Greying Beaver

Aloha, Kahuna. Losing the LDS'ers would not be as big a hit as you imagine. True, they sponsor 30% of the units, but LDS membership is between 10 and 11% of the total membership in BSA. The Varsity program might disappear, though. LDS'ers make up the vast majority of Varsity teams across the country. Check with your District Executive. He can give you the nubers based on recharters.

That being said, I am happy with the BSA programs as they are now and would rather that they stay that way. Within weeks of my grandson joining Tigers, my son made Eagle. It's like I've signed up for another "hitch".

Our troop has a set of by-laws tht we keep filed away " . . . just in case.". In eight years now I've see a copy of them only at the meeting after we joined and at the annual parents' meeting for summer camp.

The meat of these by-laws is the troop's right to put a boy on a bus home if he is a constant discipline problem going to, at, or on the way home from summer camp. An in those same eight years, the troop has had to enforce them one time. It's a "cads and puoltroon" sort of thing.

They work because the boys know that they do exist and have been enforced in the now-fading past.

We went through this problem several years ago. The adult patrol chuck box has a box of little packets of everything that can come in little packets: ketchup, mayonaise, mustard, sweet relish, instant coffee, sugar, boullion powder from ramen packages, salt, pepper, you name it. We know that the stuff is there, and our grupmaster for the upcoming campout will usually take a peek at what is there and use it to supplement.

Once when I was grubmaster, I made a big pot of soup and used all of the ketchup for "tomato paste and assorted spices" It worked. Well, what is in ketchup?

Getting boys to donate extra ketchup packets to their patrol chuck boxes is a bit of a stretch. They just don't think to do it out there in the real world. Do yoou know how geeky it looks to pocket a couple of packets of ketchup at Mickey D's?

Everything done in all of the O.A. ceremonies and the induction proceedure are alagorical. What is seen and done has a greater meaning that is directly related to the scout Oath and Law. Those members who are serving on the staff of the induction process are trained and further instructed on what to watch out for during the induction process. The candidates are safe and being watched (sometimes from a distance) for their safety.

Have a set of parents who, when their son was elected, came to me (Associate Chapter Advisor) expressing their concerns based on what they had heard about the induction process. I told them that all scouting activities are open, public events, and that they could watch the entire induction process if they wanted, but would be with another group of candidates for their son's sake. They spent the night in a motel; neither parent camps. Their reaction at the end of the induction process? And I quote, "Wow!"

The ACLU does a lot of good things that are in the public interest. The majority may rule but the rights of the minority must be protected. When a minority feels that it/they are being shoved around too much, they give the ACLU a call. They are a watchdog group, and watchdog groups are a necessity.

It's when they attack where a person "lives", such as those parts of BSA's Oath and Law that they go too far. BSA has been declared a private club with all of the privilages - and restrictions ( like no events on military facilities) - of a private club.

BSA has requirements about a belief in the Almighty. Just suppose for a minute that an athiest family sees a scouting event, picks up the Boy Scout Handbook, etc. The parents see the benefit and the boy, say 6 years old, wants to join a cub pack. It puts these parents on the horns the delima: Tell their son that he cannot join in on the fun because of their beliefs, or deny their beliefs and tell their son to lie?

Athiests are citizens, too. They recognize what is needed to raise their childern to be good, productive citizens. BSA has a reputation for being a big help in that regard. But the athiest family cannot join in on the fun and the benefit. The Y.M.C.A is out (Young Men's >Christian< Association). BSA is the best choice. And they canno join. Who do you call? And on what grounds? Why the ACLU, of course.

Anybody reading this who thinks ol'G.B. is in favor of changing the Oath and Law to let athiests into Scouting has another think coming.

When the ACLU sets their sites on a group, how anyone reacts is a matter of who's ox is being goured. And the ACLU has a pretty poor batting average against the BSA. And look where they do win cases.

I would suggest the two patrols of 4 or 5 boys each. Given the camp duties of cooking, clean-up, fire, etc., it will be a more efficient division of labor. Even if duties have to be doubled up, such as fire with cooking and water with clean-up, you have a patrol using the patrol method. buying for a small group is easier than bying for two. There is less waste unless your boys are a very hungry bunch. Two patrols troops are a lot more common than you would think.

