Liz

Closing the visit to the press could have been for any number of reasons. I'm not sure it helps to speculate on the reasons; perhaps we'll find out at some point. At any rate, I did catch the MSNBC coverage of latino outreach by BSA online. They actually had two segments available on the website; one they aired on TV and another longer one where they had more of the Scout Executive's interview. For interested parties, I recommend getting online and viewing it. I don't know if it will still be available later, but it's there now. -Liz

Now that we're off on goofy patrol names... One of the newest patrols in our troop recently named themselves the Flaming Dingoes. I helped them design a patch with a flaming dingo on it, although they haven't placed their custom patch order yet. OGE, I see what you mean now, but as you realize now you were probably being oversensitive. Not without good reason! It was smart of you to bring it here and get the reality check you were looking for. I kind of like the "Bear Rassler" name, although perhaps it has a slightly different spin when you HEAR it for the first time, rather than rea

I googled "rassler" and I couldn't find any use of the term other than some European surnames and as a nonstandard pronunciation / spelling of "wrestler." I can't think of any reason why "Bear Rassler" could be offensive to anybody, except maybe people who think Boy Scouts should leave the poor helpless bears alone and stop wrestling with them. Sometimes patrols do things which are mistaken. My son's first patrol when he crossed over from Webs was the "Eagle" patrol. Nothing unusual about that. But they chose a really cool art-deco stencil of an eagle to decorate their patrol flag with. N

My sons just got invitations from their lodge for the upcoming NOAC. As one can probably imagine, it's not an inexpensive trip from out here in the Left Coast. The invitation says it will be $928 -- each. For two boys, that is probably not something we can accommodate on such short notice. Maybe, if he wants to badly enough to work for it and spend all his summer-job earnings on it, we might be able to help send the older boy. The younger one will still be a youth when the next one rolls around, so if he's still active he could have another shot at it. Would he have to be nominated again,

I understand what you're saying, SSS, but the parents here are asking for a "crossover" ceremony. I realize each thing is different, but many packs/troops combine the ceremonies. The parents have probably seen them done as combined thing for all the Webelos that have gone before, and they feel like something is left out if crossover is not part of their sons' AOL ceremony. I was just trying to come up with a way the ceremony might feel more "complete" for people who feel the crossover and AOL are inseparable. I think it could be made meaningful to the one boy who is truly crossing over,

Life is definitely reachable. Eagle will be hard, but can probably be done. It's hard for all boys, even the ones who didn't drop out for a few years! Even if you were to never pass First Class, however, the experience of being in Boy Scouts would be a valuable one. Now that you're a little older, you can probably appreciate the opportunity better than you could when you were around 12. I think it is worthwhile to rejoin. Yes, work hard and try to attain Eagle; but most of all, join up and learn what you can learn, enjoy the fun stuff, and have the satisfaction of pushing through a

How would something like this work: Hold an AOL ceremony for all 3 boys earning that reward. At the end, *invite* those boys who want to join a Troop to "cross over." Make it part of the ceremony; something like, "Now that you have earned your Arrow of Light, you are ready to cross over the bridge and begin your Trail to Eagle. If you are ready for the next challenge, stand up and follow me." Let the boys know ahead of time what's going on. Maybe only the one boy will do it, maybe the other boys will surprise you at the last minute and decide they want to do it. Any boys who DON

"That's just the page they WANT you to see." That's a very good point! In my case, of course this is not the only online monitoring I do of the kids. I'm lucky in that I've been a tech professional since they were toddlers and I'm a lot more web-savvy than they are. Not many parents can say that, and unfortunately not enough parents care. I would think that the majority of the parents who have their kids in Scouting *would* care, but not necessarily all of them. "Bottom line, if your grandmother (or SM) wouldn't approve, don't post it! " This is the message I give my kids as we

