt or undershirt to staunch the flow of blood. "We'll have to let him bleed out because he might get an infection from my neckerchief." The necker is also useful for making splints and slings.

Ah yes, the mark of a good citizen is to report all suspicions to the Vopos, excuse me, proper authorities. What ever happened to "better that 100 guilty men go free than one innocent man spend a day in prison." Now, the mantra is, "We'd rather mess up the lives of 100 innocent people just in case."

Everyone has to be closer to someplace than they are someplace else. There are Americans who are closer ot Ottowa than Washington but I don't think that they want to secede and join Canada.

"1) He gave us the US Dept of HHS child welfare website." I'm neither a lawyer nor a cannoncocker but I am smart enough to know that the federal government isn't the official source for information about state laws.

As a former Cub Scout advancement guy, I'd say "No."

"Yah, I encourage folks who are interested to search via da official department site: . . . rather than third-party sites. " Oh, Beaver, Beaver, Beaver. Evidently you don't know what a third party site is or you don't understand the relationship of the Federal gummit to the states. Virginia may be close to Washington DC but the Feds are not Virginia. Unlike the Beav, I go to the horse's mouth. The following is from the Va. Code Va. Code 63.2-1509(A). The following persons who, in their professional or official capacity, have reason to suspect that a child is an abused or neglected child, shall report the matter immediately . . . . . . 12. Any person associated with or employed by any private organization responsible for the care, custody or control of children; . . . It doesn's say "professionals acting in their official capacity," the actual operator there is "or." I'm guess that's we were told that we had to report. The well meaning volunteer trainer? A Fairfax County police officer whose job was dealing with abused children. I may be wrong but I think that he might know what he was talking about. Of course that was a few years ago and the laws may have become less strict since then.(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

I would guess that it is the result of two things: America is becoming more of a white collar country and many salaried people just put in too many hours to have free time for volunteer work. Many of those who aren't white collar workers are working two jobs to make ends meet.

When I lived in Virginia, we were told that Scouters were mandatory reporters. I guess they had it wrong and should have checked with the Beaver.

I'd have a sit down with the Unit Commissioner and the Charter Org Rep.

"And see if the BSA will allow changing the wording of 'duty to god' to 'gods' or 'allah'." They do, although in my opinion, English speaking Muslims insisting on saying Allah is as absurd as me saying "Bozeh" because that's what my ancestors said. They're like the Linux weenies who revel in their differences.

" But as long as BSA charters them, they are in fact "doing Scouting"," That's like saying if I pay my fees to Little League but my team never picks up a baseball or bat and instead spends their time knitting, that they are "playing baseball".

"I reckon if da National Organization and the local council both agree that a leader and a unit are doin' scouting by keepin' 'em on the roles, then that's that, eh? They are a BSA program. Who are we to say different?" Come on, get real Beaver. Unless a unit is doing something like wearing sheets and igniting crosses on the lawns of negros, BSA isn't going to do a danged thing. I know of a Cub Scout pack that ran raffles, sold products without fundraising paperwork, used BSA's name in vain and even did unapproved activities like whitewater rafting. The DE said, "you really shouldn't do that," they continued as before and that was that.

"I'd certainly like to have a private talk with each of the adults that are transfering to find out why they are transfering. See if your unit has the same issues and if you should address them or at least set realistic expections of the transfering parent." Shouldn't this conversation be with the Scouts and not the parents. After all, this is Boy Scouts of America, not Parent Scouts of America.

"Goldwinger, one difference between the schools analogy and the scout camp is that while a Scout is at camp, he is there 24 hours a day. Meanwhile, that same person is not at school 24 hours a day. " So? The question was about having "qualified" people to dispense the drugs. The health tech at school is no more or less qualified than the Scoutmaster or the staff member in the health lodge.

Much of this relates to many of my rants about advancement as it is implemented today. Troop meetings for merit badges. Merit badge classes. Rapid rotation of PORs to "give everyone a chance." Creation of bogus positions to "give everyone a chance." What I really love are the sign off sessions where the "leader" demonstrates how to tie a knot, the boy then struggles through it and gets signed off because he has demonstrated how to tie the knot. Five minutes later he doesn't know but he did it once. For many adults, getting the badge is more important than learning and mastering the skills. Unfortunately, the youth don't know any better so they blindly follow along.