You ain't seen nothin' yet! Congratulations on completing you ticket. You will soon learn that now is when you start earning those beads. Use the knowledge learned. And again, congratulations.

-G.B.

"Make periscope depth, please. Up periscope. (look around once) Down periscope. Dive the boat. Let's get outta here." Geeeeze!

Something else to consider: a fundraiser as soon as possible. Talk to the local WalMart. They have monies budgeted for youth groups to do carwashes on the WalMart parking lot. You will need to provide your own hoses, buckets, soap, towels, etc. The WalMarts in our part of the swamp have a $1,000.00 limit. By thatI mean that they will donate the difference between what you take in and $1k giving your group a thousand dollars. You make $800.00; they donate $200.00. Ta-Da!

The fundraisers that are advertized in BL and Scouter are great, but the lag time in getting the materials is too long. You need the money a.s.a.p.

And from that initial money, set and keep a budget. Here is where garage-sale-ing is great. Set dues amout as soon as possible and get the money collected for the quarter quickly. You need the influx of cash now.

Then there is the pricless stuff - all of the adult leaders go get trained. and have the "next generation" leaders do the same.

Go to RoundTable, intorduce yourself to the SM's and ask if they have any useable older camping equipment that they would like to doante. And don't be afraid to make an appeal to the Chartering Organization either. It is, afterall, their unit, and they should want it to succeed, . . . right? If the C.O. is a church, make an appeal to the congregation. Betcha you'll see tons of camping gear come being hauled out of atticks and garages. Scout Sunday is just around the corner. Make arrangements with the church treasurer to have the offering diverted to the new troop (or a portion of it), or a special offering going tothe troop.

The second rule of being lost: "When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, sing and shout."

Waddle on down to the local cinema to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe". There be the cutest pair of our favorite critters playing a supporting role in the story. Makes one proud to be a beaver. Oh, yeah; the rest of the movie is great, too. If you see similarities between "Narnia" and the "Rings" triology, keep in mind that C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkein were very good friends and corresponded and commented on each other's works for the duration of their productive lives.

A dollar well spent.

Yes, congratulations. It will feel so good when you realize that you are using the things taught at WB. And it will come so naturally.

YEEEE-HAAAAAA!!!! Another beaver in the pond! Come on in; the water's fine. Lotsa room in the lodge, too. Pick up a twig and have a chaw. You will bee surprised at how soon and how often you use your WB learnin' in your life in and out of scouting.

-Greying Beaver.

Hey, John! My TG is a Fox, too! So here goes:

She used to be a fox, and a good old Fox, too,

But now she's finished Foxing, she don't(sic)know what to do.

She's growing old and feeble and she can Fox no more,

So she's going to work her ticket if she can!

Back to Gilwell . . . .

God, bless her real good, too. The whole human race needs more like her. Amen.

- Greying Beaver (standing by!)

Adults can wear medals for "dress occasions", but it is either the medal or the knot on the uniform, not both.

J-in-K.C.: Agreed about the size of the LDS contingent at PTC. Have a look at the PTC training calendar. The LDS'ers have a whole week all to themselves ( I think.)

Please understand, we are not knocking the LDS'ers or their way of presenting the boy scout program. They just do things so differently from those of us not "in the community".

John-in-KC: Yes, the LDS'ers have one-week adult training sessions at PLS. There was one going on at the same time Cutest BobWhite and I took Venture Leader Training a couple of summers ago at PSR. Man, they formed their "community" in a New York Minute! They did not associate with anyone else the whole time. Part of the training for us was about the LDS church, how it is organized at the local level, and how to approach them, including the terminology and phraseology needed not to put them off (I kid you not!). My son-in-law verified everything that was presented.

Talk about protocall! You have to first speak to the Stake Presedent (congregation chair) to obtain his permission to speak to the Bishop (pastor), that you have prayerfully considered the telephone call to him, the President, and that such a telephone call would be in the best interest of the priesthood of young men in the Stake, and woudl assist them in preparing for their 2-year mission and would be of further benefit for them afterwards when they rejoin thier bretheren or continue their education at (guess where?, hopefully. Did you know that BYU offers a major in Professional Scouting?! For true!). All of this to get permission to speak to the LDS's troops' SM! If you don't believe me, try calling an LDS-sponsored troop SM and see what he asks you before you get started especially if you are from outside the community. Can you say "Cloistered"?