I agree that these boys' parents need to be informed. I would do that first, before talking to the boys about it again. But I also don't think I'd drop the issue with the boys, even if the parents aren't willing to take any action. My sons each have Facebook and Myspace accounts, with the condition that I am in their friends lists. They don't use Myspace much, but we all use Facebook fairly regularly. I use it to keep up with my own friends, but the main reason I stay active on it (not daily, but every week or so) is so I can keep an eye out for what my kids are doing. One of my sons did

"Liz, Congrats on getting a helpful diagnosis." I still don't have an actual on-the-record medical diagnosis... and I probably never will. My friend who is an RN who also has Celiac Disease talked me into trying a gluten-free diet. I can't even begin to describe the difference... first the IBS symptoms went away (but would come back every time I thought I could eat just "a little" gluten) and then after a few months 100% gluten-free the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome disappeared, and then the Fibromyalgia symptoms... wow! But... because I'm not eating gluten any more, there is no meaningful tes

It's been a long hard road for me, but I'm finally starting to get in shape now that I know I can't tolerate gluten (Celiac disease -- it's much more common than was once thought). I used to be exhausted and in pain all the time, and the more I dieted and/or exercised the worse it got. Now that my body and metabolism are working right, I'm resisting the temptation to go on a real restricted-calorie diet, and instead trying to just develop new life-long habits. Next week I intend to start getting on the treadmill EVERY day; I'll start with 30 minutes (which is comfortable for me now, but I used

I seriously doubt either of my boys will ever make Eagle, although they still have plenty of time to change their minds if they decide to go for it. They both just hate "homework" too much. They love camping, they love the OA, they love the service projects, the meetings, and all the cool things they learn. My younger son's been First Class for over a year, with 3 "required" MBs done and 4 other partials for "required" MBs. He's done everything except the reports for several, including Communication and at least one Citizenship badge. He already has more than enough elective MBs to carry

Just one more voice for the majority opinion... If your son does not have another option for a MBC for this badge, then go ahead. But try to not to do this more than once or twice. It will not look good for him when/if he is within reach of Eagle. In our troop, we try very hard not to have the boys do the Eagle-required MBs with their own parents. The SM won't approve an Eagle MB with a parent MBC unless there's no other option. In addition, the SM tries to have the Eagle Required MBs done with a variety of different MBCs, so even if it's not the boy's parent it's also not the boy's

Like Shortridge, my asthma is triggered by even minute bits of cigarette smoke. If there's not a stiff breeze blowing it consistently away from me, I can have an attack triggered by someone smoking 50 yards away, outdoors (or further, if the wind's actually blowing it my way). Most of my asthma attacks are triggered by smokers who are far enough away that I can't see or smell them until it's too late and my lungs are already swelling shut. I used to have a neighbor across the street who was a smoker, and in the summer I kept having attacks every time they opened a window. I had to keep a

I already said I don't know what the outcome would have been for this young girl I'm talking about. I only know what the outcome WAS: Dead fetus, and a very depressed girl who was back on drugs and back with the loser boyfriend within days. She'd been clean and sober for 3 months before the abortion. Would it have stuck? Would she have been that exception who became an ok mother in the long run? I don't know. I don't believe she was an "addict" at the time -- just a girl making wrong choices. I haven't heard what's happened to her in the last 10 years or so, but my guess is that she's an addic

"95% of the so-called "pro-life" people I ever met are also for the death penalty" I guess I'm in that other 5%. I am against the death penalty, war, AND abortion. I don't have a real strong opinion on Obama's decision to rescind the "gag order." I also don't have a very strong opinion on exactly how to write legislation regarding abortion. At this point in time, I don't think it's realistic to try and make it illegal. I hope for a day when our society will offer real choices, not just the Hobson's Choice that many women face when they have an unplanned pregnancy. One thing I

