AnnLaurelB

Ooooh. I like the compass game idea. I could take them outside and have different "maps" of the campus... (*mental gears grinding and screeching, here*) Also anything with balloons and making loud noises is good for Cubs, yes. Thank you. I swear I need a Cub Scout brain-jumpstart! :0)

I was planning on doing a shadowbox with each necker folded to reveal the rank, the Badge of Rank above the emblem, and the slides below each rank, resting at the bottom of the frame. Then in the top area of the folded neckers, in the multi-colored field as it were, I'd place some of the prized badges at different angles. That's my working mental model, anyway. Simple, compact. :0)

So...there I was, enjoying my summer off, thinking my CM duties wouldn't be called into play until Back To School Night... ...when on Sunday I noticed a blurb in the church bulletin with MY name on it! I had completely forgotten that we were doing a Camp IN in the church hall this Friday night. It's a way to teach families who are new to camping to pitch tents, etc... The plan is to clear the hall, only use flashlights, have an indoor "campfire", that kind of thing. But as I said, I forgot all about it (Bad CM! BAD! No cookie!). My brain is still on summer vacation; any bri

I love being CM; I think it's the most fun job! You get to be the one to sing silly songs, and throw candy (either figuratively or literally). You get to be the one who creates the party atmosphere, but also the one who gets to tell the cool lesson-stories. The Cubmaster gets to preside over *occasions* ... which is very, very cool. :0) Congratulations, CubMaster!

What it appeared that he was doing was going to the grocery and either using the Cub account to pay for his own stuff some of the time, or buying some small thing and getting the maximum cash back. He did this every few days until the account was down to about $300. The statements were going to HIM, so who was to know?!? I didn't think about the two signatures thing...probably because it wouldn't occur to me to try it. But you're right, Oakster--people who "live by their wits" will find a way.

WALKING TACOS! Great term; I've only ever said, "Y'know...Frito bags...and you scoop stuff in there?" and I have to explain it every time. I love the idea of cooking something every Den meeting! I may do that with my Bears this coming year. I JUST commented on the "Snack" thread that food wasn't necessary, but I think that would make them less likely to skip Den meetings. I have to agree with the assembly line thing; we did the Hobo Packs with a hamburger patty, slice of potato, slice of onion, slices of carrot, etc... We had each Den do something age-appropriate for prep. The T

And of course, this time around, we made sure the checks have to have TWO signatures, and there's NO debit card. As the CM, I refuse to even hold the thing, although I am a signer if they're paying someone else. But I won't sign checks to myself. The guy sure might have gotten away with it. But as it is, he's going to see if he can raise the 2 grand; if he can't, the County is going to garnish his wages. DON'T MESS WITH CUB SCOUTS! :0)

Thank you (and great moniker, btw)! That's kind of how I felt when the FOS person was chasing me around the room as I tried to orchestrate/delegate getting ready for the B&G. "Where are Jake's parents?" "Is Louis' family here, yet?" "Which one is yours? Oh. I need to show you this form for him." Lady. I'm the CM and a DL. I coordinate the entire program AND I plan ALL of the events, from soup to nuts... all for the benefit of my son, and because I love the boys. Lemme alone.

No, he got arrested for admitting stealing from the Pack account. The CO *didn't* get the law involved *until* he failed to hold up his end of the bargain. Not every place has a Magistrate system; when I say, "arrested," it's not the same thing as being like put behind bars, given a jumpsuit and 1 phone call. The Magistrate system means we paid the Sheriff a fee to find the guy and tell him that if he doesn't pay up, the next step IS having him charged with a crime. Filing the complaint with the Magistrate Court puts it on record that he owes us the money, that he has already admitte

That's almost exactly the comment that we've tossed around since it started. "If it had been just $290, then we'd just let it go." But $2,900? No, that's just not right! And the thing was he agreed to pay $2,600 ($300 forgiven for possible camping around the end, there), which is, if you ask me, an admission of guilt. If he had called our lawyer guy and told him, "I'm having trouble. I need to re-negotiate this," then we would have worked with him. But he just decided to skip town and ignore the phone calls and letters. THAT'S why lawyer guy went after him.