My comment above was about why LDS units do not take advantage of the 2-week trek program a PSR.

I work with a couple of openly homosexual men. They know of my emvolvelment is scouting and this topic has be the catalyst for a number fo interesting discussions. They are aware of the many benefits of our society afforded by the BSA concerning ethics, moral behavior and citizenship preparation as seen on the wider canvas of our society. The homosexual community's awarenes of the the dichomity between homosexual behavior and lifestyle and heterosexual behavior and lifestyle when examined through the filter of the teachings of the three major religions of the Occident (Judisiam, Christianity, and Islam) is the source of great consternation in the homosexual community. It's there; they keep it to themselves. To admit such would be like throwing gasoline onto a fire. And a fire-storm there would be. In public, however, the behavior of a good citizen is instantly recognized. What that good citizen does in the privacy of his own home . . . is his own business.

On the other hand, the homosexual community is aware of the laws protecting children. Regardless of the sexual orientation of the offender, a person accused of child molestation goes through the same judicial process. Child molestation is centered on the offender's potential power over the child regardless of sexual orientation. Too much clinical evidence backs that up. The arguement, "Why have a girl when you can have a woman?" in the heterosexal community (child molestation is the question; power over someone is the issue.) has a parallel arguement in the homosexual community: "Why have a boy when you can have a man?" (Same question; same issue.). The answer from both the heterosexual and homosexual man are the same; the issue for both the heterosexual man and the homosexual man are the same.

I digress.

When adult homosexuals openly come into the BSA as leaders in contact with the youngsters, look for an explosion in the number of units. Those parents who do not want their sons in units led by homosexuals but want their sons in scouting will find other units or will start their own with the CO being "A group of citizens".

Any homosexual who uses a boy scout unit as a "smorgesborge" will be dealt with more quickly by the homosexual community than by the heterxual community. And there won't be much for the hetersexual community to do with either. And the same is true for a hetersexual who molests a scout now.

When adult homosexuals openly come into the BSA, they will be very closely watched - more than the blacks were - moreso by the homosexual community than the hetersexual community.

Regardless of what you preceive my position to be on the question, I will hold those cards very close to the vest. We are to hate the sin but love the sinner. And that is following the commandment of the Great ScoutMaster. The twelveth point of the Scout Law is for me to practice the tenants of my religion and for you to respect my practice.

Yeah, yeah, I know; I do pontificate at times.

G.B.

P.S. The ACLU'ers are more afarid of us than we are of them.

We, my family, are not LDS, but my son-in-law is LDS and an Eagle scout. When I became aware of the differences in how the LDS'ers run their scouting programs, I asked him about his scouting experiences. The best way to sum up what he said would be to say that the pressure on the youngsters to make Eagle - and make it early - is tremendous. LDS troops do not go to Philmont because to carry all of your gear from one camp to another on a Sunday would be "laboring on the Sabbath" which is forbidden. And, trek iteneraries are so tighly scheduled that crews cannot "lay-over" on a Sunday without putting a big strain on the facilities of any of the back country camps. Our son worked on staff at PSR this past summer and he confirmed this.

Here's something to file away: While it is true that LDS units comprise just over 30% of the total number of units in BSA, the total membership in BSA in the LDS churches, youth and adult, comprise 11% of the total BSA membership. Why? Every LDS congregation is the CO for a pack, troop, team, and crew. Girls are not allowed to join LDS-chartered crews (They have been known to join crews outside their congregations, though.). And . . . every youngster in the congregation is registered in the age-appropriate unit whether or not he is active in the unit, and the congregation picks up the tab for the registration of very boy in every unit, active or not. All adult leaders are appointed(!) by the head of the congregation, after prayerful consideration of the head of the congregaion, of course, and must serve for at least one year. The annual turn-over rate of LDS adult leaders is the highest in BSA of all denomination-sponsored units. Many do not fulfill that minimum one-year obligation because of a lack of training and prior experience in BSA. While the number of adult leaders in LDS units who go through position-specific training is rising, the percentage of trained LDS adult leaders is proportionally the lowest of any church-sponsored units in BSA. Further, those LDS adult leaders who do go through position-specific training go through those trainings at LDS-sponsored training sessions. I found this out when I went through Unit Commissioner Basic training. It was held at an LDS church. Except for two others and myself, everybody in the training session was an LDS'er. Our well-worn uniforms stuck out in that room full of brand-new uniforms! The training was the BSA training program, and the presentations were by-the-book, but too many times the presenters emphasized getting new leaders to go top training. This was in early October and noblody had to be reminded of what had happened to LDS scouts earlier in the summer.