We have one patrol with their patrol emblem painted onto the underside or a rabbit skin, stretched out on a loop at the end of a pole. I think it looks pretty neat. One of my boys used to be in a patrol (which no longer exists) that had a really neat flag. They took a thick piece of leather, cut it out into the shape of the State of Oregon, and with a stencil and spray-paint put an outline of an eagle logo and their troop number on it. They hung this from a t-shaped pole. They were very proud of it. Unfortunately for the fate of the flag, most of the boys in the patrol (a "new scout" web

Our Ordeal registration says: "Cost for OA Candidates is $40.00, which includes all food for the weekend, a new OA sash, OA handbook, OA Lodge pocket patch, and your 2009 annual OA Membership Dues. You can also optionally purchase a Lodge T-shirt." (Elsewhere on the registration it shows that the T-shirt is $12.50.) Members are $15. This doesn't include the annual dues ($10), the T-shirt ($12.50), or the promotion to Brotherhood ($15, probably for the new sash, flap, etc.). Overall, I'd say $45 is within the normal range for an Ordeal Candidate.

Just an update -- I sent my son to the activity, and he came back really jazzed. He had a lot of fun, learned a lot, made some cool crafts, and even bought a bead loom. Thanks, All. :-) -Liz

We don't attend the church that sponsors our troop. The boys who attend the CO's church do wear their uniforms on Scout Sunday, but as far as I know nothing else special is done. At least, if it is, it's not talked about at troop events. Our church does nothing for Scout Sunday. We have several Boy and Cub Scouts who attend my church, from various packs/troops. I'm unaware of any Girl Scouts in our congregation. I've never seen any kids show up for church in their uniform unless they were arriving directly from a Scouting event. Frankly, I think it's a little sad. I have recen

Hah! There we go. Anybody who wants to know anything about his/her past can just run for Prez! No problem! I saw a guy on TV a bit ago who was suffering from amnesia and couldn't remember who he was or where he was from. He should run for Prez! I'm not blinded by adoration for anybody, but I may be a bit jaded by all this nitpicking about what does or does not constitute a "real" birth certificate. I still have a hard time with expecting Obama to produce some obscure document that may or may not be on file somewhere but isn't normally accessed. How many other Hawaiians can produce their h

"A birth certificate is signed by the delivering physician and a witness (usually a nurse). The time and place (a hospital) is likewise recorded." "The Obama campaign has said that he was born in a hospital so he would have a Birth Certificate. The only thing posted and vouched for by Hawaii is a Certificate of Live Birth." "...he could have produced a true Birth Certificate that he obtained from the state of Hawaii for very little." ========================== Ok, is Hawaii the only state that does things this way? I have never heard of such a strange thing. Birth Certificates ar

I'm not worried. I would never be a serious contender for President, anyway. I can't think of any reason anybody would want to see the 1970s era version of my Birth Certificate unless I got the nomination for President. ;-) It is true that the deterioration of the certificate has slowed down considerably now that I have a passport and no longer haul the birth certificate in my purse when I go out of the country. That piece of paper has been back and forth to Mexico at least a dozen times, though. Paper that gets used wears out. It's in bad enough shape now I don't think I'll be able to us

LOL! What incredible ignorance. I never quite realized how severely lame this argument was. Thank you for posting the clarification. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that the form they want to see was how they looked in 1979, before computers, when a request for a birth certificate meant someone pulled the original out of a filing cabinet, transcribed the info on a form with a typewriter, signed it, and embossed it with the state seal. My Certificate of Live Birth which my mom got in the 70's from the State of Texas so I could enter kindergarten looked very much like

My husband is a prostate cancer survivor -- again, because of very early detection. His cancer was an aggressive form -- not the kind that you can live with a long time before it takes over (as some prostate cancers can be). But he is cancer-free today because of the ever-unpleasant but always-necessary routine exam from a urologist. And... any side effects from the prostatectomy weren't half as bad as what untreated cancer would have caused in short order anyway. This is an important topic to remind each other of, even though it does appear that the OP is some kind of a troll (goog