I'm not sure I understand how it all works, but the guy signed a Promissory Note when he got called before the Committee and agreed to make the payments. So essentially, he's defaulted on a loan. Maybe that makes a difference in processing? I don't know. And you're exactly right; our lawyer guy jumped on this like a duck on a junebug (God, I love the South!) because it IS right up his alley! :0)

Right? But I just cracked up when the lawyer called to tell me the guy had been arrested and was pleading to make a payment deal. The lawyer was ... gleeful. So funny.

I know I'm coming in at the tail end of this, but I'll add my 2 cents. We usually have a Fall Fest for our Oct Pack meeting; we have goodies then. And a Christmas party for Dec, with snackage of course. But I agree that it's just an unnecessary mess. We also start at 6:30. MOST Cubs are fed supper before they come; I try to end Pack by 7:45. The last thing I want my kid to eat at 7:45 is a typical "kid snack". He can have an apple when he gets home!

About 5 years ago, our Pack was deactivated; the attrition rate had outpaced registration. The CO didn't do a very good job of tying up the loose ends on the situation. (If you've read my other posts, NO SURPRISE there!) Well, 3 years ago, the church (CO) decided they wanted to get their Charter back, so they started that process with someone from the local Council. As they went through the steps (basically almost like a new Charter), the subject of a checking acount came up. "Oh, we HAVE a checking account! It's still active; it should have well over $3,000 in it." (Why so much? I

So the next time someone corrects the grammar in someone's Facebook post, and someone ELSE whines, "Gra-a-a-mmar Poli-i-ice," the rest of us can swat them and say, "We're doing it for the good of the English language, dammit!" ;-)

Heh. Excellent. That's like that "trick" question: When was the War of 1812 ?"

LOL! He's from Ohio. And of course I was kidding about his picture, but I swear some of the people who posted about experiences with loved ones' NPD behaviors MUST have known the ex-h. My theory would be that an NPD person would not spend much time trying to convince someone of anything online, because they're already convinced that their own position is irrefutable. Anyone who disagrees with them simply shouldn't exist, as far as they are concerned, so it's not in their nature to engage the dissenting person, since in their mind, there's nothing to be gained by them personally in do

Sorry. Narcissistic personality disorder. Here's my favorite site for down-to-earth explanations and examples of NPD. http://narc-attack.blogspot.com/ Prepare to shout, "OH MY GOSH! Now it makes sense!" because I guarantee you know someone with NPD.

If you google NPD, there's a little picture of my ex-h.

I live in Georgia. We have peaches. (Also pecans and peanuts, but that doesn't enter into this story.) Georgia has a Peach Festival. It happens ...y'know... when the PEACHES come. Which is late May thru early August, most years. I had an out-of-state relative ask me, when discussing a possible visit, when the "famous" Peach Festival happens. "That's usually the 1st or 2nd weekend in June," I told them. "Ohhhh, no," they replied. "It would be way too hot to visit in June. Darn! I want to see the Peach Festival (*sigh*). It's a shame they can't do it when it's cooler. How com

"...It may be more of a characteristic of they people that get drawn into these discussions..." Ah. Perhaps that's so. :0)

I had a lot of time on my hands this weekend, and as is my wont occasionally, I went thread-diving. I'm fascinated by a developing theory; I hope I can articulate it. So many, many of the forum members are, for lack of a fancier term so SMART, especially in this, the no-holds-barred "Issues" forum, where posters, topics, and opinions swing wide and encompass much, even more so than the other Scouting-related forums. And what do they have in common? It may be several things. But most obviously, aren't most people here Scout leaders? As I've scrolled through many, many posts, learning

I don't write for a living, but I do write A LOT. And over the course of perhaps 25 years, numerous people have said to me, "How do you write so well?" I always scratch my head, and say, "I simply write the way that that my Jr. High School English Composition teacher taught me to write." All the while, I secretly think, "Why didn't you learn the same stuff?"

ABSOLUTELY!! Count, count, count! This event is unique from what most of us could probably find TO go after that Beltloop. :0)

Respectfully, I disagree. Now, if you have a Cub who's clearly TRYING, and say the parent emails you and says, "Hey, we smeared peanut butter on a pinecone and rolled it in birdseed and tied it to a tree yesterday. Can that count as the bird-watching thing, since we missed the Den trip to the park?" YES!! I will GLADLY sign off on that effort. Was it technically bird-watching? No, but it was bird...nature...related. So, sure! A+ for effort!! Or...at Pack meeting, after missing all 3 Den meetings, a parent says, "We don't have a pet, and didn't make it to the Pet Parade Den meeting wi