Thirty percent of a group of 90 LDS football players at BYU are Eagle scouts? Sounds skewed here outside "the community", but very beleiveable.

G.B.

Why not take the unniforms and the potential wearers to a tailor shop and have the blouses and truosers altered/tailored to fit? It is not that expensive and the members of your ship will look great.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Over on ebay, topic: "wood badge", somebody is selling little critter charms on black cord tied like the WoodBadge beads. Every critter is there. The hook to this is that WB'ers cannot wear their beads on activity uniforms. Well, now your favorite critter is available to be worn with your activity uniform. My son, the Philmont Staffer, got me a single critter on a cord (Never guess which one!) at the Cimmaron Art Gallery for my birthday last year, and it has been known to poke its nose out from between the rolls on my WB neckerchief from time to time. Oh, what the heck. In scouting if you're not having fun and you don't have food, you're doing it wrong. Go have a peek at the site. you can't miss it.

To start, go have a look at the first Boy Scout Handbook. The scout shops sell them. Drawings of scouts in their uniforms will show what the origial uniform looked like. It was a cut-down version of the U.S.Army uniform, campaign hat included. Don't argue - go look! Short trousers and shor-sleeve shirts were next. It wasn't until after WWII that the unifrom began to evolve. The color changed toa lighter green, the front pockets had a red piping and were folded down and held in place witha button on the side of the side. There was also a button just under the belt loop that was almost never used. But, boy, could you stuff a lot of stuff into those pockets! The blouse changed from being a coat to a shirt that was tucked in. Epaulettes disappeared and a fold-down collar was used. It was make of a cotton twill that was almost bullet-proof. Comfortable, too. The next change was the uniform designed by Oscar De La Renta and we all know what that looks like . . . .

And if your district isn't having CM Specific Training, call your council training person, tell him/her that you need CMS, and is there another district that has scheduled CMS in the near future and can you sign up for it (Watch them say "No" and refuse any monies for the course!). Last resort is to call the next council over and speak totheir council training person and ask the same thing. Somebody is having the CMS course in the near furture. And don't let the training person in the next council over give you a hard time; We are all in the same organization, ya know!

Good Luck and Have Fun!

G. B.

DO IT !! A.S.A.P. JUST DO IT !!

I had almost the exact same conversation with a colleague at work several years ago. He wanted his son, 6yrs old at the time, to " . . . go the sports route . . . ." instead of scouting. He said that cub scouts is fun, but sports develops character. I brought up a few "characters" like Charles Barkley, Pete Rose, who, whether they want it or not, are youngsters' role models.

I told him that sports reveals character; scouting develops it. Then I asked him if sports teaches about duty to God and country, or duty to others, etc, being trustworthy, friendly, courteous, kind, etc. Not really. Not at all.

It seems that the real reason for the boy to be in sports was to get an atheletic scholarship to a college. That led to another rabbit trail about graduation ratios of scholarship atheletes at universities.

Then I listed some of the "geeks" listed in the post above. Maybe they were geeks in their youth, but they are all Eagle Scouts.

Another criticism that he had about scouts is that there is no organized sports program in scouting. I mentioned the Varsity scouts program, that would give the boy a chance to be on a sports team and give him the opportunity to continue work on the Eagle.

He had heard of the Eagle Scout, knew it was a good thing, but did not know the details about it. I gave him an overview of the scouting program and the trail to Eagle. Okay, he was impressed. Did his son join a cub pack? Unfortunately, no. He still thought that sports was what was best for his son.

The boy is 12 now and not interested in sports. Seems dad pushed him a little too much. The boy doesn't want to belong to any organized activity. Sad, sad.